To not want to double bag a dead fox

[marryinhaste]

I noticed this morning that the fox I saw "sleeping" in my back garden yesterday is still in the same position, and there's quite a lot of flies buzzing around it.

I called my local authority out of hours number, and was told there's no out of hours service for this (fair enough) but that I should double bag the body and leave it on my driveway for street services to pick it up on Monday. Really? It's a full grown fox, and I couldn't even face going out there to look closely.

I've recently separated from H, and have been facing all the challenges I meet head-on, but this seems a step too far for my bravery! Am I being pathetic? Also, H is being rubbish with contact so unless I want to do it in the dark, the kids will be looking over my shoulder while I do it.

I wouldn't want to either. But if it's on your property and the council won't do it I guess your only options are: leave it there till it's decomposed, do it yourself, or get someone in privately like rentokil? I sympathise, I get the dry heaves just removing mice from traps...no way would I be handling something the size of a rotting fox!

No YANBU, foxes are a blardy nuisance. Do you have any neighbours that might help? I'd do it for a neighbour if they were squeamish.

Any neighbours that could help?

Personally I'd bury it. But then I have a really long garden that ends in a wilderness bit, so I appreciate that burying it might not be practical.

Or do you have any annoying neighbours? Large spade, fling over fence, job done

Ha ha, don't tempt me!

I live in a terraced house, only a little strip of garden so no space to bury it really. I do have a gardener coming on Thursday - maybe he'll take pity on me and help! Don't really want it rotting there for that long, though.

And I thought them shitting all over the garden was a pita...

hellsbells

YANBU!

I really feel for you.

I don't like asking my neighbors for things, but I think I might have to ask for help with this. (I know I couldn't do it)

YANBU I definitely couldn't go near it.
Maybe call the gardener, tell him what's happened and ask if he could do it, today.
I'd pay a lot of money to get rid of it!

Blardy foxes! We have so many urban foxes here - shit everywhere, chewed up a lovely new top of mine, but at least no dead ones to dispose of so far.

Got any intrepid teenagers nearby who would help?!

If you leave it for a few days you will be surprised by how quickly other foxes, carrion eaters come and dispose of it to the point where the bones and fur are left which are much easier to deal with.

It will stink though!

I get it all here - came back from holiday 2 years ago to find a fox had had 4 cubs under my garden shed. That was slightly more pleasant than this. But yes, the poo drives me mad.

I do have a (slightly nutty) neighbour with a teenage son - she doesn't look the type to be wimpy about this!

I would get a company out asap. One died somewhere near us in the summer and it absolutely stank for about a month. Really ville. We all looked in our gardens but couldn't find the damn thing!

You probably won't want to leave it. Unless there is an obvious injury than it probably died of disease (especially out in the open) and it'll attract all types of rodents and insects.

We had a man we would send to customers who found dead animals, so your vet might have something similar, bit they did charge. Otherwise, put two pairs of disposable gloves on, and some bin bags. Lie one bag next to the fox (not open - just how it comes off the strip) and use a spade to move the body onto the bag. Wrap using the rest of the bag, as tightly as you can, pick up and put in two already opened bags.

It's not too bad that way.

I'm laughing at the vision of dead foxes raining down in the neighbours garden.

On a serious note, what is the weather forecast near you? It's meant to freeze here tonight, so I would wait until it's frozen over night, which will make it easier to pick up and keep the flies down. Put rubber gloves on and get it in the bag as quick as you can.

Not nice thing to have to do, I feel for you OP

Stick it on Freecycle - amateur taxidermy project .

If you do decide to have a go at it yourself, make sure you slide its back end into the bag first so that if anything is "expelled" in the process, it will go into the bag and not all over you/your lawn. I would turn the bag inside out, put my hand inside and use the bag-glove to grab the tail, then pull the fox into the bag and fold the bag down over it. I am used to dealing with this kind of thing though. I managed to bag and move a fully grown Rottweiler by myself once, it was a proud moment...

If the teenage soon is brave, offer him £20 if he bags it and puts it in his your bin. Shocked you rang the council though, what did you expect?

Poor fox

Poor fox? The fox is dead. Poor OP, I say!

Yes, offer the teenager hard cash. Winner all round.

Mrshoarder - I googled and some fox society website said to ring your local authority if you had a dead fox in the garden. I have to call them back on Monday so the street cleaning people come and get it from my driveway, so it seems it was the right thing to do to call them.

Talk of things expelling make me think I will definitely try to bribe teenage boy tomorrow. He and his mum were having a right barney about money last night so it does seem win win!

And Rumple, the Rottweiler is impressive! I think that's why I'm struggling with the thought - it's the size of a dog, and it looks all muscly and dog-like - for some reason that's making me feel really queasy about moving it.

Actually, taxidermy is not a bad suggestion. My mate is a taxidermist and he is always getting rung up about dead animals needing disposal.

He will almost always come and investigate and take it away and stick it in his freezer. No charge! Def worth looking in your phone book for one in your area.

(Although don't leave it too long. The story of the bloated badger who exploded gangerine-like in his car was really one I wish he'd rather not shared.)

There was a decapidated duck lying in my front garden a few weeks ago. One of my neighbours must have lifted it about 3 days after I spotted it. There was NO chance I was going near it. I live in a flat btw. It wasn't pleasant, I couldn't stop looking at it which is very weird.

Merrylegs - thanks for the suggestion. I just looked for local taxidermists, but the nearest was N1 and I am SE London - I'm sure there are hundreds of dead foxes between here and there so it's back to asking neighbour's son.

I'm sure on that Life of Grime tv show they had people to come out and pick up dead animals, and that was central London

Would it be bad to throw petrol on it and burn it...?