Fox poo
 

I've got foxes visiting my garden and I need to do something to try and stop them.

These aren't your scrawny urban fox, but rural bushy tailed specimens (I live in Kent where they seem to grow exceptionally big - just Google Britain's largest fox + Kent and it wasn't a million miles from me, i've seen them that big when out walking my dogs in the fields) who are taking an unhealthy interest in my ferrets as i'm finding fox poo of a morning outside their cage.

The cage is secure with bolts on every door so at the moment i'm not too concerned about a fox breaking in. However they carry disease one of which is distemper and that kills ferrets very quickly. And if they are liking my ferrets they will be going mad for my hawk and i've found fox poo outside his aviary as well.

Is there anything that can deter them coming into the garden at night similar to all the varying cat deterents? I don't own a shotgun/rifle so shooting them isn't an option and I really don't want to spend a fortune on fox traps.

Alledgedly you peeing were you don't want them works.

You can get away with that in the countryside but I think my neighbours would be a bit concerned if I did that in front of my terraced house in Lewisham :o

Cheers Puff lol. My dogs obviously pee all over the garden (I clear their crap up immediately though) and so their scent isn't putting off the foxes. I'm not sure I want to pee all over the patio where the ferret cage is!

A decent air rifle should dispatch of most foxes

I very much doubt an air rifle would do the ones round here:

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/521307/thu...-FOX-570.jpg?4

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._in_kent_3.jpg

And yes I have seen one as big as a German Shepherd, I was walking my dogs through the orchards and it run across in front of me and it's size took me a bit by surprise.

Jaysus, thats hell of a fox!

I kid you not that is the size they get to here. I don't know why Kent seems to be a hotspot for these big ones but there are plenty about that big. You don't need to go to Africa for big game hunting :lol1:

that is bloody massive...my cats chase foxes out of the garden but I think that thing would make short work of them. Good luck OP.

WTF :eek::eek:

You'd something more like a shotgun to get rid of something that big!

Have you looked at those high pitched sirens that deter animals, find a chicken farmer to chat to id imagine they would have some good ideas,

Bet they never got that big when you were allowed to hunt them...

lol. They still hunt them around here all under the guise of drag hunting just as all the other hunts across the country do.

Get in contact with a local vermin control. They will put down bait, then shoot them for you.

I reckon Kent foxes have been living too close to the nuclear plant....:eek:

Like this one? ;)

http://files.myopera.com/Words/blog/...2106106498.jpg

Can't think of anything short of a shot gun myself.

Les

Decent rifle, Les.

Licensed vermin eliminators will have one.

I'm a chicken farmer :) But my only idea is a .22 rifle which is what I use. Shotguns are going to be pretty crap on something like that unless you're using 3" 00 shot size, and even then you'd have to be quite close. You can cleanly kill a fox at 100 yards with a rifle. Regardless, I'm guessing guns are totally out of the equation for you so I would listen to the advice from fellow townies. :lol1: :thumb:

1 idea though is a big fox trap. I put a dead chicken in mine as bait and change the chicken every weak. Caught only 1 fox in it this year; haven't really had much of a problem with them this year. Once you've caught one, then you'd have to call someone out to kill it. Or do it yourself if you have the tools...

Yes I understand the need for a rifle rather than a shot gun.

You need to be a decent shot though.

Les

Most vermin exterminators are that.