Health/Garden/Pre-schooler/Animal thread

[poppynic]

Not sure quite where this fits but - our garden has a large tree at the back which has a thick carpet of pine-needle type thingies and dirt and pigeon and squirrel droppings and now fox spraying and poohing. The tree is very large and doesn't admit much rain at the base.

It's a favourite place for 4 year old ds to use his digger, make "mud pies" etc.

I'm torn between the enjoyment ds gets from playing there and the possibility of illness from all the pooh? Last summer I let him go for it but with the addition of foxes to our "wildlife" I'm getting a bit more wary about it? What do you think? Is there any way to clean it up or am I being ott?

I don't want to do any real alterations because it is a rented property and we will be leaving at the end of the summer.

Also, yesterday there were two foxes hanging out in the garden and I think they may have a den under the house. How close would ds have to be to their den before they got threatened about their cubs?

[luciemule]

I would certainly be worried about the proximity of the foxes and contact your local council or RSPCA for advice or landlord actually as it's their house.
If it were me, I'd be worried about the pigeon poo too. Pigeons are not clean birds and they carry all sorts of diseases (in particular Newcastle's Disease, although outbreaks in this country are rare). They are classed as vermin and you could also ask your council about the possibility of culling them. Also with the threat of bird flu in the wild bird flocks, I wouldn't risk him playing with bird poo.
As for your DS playing around the tree, maybe fill a sand pit with soil for his diggers instead!