Urban fox

sean67

An urban fox seems to have taken residence in my garden. Should I be pleased or concerned.

Cork24

Neither..

Urban foxes are just as wild as any other fox.. they will come and go..

In England with all the Attacks on kids are from people leaving their Doors and Windows open, so a fox would end up inside the house..

Just Don't End up putting food out for them. if you put food down for them they will not move on, and come Mid Summer when they Mate you will have some concern for safety.. And can only have one outcome someone coming out to shot them or poison them

belcampprisoner

it will keep away mice and rats,

Pretzill

Cork24 wrote: »

Neither..

Urban foxes are just as wild as any other fox.. they will come and go..

In England with all the Attacks on kids are from people leaving their Doors and Windows open, so a fox would end up inside the house..

Just Don't End up putting food out for them. if you put food down for them they will not move on, and come Mid Summer when they Mate you will have some concern for safety.. And can only have one outcome someone coming out to shot them or poison them

I always thought foxes mated in february? Well I have the rural variety nothing as spooky as their cries on a cold misty evening

Cork24

Feb - May they Mate,

OP, i wouldnt be concerned to much again just don't feed the fox. just keep an eye out i wouldn't have concern about the fox getting aggressive as they are shy animals and more then likely once he see's you he will run away.

ABajaninCork

In London, they're an absolute menace! I've seen foxes trotting about by the Tower of London (amongst other places!) in broad daylight large as life, twice as natural and as bold as brass!! They're not scared of humans any more.

Before wheelie bins, they were a terror for ripping open bin bags and strewing the contents out. If I didn't clean up before the binmen came, they would refuse to take the rubbish. In the end, I had to sprinkle bleach on the bags to stop them. The bags smelt strongly of bleach so the foxes would never touch them.

Definitely don't feed them. They'll move on soon enough when there's no food.

Pretzill

Cork24 wrote: »

Feb - May they Mate,

OP, i wouldnt be concerned to much again just don't feed the fox. just keep an eye out i wouldn't have concern about the fox getting aggressive as they are shy animals and more then likely once he see's you he will run away.

Hardly mid summer then? And though the townie fox can be a little cheekier and braver and in recent years seem to pop up day or night. Op I wouldn't worry too much about having them as neighbours - likely you'll see young gamboling with them in midsummer, if you're lucky!

loveisdivine

ABajaninCork wrote: »

In London, they're an absolute menace! I've seen foxes trotting about by the Tower of London (amongst other places!) in broad daylight large as life, twice as natural and as bold as brass!! They're not scared of humans any more.

Before wheelie bins, they were a terror for ripping open bin bags and strewing the contents out. If I didn't clean up before the binmen came, they would refuse to take the rubbish. In the end, I had to sprinkle bleach on the bags to stop them. The bags smelt strongly of bleach so the foxes would never touch them.

Definitely don't feed them. They'll move on soon enough when there's no food.
.

Damn those foxes! How dare they be alive and ya know, occupy the same space as us or heaven forbid try to scavenge some food!

I wouldn't be at all concerned. The chances of a fox actually coming into your home is very slim. But when it does happen obviously it gets reported in the news.
I'd actually enjoy having them there. Getting to see some interesting wildlife in your own garden

ABajaninCork

loveisdivine wrote: »

Damn those foxes! How dare they be alive and ya know, occupy the same space as us or heaven forbid try to scavenge some food!

I wouldn't be at all concerned. The chances of a fox actually coming into your home is very slim. But when it does happen obviously it gets reported in the news.
I'd actually enjoy having them there. Getting to see some interesting wildlife in your own garden

Are you serious? I stand by what I say. They ARE a menace in urban areas. And the problem's getting worse.

looking_around

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Are you serious? I stand by what I say. They ARE a menace in urban areas. And the problem's getting worse.

Of course it's getting worse, there's less and less space for them,

loveisdivine

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Are you serious? I stand by what I say. They ARE a menace in urban areas. And the problem's getting worse.

I'm certainly serious. I guess our ideas of what classes as a "menace" differ greatly.

Pumpkinseeds

The problem is that the suburbs are spreading further out to the countryside and destroying the foxes natural habitat. Thus the fox is forced to scavange for food in urban areas. Not the foxes fault its hunting grounds and homes are gone and have been replaced by housing developments.

ABajaninCork

loveisdivine wrote: »

I'm certainly serious. I guess our ideas of what classes as a "menace" differ greatly.

Yes, they do.

You wait until they rip open your bins, try to attack your cats, and yowl all night outside your bedroom window as has happened to me. You wait until they attack your children which has certainly happened in London (although I am not aware of any cases here).

I have no doubt your views will change then...

FoxyVixen

Red foxes mating season is January to March. April at the very latest.

Don't see an issue with them making a den in your garden, though once the kits arrive, the vixen will be very protective. So if you have a small dog or young kids, I'd avoid allowing them out unsupervised. Vixens have been known to take on terriers with kits to protect.

Regarding them getting into your house, sure most animals have an innate curiosity especially with the smell of food. How often has a mouse ran in quickly, mostly unknown to people unless they nest indoors. Once found a mink at the front door considering coming in :eek:. And those guys are certainly not afraid of people. There was a bit of a stand off with him.

FoxyVixen

ABajaninCork wrote: »

You wait until they rip open your bins, try to attack your cats, and yowl all night outside your bedroom window as has happened to me. You wait until they attack your children which has certainly happened in London (although I am not aware of any cases here).

I have no doubt your views will change then...

To be fair, this is a very rare occurrence and only hits the papers on the likely account of a slow news week. True vixens will defend their kits, but can ya blame them? Natural instinct, they're animals at the end of the day. And again, very rare event that kids are attacked as wildly speculating by tabloid journalism :rolleyes:

Yeah there was a phase of french chipmunk attacks in the paper too. Anything to distract from the crime.

Pretzill

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Yes, they do.

You wait until they rip open your bins, try to attack your cats, and yowl all night outside your bedroom window as has happened to me. You wait until they attack your children which has certainly happened in London (although I am not aware of any cases here).

I have no doubt your views will change then...

Cats, dogs and rats like to rummage in the bins too - they even fight too and the sounds of mating feral cats can be annoying - The urban fox wil take its chances with an unsecured rubbish bin like any other hungry creature - The cases in England are low numbered and rare attacks -

The fox will move on if not encouraged to stay - plastic bag type bins are a temptation to many creatures.

ABajaninCork

Pretzill wrote: »

Cats, dogs and rats like to rummage in the bins too - they even fight too and the sounds of mating feral cats can be annoying - The urban fox wil take its chances with an unsecured rubbish bin like any other hungry creature - The cases in England are low numbered and rare attacks -

The fox will move on if not encouraged to stay - plastic bag type bins are a temptation to many creatures.

I am well aware of the fact cats and dogs like to fight too. I've had three cats and have a dog. So what? Forgive me if I don't say 'Aww - poor ickle fox'. They're a menace.

kylith

I wouldn't call them a menace, as such, but they're definitely not Foxy Loxy from the Mother Goose stories. Foxes, and feral dogs and cats, are what they are - animals which are living wild amongst people, with all the attendant noise, faeces, fleas, ticks, and diseases.

Pretzill

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I am well aware of the fact cats and dogs like to fight too. I've had three cats and have a dog. So what? Forgive me if I don't say 'Aww - poor ickle fox'. They're a menace.

I wouldn't expect anyone to call a wild animal.poor ickle anything - but I would expect people to respect our wildlife - a menace is pretty strong - I'd say the crows are afraid to fly over your house and those pesky squirrels don't get me started! Youre entitled to dislike any creature you want - I'm sure they won't be bothered either way.

ABajaninCork

You can knock the condescension and pomposity on the head too. I'm entitled to my opinion, just as you are...

DBB

As per the forum charter, if anyone has a problem with a post, report it. Do not take on to deal with it, or the thread turns into a car crash.
Civility and respect for other posters is also a requirement of the forum charter.
Any more of this sniping, and users will receive infractions.
Do not reply to this post on thread.
Thanks,
DBB

ShaShaBear

On a side note, anyone who leaves their babies alone in a cot and leaves a window open is just asking for trouble! The child probably got a fright when it saw the fox and screamed and cried, scaring the bejaysus out of the critter and unknowingly provoked an attack. The other possibility is that the child had milk or some other food over their fingers.

Don't feed the fox, and keep your windows closed where possible.