foxes at home in my garden - should I be worried about these diseases?

[vannah]

We have foxes in our garden and theyre just laying about during the day, devouring birds on our lawn and soiling the garden.
Apparently they carry these diseases: Toxocariasis ( a type of roundworm), Weil?s disease,Hydatid disease, fleas and ticks among others...

have a 2 year old and 4 yr old. Nobody seems to be worried except me. DH says they are everywhere so we shouldnt worry about the children playing in the garden.

A local gardener thinks theyre great because they deter rats/mice.

Should I be less anxious about these diseases? They were after all mentioned on a website that sells (expensive) products to control foxes.

thankyou

I don't think you should be any more worried about them than about cat poo, which you'll find in most gardens. Your children won't be petting them, so the ticks and fleas shouldn't get a chance to be passed across - I don't think they leave one critter before jumping onto another.

But you should make sure your children wash their hands thoroughly when they come in from the garden, whether it's foxes or cats or birds that are pooping in your garden.

thankyou muminscotland.

..well if they have worms the rain can wash the eggs into the soil and can be picked up by kids playing in the garden.

Ticks are very easy to pick up, we have a lot of deer in our fields and have to be very careful to check for ticks on animals and humans.