Neighbour cultivating fox den

[Sunnyday14558]

Our neighbour has actively been getting foxes to nest in her garden. We live on the outskirts of a city so I’m not entirely sure why she’s luring them into a semi detached property from woodland half a mile away. Anyhow, we now have a family living in her garden and the noise at night is keeping us awake. We have two children under 4 and have found a dead rat in their play area and fox poo all over the lawn. The patio also stinks from fox wee so we can’t open our windows downstairs. I literally have no idea what to do as we’ve tried fox deterrents before and nothing seems to work. I want to confront her about it but I’m pretty sure she’ll accuse me of being mean to the foxes. A someone please give me some thoughts on how to approach this? Is encouraging foxes to live in an urban garden really kind for them? I ask because it sounds like they’re ripping each other apart at night with the fighting.

Then your dog should be on a lead.

And I say that as the owner of two dogs.

This is not your neighbour's fault.

You dog should not be anywhere near your neighbour's garden in the first place.

It should either be on a leash when you walk them or at home/in your garden with no means of escaping.

It is just poor dog ownership on your part and nothing to do with your neighbours!

Don't think foxes are classed as vermin tbh. They're just wild animals.

😂 oh I remember that one! Batshit people around!

as an aside
onnlocal news this week there was woman who opens her windows during the heatwave and pigeons built a nest on the spare bed. AND SHE LET THEM MOVE IN 🤢she now shares a house with pigeons and it turns my stomach typing it

YANBU

I have an idea that the smell of men's urine will keep them away, and you might be able to sort your own perimeter spraying, but I don't know quite how you'd get it into your neighbour's garden.

You should never give proper mange medicine to foxes unless you can ‘target feed’. It is calculated by weight so could harm other animals.

Yeah I live in a city suburb and loads of people do this, post videos of them hand feeding them!. I don't think most people realise just how many diseases and parasites they carry, many of which can be passed on to the family dog, and humans. I've handled sick foxes, they are usually absolutely covered in fleas and lice.

What nonsense!

Simply putting out food for foxes doesn't lead to "wildlife attacking humans because they have no natural fear anymore". The "danger" comes if people try to handheld or pet foxes - but even then, the main danger is to the foxes who may think that all humans are friendly and give them food...and that doesn't end well for the foxes. There are vanishingly few cases of foxes attacking humans in this country (ie where foxes don't suffer from rabies, which does make animals behave aggressively).

And structural damage to houses? Come on!

You let your dog out unsupervised when your garden is not secure, but your neighbour is the selfish one?

Why was your dog in someone else's garden and off their lead in a residential area?

If you include roads and car parks as well as housing, less than 10% of the UK is built on.

I can only think that people that think mankind has built on/destroyed every piece of land don't leave their street very often.

Yes, your menfolk need to pee around your garden, sorry.

Interesting case, as you aren’t allowed to interfere with a bird nest. I have no idea what the correct protocol is when they nest somewhere so unreasonable!

The only reason fox charities say don't feed foxes is because it increases the risk of harm to them from idiotic nasty humans.

It makes them less fearful of humans and more of a risk to them!

It's not nonsense. Foxes frequently attack and kill pets in gardens. And I didn't say it wasn't rare that they attack humans but when they do it's usually infants so for that reason alone people shouldn't be encouraging them into urban areas even if you don't care about pet cats, rabbits, guinea pigs or chickens being killed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21399709

https://www.bbc.com/news/10251349

https://news.sky.com/story/fox-could-have-ripped-baby-to-pieces-in-attack-at-familys-home-11250657

And of course it's not nonsense that wildlife can cause structural damage to homes with setts or burrows.

Foxes more with sheds, porches and decking. Badgers can fuck the foundations of your house.

https://vergo.uk/pest-facts/problems-badgers-can-cause/#:~:text=Structural%20Damage,a%20risk%20to%20property%20stability.

"Badger setts are complex and extensive, sometimes stretching hundreds of metres. When built under or near buildings, these tunnels can lead to subsidence, cracked walls, or uneven floors, posing a risk to property stability"

They are not a risk to your children. They also don't kill for fun. If they kill surplus prey, it is with the intention of returning to retrieve it and eat it.

Poisoning wildlife instead of fox-proofing your pet's habitat, otoh, does make you a murderous bastard.

You may be technically correct. But also true is the fact we are over populated. That we have built on far more land than we should have done. In doing so we have encroached on other species. We have land that cannot be built on. Land used for farming and agriculture. Land for landfill sites.

We do not own the planet. We share it with other species. Or should try to do so.

In a few thousand years, foxes will evolve into foxdogs.

Humans probably had this kind of conversation when prehistoric neighbours were buddying up with wolves.

In the past I have found this works to deter cats, but do not currently have a man who would agree to such behaviour. all very proper

At the risk of sounding flippant, bet you any money you’d have a queue were you to advertise the need 🤣
Both my sons went through a ‘wild wee’ stage. We had a 3 storey house and they’d go all the way down to the back garden and out, passing toilets on the way.

My neighbour has foxes living in her garden and i love it when they come into ours! It's so cute to see their cubs and they often sunbathe on our lawn. We don't experience any issues with them.

I would be thrilled if this happened to me! Pigeons are awesome.