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Foxes may look like cute animals, but really, they can be harmful to your garden, yard, and family. And despite what you think, they don’t just live in forests or speculated wild areas; they are ubiquitous in urban areas and can be pests, damaging plants and wrecking havoc in your garden. Although foxes usually eat birds and small animals, they also ingest earthworms, insects, and grubs. But they also eat fruit and are known to be scavenger animals, going in your trash if it’s left out.
Since they are common in urban areas, you’ll know if a fox has been in your garden if you notice trampled plants, random holes, animal droppings (that don’t belong to your pets) and eaten ripened fruits. If you used things like chicken pellet, dried blood or bonemeal manure, and then seeing dug up plants, it’s the result of a fox in your garden. Plus, if you see plastic hosepipes with chew marks, it could be another indication that a fox was there! Finally, if your backyard is infested with chafer grubs, you better be careful because those are a favorite of foxes!
Plus they can easily attack your pets, including dogs and cats, and can get in your backyard chicken hen if you have one. They like to hide food for the future, and this includes burying any chicken eggs they might have found in your yard. Basically, foxes are often urban nuisances and having one in your garden and yard is a pain.
Interesting Things in this Post
Does Fox Urine Damage Lawns?
If you are careful about your lawn and start to notice brown patches, it could be the work of a nearby fox! Just as dog urine can ruin your yard, fox urine does the same thing. The salt content in the fox’s urine is what damages your lawn, especially if it is indeed concentrated. And fox urine can damage your grass in any climate, especially in dry periods when soil moisture is low, and your lawn isn’t hydrated enough. So this is another reason why you’ll want to stop foxes from entering your garden!
Are Foxes a Danger to Children?
Just as foxes can be a danger to your pristine garden, they can also pose a risk to your children. Even though you might have never thought of a fox as a danger to your children, since there are more and more in urban environments these days, your child can easily encounter one in your backyard. Although they might be rare, they are not entirely unheard of either, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. Foxes do attack other animals like cats, chickens, lambs and small dogs and if they feel threatened, they’ll attack humans, especially if their cubs are near.
Make sure you educate your children that foxes are not domesticated animals and shouldn’t be touched if they see one in the backyard while playing. Also, keep your doors and windows closed at night if you know foxes have been in your garden. This is true for the day, too, since foxes have been sighted during regular sunlight hours and can enter your home via open doors and windows.
How to Deter Foxes in your Garden?
So now that you know how to tell if a fox has been in your garden, it’s now time to take action from having them enter in the future! First, you’ll want to go around your backyard and block all of its entrances as best as you can. This might take some time since you need to examine carefully so that you don’t accidentally miss anything. Check out all the edges and try to find out where the fox is entering from and seal them by either fixing that part of the fence or adding some barrier to prohibit them from entering. Also check under spaces like the deck, your home, shed or under any other structures your garden might have since the sly fox can be coming in from anywhere!
Every night, you’ll also to make sure that your garden is clean. Pick up any toys, loose items or shoes before you go in at night so that the fox isn’t curious about those items and enters your garden. Also, cover any sources of water or turn off fountains since the need for water could be the reason they’re entering your yard. This also relates to any pet food that you leave outside. The fox can be coming in because of the leftover dog food, taking a meal anywhere it can!
If you have a hen or any cages outside with small animals inside, secure them so that the fox can’t get in and attack them. The last thing you want to do is wake up in the morning to find dead chickens and the like. Also, make sure your trash is secured. Foxes are scavenger animals and will get into trash bins without lids or bags that aren’t secured, leaving a huge mess the next day.
Since foxes do like to dig, if you have any beloved pets buried in the backyard, you might want to get a paving stone to set on top of it so that the fox doesn’t dig up the corpse (which would be totally horrific for little ones to see). For your garden, don’t use any fertilizers that contain bonemeal, fish or blood since foxes are keen to these and will enter your yard if your garden has them no matter how effective they might work! In fact, here’s an article which includes details on “What can be used as compost?”
To keep them from your shed, you might want to think about leaving a radio on so that they are scared to go near it and won’t try to bring their cubs to make a home. And finally, you can also use commercial fox repellents, but just make sure they aren’t going to harm your garden, children or the foxes – after all, you want to make sure they don’t enter the yard and not kill them!
What are Foxes Afraid of?
Like most animals, foxes are afraid of loud noises, which is why a radio on near a shed will deter them from coming in. Other noise-making devices like motion-sensitive alarms and transistor radios will also do the trick!
Sonic repellants have also been known to work, but remember that your dogs will be able to hear it, so buy models that only let out the sound when they detect movement. For convenience, it is important to pick one that is waterproof and solar powered.
Furthermore, most animals don’t seem to like water on them, so installing a motion-activated sprinkler (or turning them on at night) will hinder their appearance in your garden. Here’s a motion-activated sprinkler that I like for your quick reference.
If you see one outside, get some pots and pans and bang on them to scare them away or have a large guard dog outside that’ll chase them if they enter your yard!
What Repels a Fox?
There are some scent repellants out there that can deter a fox, especially those with ammonium or citronella, which are quite powerful. These smells can give the fox the impression that another animal is in the same territory, thus preventing them from your garden. You can use them in a powder or spray form around your yard, but just be careful if you have young kids since the chemicals can be harmful. Some parents inquired whether they should install an electric fence if the problem worsens. Due to safety reason, we do not suggest to do so since it could injure small children or pets in your home.
Will Human Urine Deter Foxes?
You might have heard an old wives tale how human urine will deter foxes, but is it true? That depends. Some people swear by this natural method, while others say it’s false and a waste of time despite what you’ve heard. Foxes have a great sense of smell and often use their own urine to mark their territory, telling other foxes not come near the marked property. Many thought they’d do it themselves so that the fox thinks it’s another animal warning it off its territory, but many believe that foxes can actually differentiate between the two types of urine. In reality, they are used to the smells of humans and will tell of urine is human-made or fox, but you can still try it yourself to see if it works!
How to Get Rid of Foxes Under the Shed?
If you find a fox under your shed, to get rid of them, you can scare them out using loud noises, a fox repellent around the area to kick them out or wait until they leave and then block the entrance to that they can’t get in anymore!
You can also trap them and then release them somewhere else, or call a professional to come and do it for you. Install a one-way door, so once the fox is out, they can’t get back in!
But the only thing with this option is that you should make sure there are no cubs there and that the one-way door is only for the entrance, or else you’ll have a dead fox in your shed, which will spread disease and leave a horrible smell! Plus, you should still aim to be humane about the entire eviction process.
What to Do if You See a Fox?
If you’re outside in your garden and encounter a fox, don’t be worried. Simply enjoy the encounter and do nothing. Foxes rarely attack humans and are probably afraid of you. Just let it scurry off on its own. Remember not to feed it or try to pet it because they will defend themselves if they feel threatened! If you do see a fox observing you, just let them watch you. They might be curious or worried about their young.
But if you don’t feel comfortable with them around, you can make a loud noise, stomp your feet or wave your arms in the air to make them leave. According to the Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry [1]https://www.ontario.ca/page/preventing-and-managing-conflicts-coyotes-wolves-and-foxes, it is vital not to turn your back or run from a wild animal. Therefore, even when you need to leave, you should back away from the animal while remaining calm.
In addition to the methods mentioned above, you could always contact your local animal control department for assistance. So there you have it, the 411 on how to keep foxes out of your garden! But please remember to keep whatever methods you choose to use to deter them humane so that you don’t harm the animal or its young. Foxes are still wild animals, but they don’t deserve to be harmed!
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A freelance writer based in Los Angeles, CA with more than 7 years of experience, writing for magazines and blogs. She is also a social media maven and communications specialist. Parenting is one of her favored topics. She is a happy mom with two boys and due with her little girl in May.