Foxes were introduced into Australia in the 1800s for hunting. Since then, their populations have increased and they’re seen as a pest in many urban areas, and highly undesirable across the rest of their current Australian range.
Foxes are known to cause significant damage to gardens and harm native wildlife. Therefore, learning how to protect your property can have long-term significant benefits for the ecosystem as a whole.
In this article, we’ll look at how to get rid of foxes from your garden.
Understanding Foxes in Your Garden
To control fox numbers in your garden, you need to learn more about foxes and the role they play in the ecosystem, what attracts them, and more.
Role of foxes in the ecosystem.
Foxes are a highly adaptable, cunning predator and scavenger. They’re widespread across the world and have become firmly part of the Australian native landscape. Part of the success of foxes is their role in keeping numbers down of other invasive species, such as rabbits. Their population spread and density can be closely linked to the presence of rabbits in an area.
However, they’re also known to hunt other invasive species, such as rats and mice. If there is limited prey around an area, and there are domestic animals around, they can go after farm animals such as chickens, lambs, goat kids, deer fawns, and ostrich/emu chicks.
Foxes also hunt native wildlife, such as insects, reptiles, and birds. In addition, like most dog species, they aren’t strictly carnivores. Foxes will also occasionally eat vegetation, especially plants such as grains, berries, and root vegetables.
And when there is no option, red foxes are known to scavenge. This might include taking leftovers from other kills. Or they might raid bins or other rubbish sites to find scraps of food. Scavenging can play an important part in the ecosystem, getting rid of food that would otherwise rot and could spread illness. However, when they raid bins, they can have the opposite impact.
Why might your property attract foxes?
Foxes are complex animals. And they have a wide range of needs. Urban foxes usually have different requirements than those found in non-urban areas. Research has shown population densities of foxes in urban areas can be significantly higher, despite their being fewer prey items, most likely because they’re scavenging from residential bins.
But there are also more hiding spaces in urban areas and urban areas tend to be slightly warmer.
Therefore, there might be several factors that are attracting foxes to your home. For instance, you might have pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, or something else attracting them.
Alternatively, your vegetable gardens might be a good food source for them. Or you might be providing clean water with a pond or swimming pool.
Those with lots of trees, outbuildings, or other areas for foxes to hide might provide a good habitat for a den. Those with overgrown gardens or long grass can also attract foxes, especially cubs, because they love to play in these environments. The trouble is that foxes can often be the cause of ticks and mite infestations, so playing in long grass might spread potentially dangerous invertebrates to your garden.
Finally, those who do not secure food waste at home can attract foxes.
Eliminate Attractants and Secure Your Garden
To prevent foxes accessing your garden there are several proactive actions to take. These are designed to lower the attraction of your garden to foxes.
Secure Food Sources:
The first thing to do is to secure potential food sources for foxes. Foxes spend a significant proportion of their time searching for food. And with poor storage of your food items, you provide them a reason to visit your garden.
Use proper storage bins for anything that might be a potential food source, like fruit, vegetables, compost, and pet food. If possible, store everything in a secure building as well. Try to get bins that have tight-fitting secure lids. Also secure them in places where they can’t easily be knocked down.
Eliminate Water Sources:
Water is another common reason why foxes access gardens. There are several ways to eliminate these attractions.
Cover ponds, fountains, and birdbaths at night.
Add covers to all water sources at night or when not in use. While nighttime is the most common activity period, urban foxes have been known to become more diurnal, so when you’re not around, keeping ponds, fountains, birdbaths, and swimming pools covered is essential.
Fix leaky faucets and pipes.
Leaky pipes can cause water to collect, enough for foxes to find it a useful water source. Therefore, fix all leaking pipes outside of the home.
Remove Potential Den Sites:
Foxes also look for den sites in homes, so ensuring you have none of these can help clear foxes from your home.
Clear brush piles and overgrown areas around the garden perimeter.
Check around the outer edges of your home to ensure no areas are overgrown or have the potential to be used as a hiding space for foxes. Clear any overgrown areas quickly.
Seal potential den entrances like crawl spaces under sheds.
In addition, there might be areas that make great den entrances, such as crawl spaces under sheds. These are a favourite den space for foxes.
How to Get Rid of Foxes in Your Yard: Exclusion Techniques
There are also some tools and techniques that can help get rid of foxes in your garden. These include:
Fencing:
A sturdy fence with a buried wire mesh at the bottom prevents a fox from digging into your garden. You should also get a fence that's appropriately sized for the foxes in your area. Foxes can jump high, depending on their size.
Motion-Activated Deterrents:
Motion-activated deterrents can also be used. These include ultrasound devices, sprinklers, strobe lighting, and even movement. These are very effective because foxes are still wary of humans so want to escape from these elements quickly.
However, respect your neighbours and ensure you’re becoming a nuisance yourself.
Utilise Natural Deterrents for Long-Term Fox Removal
Then there are natural deterrents that can also remove foxes from your garden.
Repellent Sprays:
Numerous repellent sprays can be purchased from local outdoor and garden stores. These can be strong smelling but are very effective at deterring foxes from specific areas of the garden.
Strong-Smelling Plants:
Foxes might not be very selective in their feeding, but they are about the scents around the garden. They hate plants like marigolds and cayenne peppers in a garden. Planting these strategically around the edges of the garden acts as a deterrent to foxes from moving into the garden as they will smell them before accessing the garden.
There are numerous plants that foxes hate, so you can use a mixture of garlic and chilli, which can also be used in your cooking.
Other Methods:
You need to focus on long-term strategies to rid your garden of foxes. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t temporary deterrents that you can use to gain quick success before the long-term strategies start to work.
Two options include using ammonia-soaked rags or making loud noises when you see them.
When Professional Help Might Be Necessary for Fox Removal
There are times when you might need to hire professional support to help you get rid of foxes. If the foxes keep coming back, for instance, then you should call in the experts. And there are also times when local laws protect foxes.
Therefore, always seek advice from local experts when in doubt.
Recap of key strategies for fox removal
You must remove foxes from your garden. While they have an important part in the ecosystem, such as controlling the numbers of invasive rats and rabbits, they can also damage gardens, spread disease, and hunt local wildlife that has been threatened.
There are numerous ways that you can keep foxes from your garden. You can use natural deterrents such as planting strong-smelling plants that foxes hate or removing areas from your garden where foxes might like to create a den.
You might also want to look at securing access to food and water to ensure there's nothing available for them to eat. This includes securing your rubbish areas, even compost areas should be secured as they might include edible items for the fox.
You should also look at adding ultrasound and water-spraying devices that can scare away foxes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to trap and remove foxes?
All states and territories in Australia have their own rules and regulations about the trapping and removal of foxes. Therefore, it's important to speak to a local expert about the laws in your area.
Can I use poison to get rid of foxes?
Poison is not a good way to get rid of foxes. It can harm local wildlife and it doesn’t prevent other foxes from moving into your garden.
What should I do if I find a sick or injured fox?
All sick animals should be reported to your local wildlife department. They can send an expert to capture the animal and provide it with the appropriate care.
