Foxes broke through our fence last night

Broke part of the fence down, got into the guinea pig garden, ripped a massive whole through their tarpaulin and pulled their water bottle off.. thank god something spooked them!! Poor guineas have been quiet all day. My dad put wire panels over the whole in the fence and we've boarded the guineas hutch in for tonight. I can't believe how lucky we've been, they could have easily got into the guineas or even the foster bunnies, or got our very elderly cat who often sleeps in the bushes :shock:

My dad said hes going to wait for the fox to return and shoot it! I cannot let that happen, is there anything we can do to stop them coming back now they know there's food? This is the first time we've had foxes in 5 years or so, as we have 8ft fencing all round :?

If you have an 8 ft fence,then you were rather unlucky.But now the fox knows you have "Goodies" I have no idea what to suggest.Perhaps a security light may scare off Mr Fox??

We have an outside light, but not a security one, might be an idea.

We used to get foxes visit all the time many years ago but one night we let our GSD and staffy out after them, and the foxes never returned. But sadly i don't think sending our chihuahua out would work :lol:

I'm quite shocked that they managed to get in :?

:shock: That's terrifying, I'm glad all your piggies are ok!
Not sure what you could do about the foxes... I think you can get spray repellants and things but that might also affect your cat so it's difficult.
Hopefully it will just be a one-off, since you have such a tall fence. Just have a look for any possible weak spots in your fence and reenforce them. Maybe you could also reenforce the animal's enclosure somehow.

Im surprised too, but foxes are very intelligent and inquisitive creatures.
If a light comes on all of a sudden,It may deter them....but for how long,I do not know.I take it you cover your furries???

Did you actually see a fox? Here they can easily jump over an 8ft fence, so they would not need to destroy it. Could it have been badgers or stray dogs?

Lillian said:

We have an outside light, but not a security one, might be an idea.

We used to get foxes visit all the time many years ago but one night we let our GSD and staffy out after them, and the foxes never returned. But sadly i don't think sending our chihuahua out would work :lol:

I'm quite shocked that they managed to get in :?

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We have a 'fox watch'. I don't honestly know if it works but (*touch wood*) we haven't had any problems with them. It sends out a high pitched sound that only foxes can hear (so it doesn't affect the buns, pigs or cats).

xxx

If you pm parsnipbun she can send you a link to an article she has written for Rabbiting On on fox deterrents, etc. There are details on the thread 'fox on the loose' - I don't know how to put a link into that but if you search under 'fox deterrent' it comes up.

She really helped me when we moved to Cambridge and urban foxes started to prowl around.

I use the Foxwatch and have also used the Scoot spray which is supposed to be good but you have to respray after heavy rain. Touch wood, after I used it religiously for a month or so, I stopped seeing urban foxes so maybe, just maybe, it did enough to get them to investigate new haunts. Both of these are available on the net and arrive very quickly - try www.foxolutions.co.uk

Good luck.

I would definately get a security light, i haven't seen one since i had the security light put up, its also very useful as i can run outside when i see it come on so even if there was a fox i would see it in time

i've no experience with foxes thankfully and hope to never have especially nwo all my animals are indoors, so i can only imagine what you must be going through. i hope you manage to find a way to deter mr fox, thinking of you and your little ones.

in america i heard some people put like wire at an agle over there fence to keep cats from getting out of their gardens, could this not work in keeping a fox out?
hope they will be ok tonight, you must be soo worried

Sorry to tell you this but an 8ft.high fence or a security light will not put off foxes:shock:
I have both but the foxes still come
I had four camped outside my door this morning:evil:i am terrified that they will take my cats so they are not allowed out until the foxes go away (usually about 10)
My bunnies have had their free garden run time seroiusly shortened because of the threat to them
I am not sure you will be able to keep them outthink you will just have to learn to live with the constant threat as many of us on here have to:evil:

Lillian said:

My dad said hes going to wait for the fox to return and shoot it! I cannot let that happen, is there anything we can do to stop them coming back now they know there's food?

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Why risk your animals? Let your dad sort the problem out properly.

We have a whole family of foxes live next door and they come into the garden every night. They know we have rabbits, but so far we've been lucky. The rabbits are always locked away and covered over. The council or RSCPA will do nothing to get rid of the foxes, they said just to live with them.

Buuny_Friend said:

We have a 'fox watch'. I don't honestly know if it works but (*touch wood*) we haven't had any problems with them. It sends out a high pitched sound that only foxes can hear (so it doesn't affect the buns, pigs or cats).

xxx

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A neighbour once had one of those but for cats I think.
I could certainly hear it, and everyone else :shock:

AnyBunny said:

Why risk your animals? Let your dad sort the problem out properly.

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Are you serious?? I am shocked how can you think it is ok to shoot the fox remember we have taken over their land and they are just trying to survive I am sure something can be done other than shooting the poor thing. I am getting sick of hearing everyone saying foxes are bad etc no they are HUNGRY.(Lillian this isn't aimed at you I know you are trying to think of a better solution)

Demismith said:

A neighbour once had one of those but for cats I think.
I could certainly hear it, and everyone else :shock:

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we had something similiar it was shaped as a sunflower for keeping cats out, but weve had 3 diferent ones, after torrential downpours they all broke so never bothered again, me and my sister could here them but mum and dad couldn't :?:lol:

sally1974 said:

Are you serious?? I am shocked how can you think it is ok to shoot the fox remember we have taken over their land and they are just trying to survive I am sure something can be done other than shooting the poor thing. I am getting sick of hearing everyone saying foxes are bad etc no they are HUNGRY.(Lillian this isn't aimed at you I know you are trying to think of a better solution)

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I totally agree with you Sally. I worked at a wildlife sanctuary for a few saturdays a couple of years back and I met many wonderful foxes, most of which had ended up at the sanctuary because of humans

Unfortunately the fox population is growing round here and there's just not enough food for all of them, poor things

But I am glad to say the fox didn't managed to get into the garden last night.

sally1974 said:

Are you serious?? I am shocked how can you think it is ok to shoot the fox remember we have taken over their land and they are just trying to survive I am sure something can be done other than shooting the poor thing. I am getting sick of hearing everyone saying foxes are bad etc no they are HUNGRY.(Lillian this isn't aimed at you I know you are trying to think of a better solution)

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I totally agree, a thoroughly nasty thing to say. They have as much right to a life as any other animal and lead a rotten existence desperately trying to find food. Everyone has to protect their buns etc from them, not shoot them. Would you shoot your cat for killing birds and mice? :?

sally1974 said:

Are you serious?? I am shocked how can you think it is ok to shoot the fox

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Yes, I am serious. I find it shocking that you are not prepared to take a very simple step to protect animals who rely utterly on you to look after them and keep them safe. Even if you never make a mistake which gives the fox access to your rabbits, which is a big "if" human fallibility being what it is, the presence of the fox nearby is likely to cause your rabbits continuing stress which itself may kill them.

remember we have taken over their land

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So what do you suggest then? Shall we all go back to northern France which is where we came from at the end of the Ice Age? Except the foxes came over with us.

Foxes and other ground dwelling wildlife are cleared from land in the building process. The foxes we see in urban areas either visit from surrounding unbuilt-on areas or have re-colonised built-up areas from outside because we provide them shelter and somewhere to hide, especially in the sort of dense undergrowth which grows up in suburban gardens over decades. They have moved into urban and suburban areas because we lay on easy food for them (pets and discarded fast food) and because they are losing, indeed have lost, their fear of us.

Foxes and rabbits are simply incompatible and frankly I would rather take drastic action occasionally than have the constant worry about whether my pets are safe.

Remember - you have to be lucky every night. The fox only has to be lucky once.