Foxes living under our decking

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Permalink Reply by JP on March 1, 2013 at 12:24

I would proceed with caution. If you get rid of the foxes it won't be long before something else — probably rats — move in. The foxes will at least eat vermin, slugs and other pests. Rats have no redeeming qualities

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Permalink Reply by Nualapuli on March 1, 2013 at 12:44

Thanks JP - hadn't actually thought of that aspect. Just find the piles of soil and fox poo a bit of a hazard with my small son, but foxes definitely preferable to rats.....

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Permalink Reply by Stuart on March 1, 2013 at 13:56

Land mines. What's not to like?

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Permalink Reply by Alison P on March 1, 2013 at 15:23

We had some foxes living in an old garden shed behind us and it was a bit of a nightmare, so I really sympathise. It's impossible to keep them but I did everything I could to make access harder, and eventually they stopped coming in so much.

Do you think they are burrowing under the deck (in my garden there was a rotten fence post they found really attractive) or do you think they are trying to create a den? If so, I think I read somewhere that they don't like wet spaces, so keeping it really wet might be one option? At least til the den making season is over at least.

I had a friend who had foxes living in her garden. She loved it but it drove her neighbours up the wall (I'd be among them to be honest).

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Permalink Reply by tulips on March 1, 2013 at 17:05

Foxes will keep rats away. The design of decking means some type of animal will want to go under it. Foxes had a den in my neighbour's garden and they weren't any trouble. They tend to run away when humans are about and in my experience they are frightened of cats. Foxes burrowed a route under my neighbour's fence through to my garden. I used to keep filling it in and then I thought why bother, it wasn't doing any harm, and they'd only burrow again in the same place. You can't remove the risk of fox poo in your garden unless you barrier foxes out of your garden altogether, not just the decking area. It's almost impossible to prevent foxes entering your garden at all, and in any event, cats can still enter and do their business. Fox poo will be done in your garden at night, so I quickly check my garden in the morning for any mess and don't often find any.

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Permalink Reply by Lucy Fielding on March 5, 2013 at 18:15

Hi Nualapuli,

I love foxes and see them as an asset to the UK's wildlife and I can understand perfectly if you would prefer they live somewhere other than underneath your decking. There are a few humane tips here on The Fox Project Website together with a helpline number: 

The Fox Project

They agree that the ultrasonic box doesn't deter them and recommend a scarecrow water squirting type thing among other suggestions.

"For more information call our Fox Deterrence Helpline on 01892 826222. For a free general information leaflet or for our book, “Unearthing the Urban Fox” (price £7.95), please call our Admin Office on 01892 824111. To discuss on-site, call-out consultancy services call Fox-a-Gon on 0208 925 9639 and www.fox-a-gon.co.uk, Humane Urban Wildlife Deterrence on 01732 357355 and enquiries@jbryant.co.uk or Foxolutions on 0844 804 0630 and www.foxolutions.co.uk, from the latter of which the most effective deterrents may be purchased."

All the best. 

 

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Permalink Reply by Nualapuli on March 6, 2013 at 18:15

Hi Lucy

Thanks so much for the information. I do like watching them, just get fed up with all the piles of earth & food all over the lawn & their speciality, which seems to be pooing on deck & then licking the glass doors....I've never come across this site before so really delighted to find it. Thanks again.

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