Fox Combat

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Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 12:03 pm

My house is near a park, and lots of people walk their dogs past on way to said park. Recently a lot of doggy do do started to appear on my front lawn. I kept an eye out and caught someone letting their dog do it, perp ran off, and dog poo was still appearing over next few weeks. So I put up a fence, 3 feet high, all around my front, completely enclosing it. You know what? Dog poo was still appearing in front lawn. Huge amount of anger, fence was hard to put up.

After examining the poo (on a shovel) and comparing to pictures available on Google, I believe it might actually be a fox. After all if someone is opening the gate to let their dog in, or lifting it over the fence, then I am dealing with a psycho, and I really don't want to go there.

Anyone know how to stop a fox crapping on their lawn? I have put down three different kinds of stuff from the DIY shop that is supposed to smell bad and prevent this kind of thing but none of it works.

Note, wife will not let me buy a gun. I think she thinks I might shoot her.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Do you like your neighbours?

Buy a chicken, boil it in a big saucepan of water, take the saucepan of chicken stock, throw it in to next doors garden, fox will now be attracted by the the smell of chicken coming from next door, now it's their problem Twisted Evil

How about sprinkling loads of strong pepper around it's usual spot where it will be sniffing?

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 12:15 pm

I don't know the neighbours, so as a solution I like it a lot. Would a fox eat Rat Poison?

{Edit} I tried pepper, there was a turd on top of it.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 12:44 pm

get a dog that is bigger than the fox...go to a sporting goods store and get some skunk lure. and put a few dabs around you lawn.. foxes useally will steer clear of a skunk.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:03 pm

Moth balls keep cats out of flower beds... don't know if the smell would deter a fox or not.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:16 pm

@ Packman - I hate dogs. Hate. Plus, you don't get too many Skunk lures in West Sussex... Shocked

@ bearkat419 - I like that one, but I think that they might get caught in the lawnmower.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:27 pm

Some deterrent suggestions on here, plus a nice consolation fox calender to hang on your wall if they don't work...

http://www.bexley.gov.uk/service/publicprotection/foxes.html

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:34 pm

West Sussex ... I take it you dont mean sussex massachusetts ...more like go to newwark NJ. and take a left and start swimming.... I would think there isnt to many bass pro shops or gander mountains sporting goods stores around there. Embarassed

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:43 pm

@ Tommo - thanks, that was really helpful.

@ Packman - what are you on about??? Bass we have aplenty (it's a seaside thing), mountains - no, sports shops - yes...

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:43 pm

It's ok, no one really understands packman. We all just smile and nod so he doesn't get angry.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:50 pm

bass pro shops and gander mountain are two big sporting goods chains here in the US. ..I didnt mean to be confusing.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 2:13 pm

^^^ Ah. No worries, thanks for the attempt at help... Very Happy

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 2:36 pm

There's an ultrasonic thing you can get from B&Q. It's a fox repeller. It's supposed to work really well. Some friends of mine bought one to protect their garden as they've got little kids and didn't want to be on constant fox poop patrol either.

I think it was about £30. But they said it was well worth the money.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:03 pm

Get a fake plastic owl.....oops wrong thread...sorry Harry Bawls. Perhaps Harry could send his starlings to West Sussex and they could dive bomb the fox.

I'm in trouble I can understand what Packman always says. Orderly! Oh, Orderly?!

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:28 pm

The ultrasonic repeller is a awesome idea. and if your neighbor has a dog it will drive him crazy... sounds like hours of fun to me Twisted Evil

@Chibuike welcome to my little world, jump right in the jello is fine.. dont be afraid, we will be your friends. Wink

*EDIT* spelling to make reaper happy

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:32 pm

packman wrote:

The ultrasonic repeller is a awsome idea. and if your nabor has..

Please Packman, get a spell checker...

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:33 pm

Yeah I think it works on cats too - so if you have moggies it might not be a good idea...

...our cats don't like citrus and there is a spray you can buy to stop them scratching things - you just spray it on and they seem to leave it alone. Doubt this would work on a lawn though - maybe go down the garden centre and look for citrus smelling plants?

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:33 pm

@ Reaper but that would take all the fun out of it.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 4:13 pm

@ Goldry ~ I mow over them, and it doesn't seem to be a problem, as long as the mower isn't set to the lowest level (I like to keep the grass fairly long to avoid the need to water as often).

Now watch me send one through my kitchen window the next time I mow the lawn.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18313

Regarding the mothball suggestions: It didn't work on skunks AND I found out that they are very very toxic, so be careful if you have kids or dogs.

I've had success with pepper and neighbor dogs, just not regular pepper. I used a whole container of cayenne sprinkled on the ground.

Planting mint is supposed to work to keep lots of animals at bay, but I haven't tried it myself.

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 4:58 pm

I bet its just the same guy lifting his dog over your fence. Fox scat may have berries and fur from small rodents. They love to crap as a marker. They leave their little labors on top of a boulder, along a trail but not on a lawn near a park with lots of people walking by. Have you seen any foxes?

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 5:02 pm

Buy a llama or an alpaca.

Seriously, farmer friend of mine has not lost a single lamb to fox or dog predation since he put a llama in with his sheep and the llama chases them off.

Not really practical for a small suburban garden though Smile

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 7:51 pm

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 12:04 am

Dealing with the furry little bastards once they're in is very difficult. We had 3 of the bloody things clear out our hen-house and also take a dozen ducks and half a dozen geese a couple of years ago. We tried all sorts of remedies but found the only way to stop them was to deny them access.

The best way to sort this out is to sort your fence and gate out and make sure there's no way in for them.

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 12:20 am

Send 'em here. My family loves foxes. We get tons of wildlife coming through the woods behind our house, and at least the foxes don't eat our garden like the groundhogs do.