Neighbour cultivating fox den

Once had a neighbour who did this, she even asked us to feed them when she went on holiday. Can attest to the motion sensor water sprayer working well.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner When badgers cause significant damage to a lawn it's usually because they are looking for leatherjackets (crane fly larvae) or chafer grubs. These will also damage the lawn by weakening the roots. Keeping your lawn well aerated will help prevent them & I think you can also get a nematode treatment for them. Badgers snuffling for worms (the bulk of their diet) usually do minimal or no damage, they just suck them up from close to the surface like spaghetti!

Came in from my garden to a fox sleeping on. My bed. I dont know who was more shocked. It happened twice. I like foxes but I didnt want one in my house.phone an expert I thinks its selfish of her but her garden her choice. The noise is awful in mating season but we cant eradicate even inconvenience. Try gox proofing yours. Sorry neighbours can be awful.

Rats can be trapped, as can foxes, wild rabbits, squirrels, and even dogs if you so wish. You must check the traps daily and humanely kill any grey squirrels you catch, but you can trap them. I have no idea where you're getting this information from, but you are being badly misinformed. You cannot use kill traps in case a protected wild animal or pet gets caught in them, but that has nothing at all to do with what type of animal you're wishing to trap and whether they legally qualify as vermin.

If you don't know the answer to an OP, it is OK not to reply, you know? Or Google, ask ChatGPT, read some books...

Traps being illegal is completely separate from the question of verin- even rats , or squirrels can no longe be trapped legally.

They do not qualify as vermin; therefore, the councils are under no obligation to do anything to remove or prevent foxes.

As it is illegal to poison foxes and traps must be checked daily to prevent suffering since they are not vermin, there is very little the council could do anyway, not unless OP is in a council house, then she could appeal to them to fox-proof her garden but they don't have to do this because again foxes are not vermin.

https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/environment-recycling-and-waste/pest-control/foxes

https://www.spelthorne.gov.uk/page/1056/urban-fox

https://www.ipswich.gov.uk/environmental-health/urban-foxes

Just so we are 100% clear for those who struggle with reading skills, foxes are not vermin.

Talk to the Environmental Health department of your council- foxes are no longer hunted but they still qualify as vermin- get it sorted out.

I would much rather have foxes as neighbours than some of my human neighbours....
On #TeamFox though I don't feed them and only see them occasionally they have been seen in the city centre - welcome to the rats and rabbits round here. Kept guinea pigs outside for years in a Fort Knox padlocked hutch, only out in a secure run while people about and a water pistol to deter cats. Only pet incidents I heard of were kids stealing my mates guinea pigs and setting fire to a rabbit hutch... Hedgehogs more often eaten by badgers as foxes have relatively weak jaws - see Running with the Fox by David MacDonald and Urban Foxes by Stephen Harris, both big fox researchers

Foxes are a native species and are essential to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Their numbers are rapidly declining. If rabies does come to the UK (which is a big if given the protections we have in place to prevent this), it won't have the result you seem to want. It will cost a lot of taxpayers' money to cure, however.

There is absolutely 0% chance a native species would be culled into extinction because some intellectually challenged members of the public cannot understand the difference between media hyperbole and reality, rabies or no rabies.

There is a much higher chance that foxes will become a protected species.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why you wouldn’t just talk to your neighbour. At least as a first step.

well where was the food and whose garden was your dog in?

And it's ony a matter of time before rabies makes it into this country. I hope that these crazy fox lovers will change their views then.

Not if the OP's neighbour is already giving them enough food to eat.

You are suggesting illegal cruel methods. I hope you reap what you sow. Disgusting. You’re what you’re saying the foxes are. Reported for suggesting poisoning wildlife.

Yes yes yes!!! 👏🏼

Oh ffs. Such ignorance here. Foxes do NOT attack babies. You’ve been reading the Sun again. It’s absolutely NONE of your business what your neighbours do in THEIR garden. Get a hobby.

Also to anyone struggling with allowing foxes to co exist
there is a company called FOXAGON who will help move them on , humanely and without resulting to shooting or poisoning
I don’t know their costs but they are very good And have a excellent reputation

Gosh people like you make me sick
we take over their habitat and leave them with no where to live and they get ill hungry and look for somehwhwre to live their natural lives.
they have as much right to live as we do , you do get that right ?
foxes will actually help keep the rat population down by the way
you could always use male pee around your borders they don’t like that
but how about live and let live , your neighbour is a lovely person trying to help wildlife actually have a life
I mean I’m sure you’re happy to make noise and let your kids make noises as you should be , just like they should be allowed too aswell
I would suggest leaving a bowl of water out for wildlife during the heatwave but I can see you’re not that emphatic type of person

Our home backs onto a nature reserve, so foxes are common. I only leave a bowl of water out for them at night, when it's extremely hot (which isn't usually very often). Others in our area feed them, so we often find the lawn or flower beds dug up because they're burying the food.

Try a fox rehabilitation charity to see if they have any advice. Have you blocked up any access into your garden, although foxes can dig, and if they're determined enough, they'll come in.

Feeding foxes encourages them into urban areas. They are able to survive within their own natural habitat. It also makes them reliant on humans, they start to have no fear of them either.

Well if humans take over all natural inhabitants land, then we share more and more space with our wildlife counterparts.

Foxes are beautiful and should be seen as so. You don't want them then use a natural deterrent as advertised on here, please don't hurt them. They have a hard life as it is.

With respect to collapsing tunnels (or blocking dens) this should only be done if you are sure that the den is not in use. It's illegal to block or destroy an active den (Animal Welfare Act 2006).

I think instances of foxes attacking humans are so vanishingly rare that it's not worth worrying about.

The solution in my opinion is to get very extensive video evidence and take this to the council and ask them to seek an ASBO or equivalent.

The most commonly used mange medication is homeopathic and will do no harm to other animals or wildlife.

I have my doubts as to the effectiveness of this, however it IS kind to treat foxes for mange becuase it causes them to suffer terribly.

It's also possible, though unlikely, that a dog could catch mange, so may be helpful for them too.

If a non homeopathic medication is used it should be in a situation where you can be sure that it will get to the right animal.

I'm not sure why the neighbour should be expected to predict that a dog might snaffle the food. Surely the dog should be supervised unless their own garden is secure?

If, by "something to make sure they don't come back" you are referring to poison, that would be cruel, ineffective and ILLEGAL.

Ineffective because if you remove one or more foxes from their territory others will claim it.

Illegal according to the Animal Welfare Act 2006 as it causes unnecessary suffering.

protectthewild.org.uk/protectors-of-the-wild/foxes-and-the-law/