Nobody wants to see a wild animal visiting their home or backyard. If you live in areas closer to the forests, be assured that you will have similar interactions like these, especially with foxes that like to skip out of their territory and meddle near the houses.
If your first instinct upon seeing a fox is to hunt them down, be assured that legalities are associated with it. You might end up experiencing legal bindings when you shoot a fox or hurt them irrevocably. That is the last thing anyone wants to do.
So, how to get rid of foxes humanely? This is a general question that lingers in people’s minds. How can you safely and quickly get rid of a fox that is consistently visiting the premises of your home?
Following a lot of research and outlook, we have narrowed down the list and sorted out the best ways to get humanely rid of the foxes without any associated complications.
Also read: How to Get Rid of Geese? | 11 Potent & Humane Ways
Table of Contents
Why do I Have Foxes in my Garden?
When you find a fox lingering around in your garden, the first factor that should strike your mind is, “Why are they coming?”
Why, out of all the houses, are the foxes in your home?
If you want to deter and remove the foxes from the premises of your home, you first need to find out why they are visiting in the first place. This is what makes all the difference.
The biggest reason why foxes are likely in your house and backyard is in search of food. Foxes are very versatile when it comes to their diet. They can gobble down anything and everything in their vicinity, be it fruits, animals, etc.
Also, if you have livestock or a farm around you, make sure you keep it well closed and fenced so that the foxes can’t gain entry inside. These kinds of propositions also lure them into your home.
Besides food, fox cubs are fond of soft soil. They like to dig into those areas and create a burrow they can live in. If these favorable choices come up for a fox, there’s no doubt why you have a fox lingering in your backyard now and then. Make sure you don’t have open water sources too, since that can also bring the foxes to your garden.
Steps to Get Rid of Foxes
Now that you have a fair idea of what is attracting the foxes to your garden, backyard, or even your farm, the next line of defense is to implement ways to get rid of them and ensure they don’t return to your home.
How do you do that? This section of the article will highlight some of the tried, tested, humane and legal ways to get rid of the foxes or prevent them from coming around in the first place.
1. Make the Garden Less Inhabitable
The easiest and likely best way to eliminate the foxes from your garden is by making your garden as inhabitable as possible. If you have prominent food sources, get rid of them. If you have open water sources, eliminate those. If you have soft soil, get rid of that too.
Foxes will only frequent the places that they find inhabitable and comfortable to be in. If you take the comfort factor out of the equation, it becomes much easier to manage their entry into your garden or inside your house.
The foxes typically come to the mainland in search of one or all of the four things – food, water, safety, and shelter. And, if your house provides them with that by some chance, be assured that they will not leave unless you take other drastic measures.
2. Try Out Fox Repellents
Now, when it comes to how to get rid of foxes, the easiest of the lot is to get your hands on fox repellents. What is it you ask? Fox repellents are nothing but chemical deterrents or DIY repellents that you can get your hands on. They are pretty easy to make the most use of.
We recommend trying the other homemade options if you don’t want to use chemical repellents for safety. The best natural fox repellent has to be a mixture of vinegar and male fox urine.
The strong and pungent smell will keep the fox from entering the premises. Make sure you strategically spray the repellent throughout the perimeter of your home and garden to keep the foxes out of the area for good.
3. Use Motion-triggered Sprinklers
Foxes, although they are wild animals, are very easy to scare. The primary reason why they seek shelter in the gardens and homes is for the sense of safety that they get. So, if you take that out of the equation, be assured that they won’t necessarily get a check on being inside your property as often.
Foxes hate when they don’t feel safe in their surroundings, so if you install ways to scare them out of the areas, you won’t have to worry about the same. Motion-sensor sprinklers are the best way to deter the fox from the property.
4. Fox-proof the Garden and House
Another preventive measure that you can take to eliminate the foxes from your garden is by proofing the area. Ideally, the easiest way to do that is by installing high-rise fencing or meshed wires with spikes and barbs on the top. This will proactively prevent the fox from entering your home because of the hurt they experience.
Since foxes can jump relatively high, ensure that the fencing that you are putting up is relatively high too. Also, always install stable and strong fencing which won’t topple over with the fox pushing things aside. This is the biggest issue that most people face with fencing.
5. Call Wildlife Control
Foxes aren’t meant to be in your backyard and garden. The most common reason that happens is that they have either lost direction or don’t know what to do when finding their way back to the forest. Instead of hunting down the fox, you can directly contact the wildlife control room in your area.
They have trained professionals who know how to find the right ways to tame the wildlife and ensure that they don’t return to your property in the future. Ideally, we’d recommend that you immediately call them and secure all the doors and windows in your house and wait till they arrive before you take a further step.
6. Don’t Feed Them
When you see a fox in your garden, it is very common for you to want to feed them. Even if they look malnourished or tired, or not in the best shape, the last thing you should do is feed them extra food. This can lead to further complications and prevent the fox from leaving the garden or your home for good.
When they associate your home with food availability, be assured that they will either not leave or find a way to return for more food. And, the next time they visit, they might not come alone.
7. Professional Fox Removal Companies
If you can’t get hold of wildlife control and need to remove the foxes immediately from your house, the next best thing would be to set up traps to catch the foxes. These kinds of work should and can only be done by trained fox removal companies with trained professionals. They are easily found in areas where the population of foxes is high.
So, if you can get a hold of such professionals, contact them and sort out the issue by getting their help.
Housing a fox in your garden is the last thing anyone wants to do. So, if you are tired of their infestation and have been looking at how to get rid of foxes, we’d recommend that you find constructive ways to prevent them from infiltrating your space. These methods are all effective, not to mention that they can also keep the issues at bay. If nothing works out and if the trespassing gets out of hand, we’d recommend that you get professional help to sort out the issues.
Also read: How to Get Rid of Prairie Dogs? | Top 7 Tips
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which smells do foxes not like?
Foxes don’t appreciate the smell of natural ingredients like onion, garlic, peppers, etc. So, planting these aromatic plants in the garden can keep them away.
Will vinegar keep foxes away?
Vinegar’s strong and pungent smell can keep foxes out of the house or your garden. However, it isn’t a foolproof preventive measure.
Will human urine deter foxes?
Surprisingly, yes. Human urine can keep foxes out of your garden, mainly because foxes don’t like the smell and try to stay away from such spaces.
