to beg you for your fox solutions

[WinterDeWinter]

We live in London in an area which seems to have a lot of foxes - they run around the streets quite happily during the day, and fox-shit/piss in the garden has always been a problem. I hate, really hate the smell.

We have a dog who goes nuts when she sees them in the garden at night and seems tense all evening, waiting for that to happen.

Recently one fox has started walking along our garden fence multiple times per night, right up to our big doors. It's like it's taunting us and her! It's pissing on everything, especially just outside the doors, and now that spring is coming opening them in the day lets the smell into the house.

Has ANYONE had any success with any kind of repellant?

I don't want to put curtains up (am quite uptight about the look of the room haha) but will probably have to bite the bullet

DH sprinkled his urine on the fence yesterday - fox did not GAF last night.

I feel slightly torn because they're such beautiful creatures and when I see one out of the street I do gasp at the fairy tale magic of it, a bit.

Visit a hen house after they have killed all the coop just for sport, the magic would soon vanish.

A pair of lakeland terriers and a dog flap, so the dogs can get in the garden whenever the foxes are present.

I never had a fox in my garden until my last lakie died, within 6 weeks of losing her, the foxes were in my garden.

It’s true - they don’t like strong smells. We had one very persistent fox at a previous house. Nothing worked until eventually we doused the area in loads of vinegar and he never came back!

No because it's an incredibly stressful death and is primarily about humans taking pleasure in the killing. Also, not many hunts used to go through Zone 3.

It's not, and why do you think they're coming from the countryside into urban areas? The schools? Overpopulation in the countryside.

Nothing apart from the passing of time worked for us I'm afraid. Tried so many things. A few years of them fighting for territory in our back garden. Destroying fences, kids play equipment, multiple piles of increasingly liquid poo. I had to hose (and sometimes bleach) patio areas before the kids could go out. Scoop stuff off the grass. But then it just sort of stopped. Maybe one died. We still have a fox that comes regularly that occasionally poos but nothing like we've dealt with in the past. I hate urban foxes with a vengeance. Fearless, mangy, everywhere. Cost us a lot of money replacing fence panels multiple times. (And before anyone says 'probably badgers' it was definitely the foxes).

We have foxes who come to our garden every night & lounge around on the grass. They don't leave any mess but do bring random items such as toys, shoes & plastic bottles which I need to tidy away. I don't mind them as they do help control the rodent population so I'd rather they stay nearby! Appreciate this doesn't help you & especially if neighbours feed them. But they do play a vital role in controlling mice and rats which I think people forget!

Not in London, but we feed them and although they play, they don’t seem to use our land near the house as a toilet. So try feeding them. 😅

I got one called The Big Cheese Jet Spray. It's been very effective!

Yes I know, that's another reason that I'm torn. And actually the magic bit is to do with seeing them in the city, a kind of unexpected wildness - in the countryside they seem more bog standard predator

Thanks for this @DeathBy1000PipeCleaners I've ordered it from Amazon now and I'm inwardly rubbing my thighs in anticipation. Blood's up, you fuckers!

But they do play a vital role in controlling mice and rats which I think people forget!
@Nothinglefttosaynow that is a very good point and does help me be more sanguine. I am positively phobic about rats and I know that they have been an issue in the general area, I think because of the age of the drains <shivers>

One came up a friend's loo bend and if that isn't domestic terror I don't know what is.

I hate to say this OP but the only thing that worked for us (also Zone 3) was getting an exterminator in to shoot the foxes. We were utterly overrun, there were 2 separate dens in some rough land by the end of our garden, and some of the bloody neighbours were feeding them.
Had the fox guy out, he trapped & killed 3 of them, humanely with a shotgun.
Only thing that worked.
I am an animal lover but it was a horrendous health hazard. We tried all other options but the foxes were just laughing at us

Oh god. I'm not sure I could bear it though I can completely understand why you did.

But yes, it does feel like they're laughing at us when they come up to the window. I've said before that you can almost see it's little middle finger https://tenor.com/view/meme-fox-middle-finger-funny-middle-finger-gif-gif-27093691

I hate them due to their shit which ddog invariably eats at least once a week 🤮

And one has also caught a rat and left it in my garden, luckily I got to that before ddog.

How does everyone know it is foxes? Not saying it never is but other animals can cause damage to lawns and football nets - badgers and moles like the former and magpies like the latter.

One fox is nothing compared to a litter of baby ones. The damage cubs can do is just unbelievable.

And you can tell it's foxes from the smell.

I had this problem too.

Tried lion poo, male urine and they didn’t work.

Dug up the blackberry brambles which helped as I suspect that they were a good source but there was a bloody neighbour was left food out so the problem was permanent 🤬

We've had baby foxes & they've never damaged anything so I think we must be lucky! The ?mum brings them at about 8pm for a play & DD loves watching them from the window. They have brought dog toys etc into the garden & ran around chasing eachother but never damaged anything or left any mess. I wonder if they don't mess where they sleep/play maybe? Genuinely never had any issues with them they just have a run around & keep to themselves. And they are very cute when they're tiny!

Human hair tied in little bags (old tights?) I'm sure Hugh FW did this to protect his chickens from foxes.

Befriend a hairdresser and get some hair!

Not sure the neighbours would take kindly to being shot with a water pistol
Carbolic soap. Grate it down and then spread the grated soap around the perimeter fence. Spread it thinly. Don't put it around the roots of tender plants as they won't appreciate it!

I sprinkled lemon essential oil (a few pounds from any health food shop) down on the garden path and this seemed to keep them away. Apparently they don't like the smell of lemon/citrus. They were pooing by the door and this hasn't happened since I did this.

Because they will stare you dead in the eye. They don't give a shit. Well, they do, and they leave it all over the garden, and the smell is unmistakeable, definitely not a mole.

Live in the country and the fuckers fox comes in broad daylight after my chickens. Nothing works except bang bang you're dead