I hate foxes

[Faciadipasta]

Honestly I HATE them. I mean I know they look sort of nice but they are just awful. I've taken to trying to shoot them with a super soaker like a crazy woman not that it makes any bloody difference.
They scream all night, that horrible noise that sounds like someone being murdered. They have figured out how to get into our 'fox proof' food waste bins so we often go out to see manky bits of food strewn around. And if we manage to keep ours somewhere they can't get to it then a neighbour will have probably forgotten so it will still be up the pavement. We had to stop using the milkman because they figured out how to knock the milk bottles over so the foil lid would be dislodged and then milk would go everywhere and stink, and they'd probably only lick a little bit of it and just leave the rest in a big smelly puddle, they terrorise my poor cat, they dig my grass and they like to mark their territory with diarrhoea. Leaving little pools of it on our stuff. There's a load which has gone partly on the wall, then run down it and pooled at the bottom this morning. Ugh. Any ideas how I can get the little fuckers to bugger off? We've tried those noise things now and they make no difference.
There is a massive problem in this area. If you remember the news story where a fox went into a house and killed a baby a few years back that wasn't far from here...
Help!

I love them and work with a group that looks after and rescues them. We are in an urban environment so see many. I feel privileged to live around them. YABU.

Not sure how anyone can think hunting a terrified animal with a pack of hounds for fun is an acceptable pastime either

I hate them too. They’ve caused so much damage in my garden with ripping up my plants.

I’d love chickens, but alas can’t have them. I’ve seen them during the day too, so no. Bloody urban foxes are a complete pest.

It could be my inner Eastern European in me too.

That’s what they do.

We always put mesh skirts along our fences (underground) to keep foxes out. (In our case that’s along fences of our hen or rabbit’s accommodation).

I love foxes, but I live rurally and they don’t bother us in the house/garden.

And sorry to say it, but foxes don’t kill your hens unless your fences are inadequate. The only time we lost a hen to a fox was when we let a corner of the fence, that was damaged by a horse itching on it, unrepaired and not at full height. I fully blame myself that we lost ten hens.

f you remember the news story where a fox went into a house and killed a baby a few years back that wasn't far from here...

Remember something that didn't happen?

I hope the foxes continue to irritate the shit out of you.

Also not a fan of foxes- callous hunters & spread vermin. Will kill just for the sake of it and leave shit everywhere.

A major part of a foxes diet is dog poo - www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-62135261.amp.

They are getting bolder in cities which is why they get into peoples homes & attack the most vulnerable (usually a baby) for the fun of it. But they look pretty so people get protective over them.

Foxes are territorial so if you physically remove one or shoot it, another will find the 'empty' territory and take over it.

You need to have a 'natural enemy' of the fox in your garden and that is not a dog but one of these will probably do it; bear, mountain lion, wolf or eagle.

Please supply some links to credible "fox enters house and attacks baby" stories

Dogs eat dog shit all the time, kill things then don't eat them and bite kids. And they are all over the place.

Foxes only scream when they are mating so stop exaggerating to make your point OP.

Why would you hate such beautiful creatures?

Because to some of us they are a pest. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Is it ok to say we hate a pest that isn’t ’beautiful’? Do you also tell people off if they say they hate rats/wasps/fleas? They are all creatures that can be perceived as ‘beautiful’ by someone. They can also be pests.

Jesus! OK here's a link to the story

metro.co.uk/2018/02/15/killer-urban-fox-attacks-baby-bouncer-sneaking-family-home-7314171/

If you Google it there are loads more. I can bloody hate them.all I want. I dont hurt them (alrhough sometimes i do bloody thi m about it), nor do I support fox hunting but they are a major pest in cities.
And to the PP who said they only scream when mating - you're wrong. Actually every single night and often in the day as well we have foxes shrieking.

And does that article state that a baby was killed by a fox?

Try for a little more accuracy next time.

Dogs eat dog shit all the time, kill things then don't eat them and bite kids. And they are all over the place.

Not overly enthusiastic about dogs either for the same reasons.

“kill things then don't eat them and bite kids. And they are all over the place.” That’s us surely? We cause so much harm to ourselves and the planet. We are definitely all over the place 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

Much prefer foxes to the fuckers who hunt them !! 🦊
Foxes don’t kill for fun, they will kill all the chickens in an unsecured hutch to cache them for when food is scarce. The only one who kill for fun are the humans who hunt them !!

Absolutely! 🙌🏻

I’m not a huge fan but your complaints seem a bit hypocritical given that you’re a cat owner. I hate our neighbour’s cats crapping all over my vegetable patch and shrieking in the night. I also hate how they terrorise the chickens (and maimed one) so I have to keep them locked up (and no, foxes have never been an issue, just the hateful huge Maine coon cats, mostly because foxes tend not to come into the garden in broad daylight within 10 minutes of my hanging the washing out). I probably won’t get hens again after my current ones die just because it’s so awful having them shut up all the time instead of free ranging. So as far as I’m concerned cats are basically just pet foxes.

Oops @EtonMessy I totally agree.

Do all the fox lovers on this thread feel the same way about rats, mice and pigeons?

Except for size, there's not much difference in the damage they can cause imo.

Would you happily put down food and make space for a lovely rats nest in your gardens?

I know there are rats living under my decking. They eat the nuts and leftovers from the bird table. So do the pigeons. I don't see why their lives mean any less than anything else.

Agree @EtonMessy

You're not correct about the fox killing a baby, OP. That sounds like scaremongering.

I feel quite sorry for urban foxes trying to survive. They're often in poor condition (in my experience) compared to the country dwellers. I've had hens taken before, but I hold no grudge against the foxes who were just following their natural instinct to survive and provide for their young. I had to tighten up security instead including the fence they were gaining access by. You should try that and stop using super soakers especially as the weather is getting colder.

They cannot provide for themselves in the same way the country fox does, and so are driven to scavenge when hungry. They're trying to adapt to a less than ideal environment. Have a little compassion.

@Eggcupy do you have much experience of urban foxes?

The ones where I live (London) are most certainly not unhealthy looking. They are large and plump. They have huge amounts of food which they take from public and householders' bins, local shops and restaurants. They also eat wildlife and fruit and veg from peoples gardens and allotments. Plus lots and lots of people feed them. Some people hand feed them so they have very little fear of humans. I don't feel sorry for them at all.

We removed many lovely large plants in our garden as they were sleeping under them and replaced with smaller ones. We weren't able to really enjoy a paddling pool in our garden this summer as foxes started using it!

They get into my back garden over the top of a 6 foot fence. It wouldn't be possible to build a higher fence, and I don't want to add spikes to it. How do you suggest I stop them coming in?

I think most of the people on this thread who love foxes probably haven't got much experience of London ones tbh.

Eggcupy do you have much experience of urban foxes?

Yes, of course. And there will be exceptions, certainly, as to the condition, depending on many variables.

Big fox fan. No experience of London foxes but surely an urban fox is an urban fox ?