Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Keep foxes out
• Method 2 of 4: Build a fence
• Method 3 of 4: Protect an animal house
• Method 4 of 4: Chase foxes out of their den
• Tips
• Warnings

Foxes would fit well in a James Bond movie, with their climbing and digging antics to enter a protected environment. You can thwart their plans in several ways, but don't expect immediate success. The best means often have to be applied a few times before you find out what works well on foxes in your area. There is no perfect solution, but a well-maintained electric gate will come close, although with a little patience you can usually find a less laborious method.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Keep foxes out

1. Make your country less attractive. Repelling foxes is a percentage game. Every step you take will reduce the number of intruders, but there is no magic solution to stop them all. Regular maintenance and planning will immediately give the foxes less reason to come close, so that's an important first step:
   • Clean up food scraps and fence off your compost.
   • Cover standing water at night to prevent drinking.
   • Stop using manure made from blood, bone, or fish.
   • Harvest ripe fruits and vegetables, rather than leaving them on the plant.
   • Keep shoes and other small objects indoors, foxes like to play with them.
2. Block access to enclosed areas that could become burrows. First check that there are not already animals living in it. Bricking them up to kill them can be illegal and attract scavengers.
3. Choose a repellent. Most commercial repellants are scent-based and will confuse the fox, preventing it from marking your land as its territory. If you can't find a fox repellent, look for one that's meant for dogs. You may need to try a number of different remedies before you find one that works on your foxes. Check the ingredients to make sure the second drug you buy is actually different from the first:
   • Aluminum sulfate - a fragrance-based repellent
   • Methyl nonyl ketone - a different scent
   • Capsicum (pepper spray) - extra spicy flavor. Usually less effective because the fox has to eat it.
4. Apply repellant strategically. Repellants usually no longer discourage foxes if they are already next to your chicken coop or your best vegetables. Rather, spray it on one of the following spots, or mix it with sand and sawdust and spread it:
   • Directly on faeces, without removing them. Foxes leave their droppings to mark their territory and can return to the same spot when the poo is cleaned up. If children are playing in the area, also use fox droppings disinfectant to protect them from disease.
   • On the soil on top of buried food, compost or deceased pets.
   • At the likely entry points to your land, or along the edges of walls and fences.
5. Leave dirty-tasting food outside. A fox who has an unpleasant experience eating something from your garden may not want to come back. Try to leave out food scraps covered in hot sauce or that taste very bitter.
6. Add male urine around the fence. You can use human urine or animal urine from a garden supply. This usually works best for deterring prey, not predators, but some people have had success with it. As with any repellant, the results vary greatly depending on the individual foxes and how badly they want your land.
7. Get a guard animal. Many livestock owners use guard dogs or guinea fowl to scare away predators. These animals are usually effective at chasing away foxes if you can stand the noise.
8. Try commercial deterrents. There are many products on the market for frustrated gardeners and farmers. Most of them have not been thoroughly studied and get many different types of reviews from the users. You will likely get the best results with a product that you know has worked for your neighbors. Common examples are:
   • Devices that spray water when an animal approaches.
   • Ultrasonic devices that make high-pitched sounds.
   • Devices that produce flashing lights when a fox comes close.

Method 2 of 4: Build a fence

1. Use narrow wire steel as a fence. Wire steel or welded wire mesh measuring 1.25 x 1.25 cm is good for the bottom 60 cm of the fence and all fence parts that are underground. Unlike chicken wire, a fox cannot get its teeth through this mesh to bite it.
   • For extra protection you can use two layers of wire mesh.
2. Bury an L-shaped fence to avoid digging. Foxes are good diggers. Bury at least 20 cm from the barrier, bury 30 cm if the soil is very loose or sandy. Bend the wire at a 90 degree angle and pull it out 8 inches so the fox can't find its way through when digging down.
   • Weight horizontal layers with bricks or rubble before covering them with sand to make digging even more difficult.
3. Avoid jumping and climbing. A large fox can climb and jump quite high. A normal fence should be at least six feet high to keep out foxes. A 5-foot fence may be sufficient if you bend the top of the fence outward to create a long overhang.
   • Try a fence with the top section bending out at an angle of 45 degrees and 50 cm.
4. Consider an electric fence. This is one of the most effective ways to repel foxes. Foxes usually examine a fence before attempting to climb or jump over it. If they come into contact with an electric fence, the painful shock will usually discourage them. For best results, place 3 strands: 1 at head height of the fox, 1 along the top and 1 in the center. You also need an energy source that produces about 5,000-7,000 volts.
   • This will repel most jumpers, allowing your fence to be a bit lower.
   • If hedgehogs live in your area, the lowest electrical wire should be at least 6 inches from the ground to avoid accidental killing of hedgehogs. Other small mammals are generally unaffected.
   • Electric gates are not recommended in areas with young children.
   • The fox must be in contact with both the electrical wire and the ground to receive a shock. If your fence is not grounded, install a ground wire about an inch from the center and top wires.
   • You can also use electric nets.

Method 3 of 4: Protect an animal house

1. Secure the floor. Foxes are intelligent burrows and can squeeze through relatively small openings. Use one of the following floor designs to protect your animals:
   • Wooden floor: use thick wood and lay a layer of wire steel underneath.
   • Earthen floor: Make a wall of 1/2 "mesh wire or steel wire and bury it 12" deep along the perimeter. Extend the wall horizontally about 20-30 outwards so that the fox cannot dig underneath.
2. Cover chicken wire and cracks with wire steel. Foxes can bite through chicken wire. Therefore, cover it with galvanized steel wire, or wire mesh with mesh sizes no larger than 1.25 cm. Regularly check for and cover holes in the walls and floor. Fix with a tacker. Even a small hole can be made bigger, or it can be the entry point of a smaller predator.
   • Also cover any weak points in the construction, such as the corners or loose planks.
3. Place multiple latches. Foxes can open a twist lock and other simple locks. So it is better to use a latch with a hook to secure them properly. It is best to install 2 or more locks to protect your animals, in case one does break or someone makes a mistake locking.
4. Give birds a high perch. If you are protecting birds, provide them with a perch that sits at the top of the cage so they can go there when danger is imminent. This may not stop a fox for long, but it could give you time to respond to the commotion.

Method 4 of 4: Chase foxes out of their den

1. Consider waiting for the fry to mature. If a fox is raising its family in your yard, consider leaving it there until the young are big enough to travel. They should be able to get out of the hole safely at 9 weeks of age when they start to hunt with their parents. This is usually in late spring or early summer.
   • When you see the fry outside the den for the first time, they are probably 4 or 5 weeks old. Then give them another month before you chase them away.
2. Block entrances slightly with repellent. Most burrows are in enclosed spaces, such as crawl spaces or stone shelters. Soak cloths or straw in fox repellent and place in front of the entrance. Stack it high without blocking the fox's access.
3. Change daily. If foxes live in the den, they will regularly push the repellant out of the way. Check daily and replace with fresh repellent if necessary.
4. Permanently block access when the foxes are gone. If a pile of repellent is still untouched in front of the entrance after 2 days, the foxes have probably left. Then block the entrance with a stronger barrier, such as stone or concrete blocks.

Tips

• An adult fox can easily squeeze through a 5-inch opening. Make sure to cover all the holes in your fence and your walls.
• Repellents are generally less effective in late summer when the young foxes go out on their own. Young foxes are less territorial, so they are less affected by strange smells.

Warnings

• The fox is protected by the Nature Conservation Act in the Netherlands. Killing foxes is prohibited. Under the Nature Conservation Act, an exemption may only be granted for the killing of foxes if no other satisfactory solution is possible.