Page 2 | Foxes in neighbour's abandoned garden

kingat · 2022-06-09T16:39:45+00:00

Hi all, I am hoping to find some advice on the following problem. We live next to an empty house. The owners live somewhere near, but hardly ever show up. The garden is a jungle, the jungle overgrows into mine, some plant with strong branches grows in between my hedge panels and I am worried it will get damaged. For some time now I suspected foxes live there, there was so much rumbling in the evening, but today I saw two, in the afternoon? they looked young and not scared of me at all, but I am scared of them!!! I have young child and summer is coming and now I am worried about my DC being alone in the garden for a sec. What if a group of them attacks us. What can I do????

foxlover47 · 09/06/2022 19:14

I feed our local ones every night , beautiful they are ... the key is a healthy respect , I'm not inviting them into the house I feed them
And let them eat and go , if they get lame or Ill with mange I will contact the fox man on fb ( the fox rescuers ) send a little donation and he will send out the medication to add to their dinner , happy foxes happy me
Sometimes they will lay in the garden , they seem to like to be about and are happy healthy foxes
They won't be wanting to come and eat your child ,

HundredMilesAnHour · 09/06/2022 19:17

This reply has been deleted

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

Stop scaremongering. Honestly, some people! 😡

Lindy2 · 09/06/2022 19:18

I think you're getting foxes confused with packs of wolves. 😂

Leave the foxes to do their thing and I'm sure they'll stay well away. We have some that come in our garden at dusk. They are lovely to watch and very timid. I have to stay very silent and still or they run away.

Perhaps you could teach your DC to watch them from inside and learn a little bit about nature. They may well enjoy it and so might you.

vodkaredbullgirl · 09/06/2022 19:22

🙄100 miles.

Barleysugar86 · 09/06/2022 19:24

Our row of houses had ongoing mice problems- foxes moved in and suddenly we've not had any. We've also noticed we no longer have those giant spiders that like to roam our house in September.

They are great pest control and I'm very grateful for them. They are not vicious in any way, I walk past them all the time around peoples drives and they just watch us go past without a care.

DorritLittle · 09/06/2022 19:24

We have foxes living at the bottom of our garden. They keep themselves to themselves, have babies and remind me they are there with their banshee screech when mating. I moved here with a baby and have had numerous kids playing in my garden. I have never considered them a threat. Also my cats barely look up when we hear them!

RomanceOnARooftop · 09/06/2022 19:25

Foxes are beautiful. We feed them and have cameras set up so we get to watch them play and see their babies. Just leave them.

Marblessolveeverything · 09/06/2022 19:25

Foxes are sensible creatures. What a wonderful opportunity to teach your children about natural wildlife. We have visiting foxes, the kids were taught early on to say hello Mr fox loudly which tended to encourage Mr Fox to avoid the noisy kids.

stripesorspotsorwhat · 09/06/2022 19:27

My relative lives in Colorado. They sometimes get wolves in their garden at night, and they once had a mountain lion on their drive. Now that is something to be concerned about.

Little foxes - nope.

vodkaredbullgirl · 09/06/2022 19:28

Someone I know has foxes in their garden, they get fed better than him lol. They come back every year with their cubs.

Foxfeeder · 09/06/2022 19:31

As so many PP have said, most foxes will run at the first sight or sound of you. There have been very rare attacks which the media love to hype but the risk is very small. We currently have 6 visiting adults who come singly or occasionally as a mated pair - only one will stay in the garden when we are outside but she will run if you get too close to her. If you saw young ones then they may not have developed a fear of humans yet - but it will come very soon. They are very curious so tell your child never to corner them and your child will be fine.

They will run away with things that are left in the garden, and the poo is annoying - but the hedgehogs probably leave more around.

OldTinHat · 09/06/2022 19:36

I'll swap you 10 foxes for a rat?

ElenaSt · 09/06/2022 19:40

Foxes are territorial and you need to show the fox family next door that you won't tolerate them in your area.

Either you or your husband or perhaps both need to dress up as a fox (see photo) and walk around near the fence that separates you and your neighbour making fox like sounds.

This will cause the foxes to move to another neighbourhood.

Soubriquet · 09/06/2022 19:45

A man also needs to wee around the borders of the garden whilst wearing the costume and making fox sounds. That will deter them even more.

Seriously though, I think male urine around the border of your garden really does deter them

Nat6999 · 09/06/2022 19:46

There are foxes at my mum's, never stopped us playing in the garden, they don't come near if anyone is around.

LadyEloise1 · 09/06/2022 19:55

In 2010 twin 9 month old girls were attacked as they slept in their cots near Hackney in London. A young fox had gotten in through an open door.
The following year a young boy was attacked in the same area. He was asleep on the third floor of his home.
I don't trust foxes. They carry mange and two dogs very near us have caught mange. If your little one is crawling in your garden might she pick it up ?
Foxes live at the bottom of our garden. I have put in an anti fox sonar repellent- it didn't work. Nor did Scoot, an anti fox formula you mix with water and spray where they live or access the garden.

BasiliskStare · 09/06/2022 19:56

I live in an urban area and on our doorbell camera have seen Monsieur Reynard coming down to snuffle round the bins. I think if you as others have said make sure there is no food outside or double bag your rubbish - they won't tend to bother you. Where I am a fox will run away from you if it sees you from several hundred paces. We tried the double bagging of bins and thus far my DH has not had to wee outside once. ( Others may have had different experiences, ) 😀

HundredMilesAnHour · 09/06/2022 20:03

Foxfeeder · 09/06/2022 19:31

As so many PP have said, most foxes will run at the first sight or sound of you. There have been very rare attacks which the media love to hype but the risk is very small. We currently have 6 visiting adults who come singly or occasionally as a mated pair - only one will stay in the garden when we are outside but she will run if you get too close to her. If you saw young ones then they may not have developed a fear of humans yet - but it will come very soon. They are very curious so tell your child never to corner them and your child will be fine.

They will run away with things that are left in the garden, and the poo is annoying - but the hedgehogs probably leave more around.

Actually the very rare attacks (3 times in 11 years to be precise) reported in the media were ALL suspected to be nothing to do with foxes.

No coincidence that after these 2 of these "fox attacks" the family dog disappeared without trace a few days later.

And in the 3rd "attack", the family changed their story on a daily basis and never provided a credible explanation as to why their door (front or back, depending on which day they were asked) was left wide open on a freezing night. You might, for instance, need to leave it open to allow the family dog in and out… if you had a dog… But the family said the door was missing because they had been waiting for the council to fix it. Now, one would suppose, with a vulnerable baby in the house in sub-zero conditions, the least one might do as a temporary measure would be to tack a piece of hardboard over the gap. What gap? When approached, the council produced confirmation the door had been fixed three weeks before the alleged incident!

HundredMilesAnHour · 09/06/2022 20:07

LadyEloise1 · 09/06/2022 19:55

In 2010 twin 9 month old girls were attacked as they slept in their cots near Hackney in London. A young fox had gotten in through an open door.
The following year a young boy was attacked in the same area. He was asleep on the third floor of his home.
I don't trust foxes. They carry mange and two dogs very near us have caught mange. If your little one is crawling in your garden might she pick it up ?
Foxes live at the bottom of our garden. I have put in an anti fox sonar repellent- it didn't work. Nor did Scoot, an anti fox formula you mix with water and spray where they live or access the garden.

Please read my post above. These "fox attacks" were nothing to do with foxes. Stop believing the gutter press. Great headlines but not true. The truth doesn't make such a good headline though.

HundredMilesAnHour · 09/06/2022 20:10

"They carry mange and two dogs very near us have caught mange. If your little one is crawling in your garden might she pick it up?"

You can't pick up mange from crawling in a garden. FFS.

RedWingBoots · 09/06/2022 20:10

They won't attack you. Just make a loud noise and they will go away.

Your biggest problems are:

Pooing in your garden - it fucking stinks.

Stealing toys, shoes and clothes you leave out to play with. If you get them back they smell foul and are often chewed.

The bloody racket they make in the night. It can sound like an clucking noise or screaming.

Bouncing or lying on your trampoline for fun - if you have one in your garden.

In terms of the branches and weeds coming through the fence - just cut them back to the boundary and throw them over your fence into your neighbour's garden. Since they aren't there for you to offer them back that's all you can do.

RedWingBoots · 09/06/2022 20:14

LadyEloise1 · 09/06/2022 19:55

In 2010 twin 9 month old girls were attacked as they slept in their cots near Hackney in London. A young fox had gotten in through an open door.
The following year a young boy was attacked in the same area. He was asleep on the third floor of his home.
I don't trust foxes. They carry mange and two dogs very near us have caught mange. If your little one is crawling in your garden might she pick it up ?
Foxes live at the bottom of our garden. I have put in an anti fox sonar repellent- it didn't work. Nor did Scoot, an anti fox formula you mix with water and spray where they live or access the garden.

Not one dog in my area, where my family and friends live has got mange from foxes.

I've lived in an area with foxes for over 20 years.

If you are so scared of them just get a cat - they will leave your garden alone or only try to sneak in if they think your cat isn't about.

Now you are going to say you are scared of cats.

Terfydactyl · 09/06/2022 20:47

Ah I realise you are scared, but I've lived on my street for years now and the many foxes run away from movement and/or noise. But they actually live in the forest behind me, they just come to scavenge. Dont leave food out and make noise when you go into your garden and they will stay away.
They really are not dangerous, I suppose if cornered they might bite, so dont corner them.

nottoday300 · 09/06/2022 20:58

We've got foxes living in next doors jungle so far they've nicked my sons Nike trainers (both) my DP work boot (only one)!! The dogs lead, so if you see a fox wearing a pair of Nikes and one workboot with a lead around its neck let me know!!!

kwaziseyepatch · 09/06/2022 21:22

We used to have a vixen live at the other side of our garden wall in our old house. She used to come every night (caught on ring camera). Once I opened the blind and she was on our flat roof inches away from me. She was great pest control as we had a bit of decking and unfortunately our neighbours used to throw all their spoiled apples from their many apple trees onto their open compost heap which used to attract vermin. I liked her being around except for the occasional poo in the garden