Urban Climbing Foxes

100gSoma

A while ago at dusk I heard something moving behind bushes in my enclosed back garden in Cabinteely Park area. Too big for a bird or rat, so probably a cat I thought. Then I saw a flash of a large ginger animal and it was gone. I couldn't believe it could be a fox, because the garden is enclosed on all sides by high walls (2m).
This morning however. I saw a large red fox standing in the garden at the end of my lawn.
We have a young child and this has now given me food for thought on turning my back when they play on a blanket in the garden.
I had assumed (incorrectly) the garden was secure.
I didn't realise foxes climbed/jumped because I've never seen one up on a wall. Any ideas on how to keep them out of the garden? bird spikes on the walls maybe?

brian67

have you any small brake in your fence even the size of a small football is big enough for him to get threw or he could dig under it. might pay you to have a close look

vicwatson

Watched Springwatch last night and there were a load of young foxes and the mother was well able to leap a 2m fence to go hunting for food for them.

Make sure you don't have food around the place as this will attract them.

If interested Springwatch on BBC is on every night at 20.00 hours and they'll be following the family of urban foxes so it might be of interest to you.

brian67

vicwatson wrote: »

Watched Springwatch last night and there were a load of young foxes and the mother was well able to leap a 2m fence to go hunting for food for them.

Make sure you don't have food around the place as this will attract them.

If interested Springwatch on BBC is on every night at 20.00 hours and they'll be following the family of urban foxes so it might be of interest to you.

good point about food around bins ect

100gSoma

Thanks for replies, very helpful. I'll inspect the boundary, but I think he must be a jumper/climber, but I'll check for any holes dug at the base of walls. In fact now that I remember it, there was a large excrement on a pillar capping on a 2m high back wall recently. Too big for bird, and cats don't use walls as toilets etc, so it was probably the Fox. I'd forgotten that!
No food ever left out, and bins locked in shed, so he might just use the wall to walk along smelling for food in back gardens, but now the spring/summer growth is covering some of the wall so might force him to jump into the gardens and get through that way...
I wonder if there are any effective deterrents, like smells he won't like to keep him out of garden. I know they rarely approach humans, and usually only about at dusk or early morning, but I'd rather not have him in on the lawn with the kids around.

brian67

a electric fence could be a idea

frash

Don't leave any shoes out in the garden (easily done in the Summer).
We get foxes in our garden the odd time & if one of the kids have left their shoes out then one of the shoes will be gone the next morning.
Someone told me they bring them home to the pups but don't know how true that is.

Our bird feeders go missing regularly too so have stopped hanging them out now.

zagmund

A motion activated floodlight (a PIR) should do the job in terms of deterrent.

z