I used to go on anti fox hunting demos…

[Justjoinedforthis]

..now I’m actually considering staging a fox hunt in my back garden. I am finding myself so depressed by the daily food waste and fox shit strewn across my garden, as well as them digging in all my pots seemingly just for fun? Does anyone know of any fox repellants that actually work, or do I just need to accept its part of city life and make it part of my routine?
Having another animal issue with mice: they seem to be hip to the traps and poison we leave out, and they keep getting into cupboards and nibbling crackers etc that are for the kids packed lunches, I really can’t afford to keep chucking stuff. Have ordered some food storage containers, but I just want to fuckers to sod off! Do I need to go nuclear and get the sticky traps? I know they are awful and so inhumane, but I keep finding mouse poos in areas the kids play and I just want to destroy them. Any ideas much appreciated for my animal woes.

They can understand emotions. Clearly they don't speak English. But they really do understand kindness. I grew up on a farm. I've had dogs and cats. I think they understand danger, hostility, kindness, gentleness, anger, aggression.

If there is no food available it is not often that mice or foxes for that matter will stay for long

You have to wash the snap traps after you have caught one, the smell of death lingers and puts the mice off.

Male hair in old tights tied around your perimeter fence deters foxes. Less gross than pee but both work. Ask at a barbers.

I’m not “woo” at all, but I’ll try anything at this point! The neighbours will think I’ve lost it though.

Last I looked ( was a while ago) but my local Cats Protection League had a number of semi-feral cats.
They don't need much looking after and usually don't want to come into the house.

A place to hide is what they want and need not much by way of food as the bulk of their diet is rodents . A regular dish of water might be needed though.
Best ask them.

As to foxes... not sure really.
A lockable food caddy might help but foxes round our way now know to knock the caddy over and push the handle.
They're very brazen these days.

Anyone who has ever worked with animals or has had pets will know that they understand us.

@BodGaoithe - yep, never saw a fox until I moved to London. The spine chilling screaming only happens in mating season I think.

Of course they don't understand humans to that degree. They understand that certain sounds mean certain things but the concept of "it's OK to be sad" etc is certainly not going to be understood.

I'm from a farming background and my father can go into a pen with a cow giving birth and calm them down and pull a calf (I won't go into the details of that). The vets won't go in as the cow knows and trusts my father. A kick from a cow can kill. Animals trust people they know.

That little fox is sad. My father once had a cow who lost a calf and in his words she went haywire. She never got over it. Most cows go on to reproduce. This lady didn't.

To think that animals don't feel is a little stupid.

Yeah this noise is a bit different though.
I’d be interested if anyone who knows about foxes is able to say if it is “sad” yelping, or perhaps I am just anthropomorphising the fox because it sounds sad to me.

Try watering diluted Jeyes fluid around in dry weather. The smell is strong and lingers for ages. Don't water over plants, just on paths, on walls, gates and even the road where it sits. If you find that it works, repeat for a month to break its habit of visiting your property.

They can.

It's not a mating sound no.

Yes, sorry, I meant the screaming that sounds like someone being murdered only happens in mating season. What you've got is 'normal' fox screaming.

We emit signals. Hormonal usually and the pets can smell.

Kindness and going down in a non-aggressive pose works well.

They can also tell how dangerous you are. This is why we don't walk up to animals and shoot them. We hunt them.

It's also why police are armed. They think that they're hunting.

Oh yeah totally.
Glad that everyone is in agreement this is bloody weird though. I did think my husband and I might be overreacting to how odd it is.
Even more weirdly, I was home alone for most of the evening last night: no screaming. Husband got back from a work drinks thing in town… fox starts screaming 5 mins later. Spoopy.

Sorry, that was at doublemonkey.

She's blaming your husband lol

She really is. He tried to help!

Maybe I can use this as the basis of some sort of “I know what you did last summer, but a fox” style stalker horror film some day. 😂
Anyway, I must go mark some books. Will report back if I manage to get some non-potato level videos later. Poor little thing, might give it a cat treat for its trouble as well. I don’t think it will make the wailing any worse anyway.

Man wee or male dog wee to mark the territory is the best thing. They don't like the smell of jeys fluid but that's not really sustainable but I do put some on our composting bin.

Make sure there's no sources of food for them. From the woman with a garden full foxes by no man to wee in it.

He might need to be the one to give her her peace!

She's mourning but she's not going to stop,

In her eyes, he killed her baby.

She is calling him out for a fight. This is your fox.

Your fox is saying

'Come out ya bad bastard and fight ME!!!'

That's a loose translation from fox.

I think that the fox thinks that someone in your house killed her baby, She will not leave as it's a serious serious injustice in her eyes. She's grieving longer than foxes usually do perhaps but she won't stop until she dies. Please don't kill her.

Your husband (who she thinks killed her baby) needs to go out and speak to her.

I'm sounding more insane with every post.

Mammy Fox basically thinks that your family killed her baby. She is ready to take you all on and she will. Think of like losing your own baby. Mummy in any version of the animal kingdom is a force to be reckoned with. This Mummy appears to be not willing to forgive.

The fox stares at your house. She is genuinely calling you to come out and face her man-to-man for want of a better phrase.