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I'm being harassed by a fox u/d fox in garden at 10:30 today

SOAD

Wise Old Thumper
A local fox has decided he really wants to eat my rabbits and is hanging out in my garden at night, I've caught him a few times now and had to chase him out this morning (in daylight), before I left for work.

He's starting to become a pain and not really sure what to do about him, it makes me quite nervous as my bunnies are all out in their runs while I'm at work, in fact my bunnies are out from about 7 in morning until around 11 at night.

I've tried blocking off where he is getting in and that is not working, there's 12 rabbits in the garden and it's obviously too tempting so he keeps breaking in.

I'm going to try the man wee thing, also I've been told that the RWA sell a fox deterent, any other ideas?
 
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Are you sure it's a guy fox?

We tried the man pee thing because the chickens were being killed and we actually got 2 more (female) foxes come along because they were attracted to the testosterone in the pee :lol:
 
Feed it.

Only way of putting it off eating the bunnies :( have to say, as I took my rabbits out to their shed last night, a fox was in our garden, never in my life has my heart beated so fast! honestly thought i was gonna have a heart attack! I don't mind the foxes we have - so long as they don't learn the time (they usually come a visiting thru the day)
 
You're kidding :shock:, no not sure it's a boy at all...it screams sometimes, I once actually thought it had a rabbit the noise was so bad, I woke up and ran outside in the cold/wet with nothing on, it turned out to just be making a racket by itself (I've since been told it was calling for a mate:shock:)

It has a white tipped tail if that's any help and it seems to be getting bigger (a lot bigger than a month ago, but I could be a different one)
 
I woud think feeding would encourage them. Its one of the reasons mine are indoors, our old neighbour used to feed them so we had LOADS around.

I'm sure someone said they had a lot of success with electric fencing. Or there are those sonic things but I'm not sure if they affect the bunnies or not.
 
You're kidding :shock:, no not sure it's a boy at all...it screams sometimes, I once actually thought it had a rabbit the noise was so bad, I woke up and ran outside in the cold/wet with nothing on, it turned out to just be making a racket by itself (I've since been told it was calling for a mate:shock:)

It has a white tipped tail if that's any help and it seems to be getting bigger (a lot bigger than a month ago, but I could be a different one)

I think it's the youngsters who make noises, when they're searching out to find new territories.
 
Thank you, I am joking about it now, but it is worrying me quite a lot, I've got a bit more used to him now as he's obviously coming every night :?

The deterrent thing, do you need to plug it in as he's getting through the bottom of the garden and I have no where to plug it in down there.

He's also getting brave, he runs when I start shouting at him, but not until :? he's getting used to me now and wont leave the garden. In fact I saw him a few weeks ago trotting around the somebody's front garden a few streets along, I stopped the car and said to him "fox go home" and he just stood staring at me :?
 
They call for a mate at this time of year as its breeding time, and they also do the howl when they're scared / in danger.

The scary noise they make is thair mating call.

Those ultrasonic things hurt rabbits ears (I was told) the foxes get used to the noise, it was on foxes live.
 
Thank you, I am joking about it now, but it is worrying me quite a lot, I've got a bit more used to him now as he's obviously coming every night :?

Thadeterrentnt thing, do you need to plug it in as he's getting through the bottom of the garden and I have no where to plug it in down there.

He's also getting brave, he runs when I start shouting at him, but not until :? he's getting used to me now and wont leave the garden. In fact I saw him a few weeks ago trotting around the somebody's front garden a few streets along, I stopped the car and said to him "fox go home" and he just stood staring at me :?

We used to have one (to scare away a badger, i kid thee not, it kept destroying our sweetcorn) and I think they run off batteries. I certainly don't remember dad having to run a cable outside anyway!
 
Maybe I should look at electric fencing :?

I'm just getting paranoid I'm not fox proofed enough, or I feel like he's waiting for me to make one slip up :?
 
I think it's the youngsters who make noises, when they're searching out to find new territories.

the youngsters make the noise when they're scared or lose their parents.

I love foxes, but have to say i did get scared last night when the one was in the garden at same time as R&T!

We fed our one at the bottom of the garden, and from then it never came up to the house again.
 
Maybe I should look at electric fencing :?

I'm just getting paranoid I'm not fox proofed enough, or I feel like he's waiting for me to make one slip up :?

you would have to put electric fence round the entire perimeter of your property - they are very good jumpers too so it would have to be very high :(

we considered electric fencing to stop next doors cat, its very easy to sset up and doesn't cost too much money either, and you can run it off car batterys
 
The noise is awful isn't it, we heard it once and thought it was one of the rabbits too. :shock:

I was going to suggest the foxwatch too, although I've read mixed reviews about them - some say it's really effective, others found it didn't work at all. I'm pretty sure they run off batteries or you have the option of an adaptor to run it from the mains.

There's another one called a scarecrow which squirts water, it's supposed to be effective but I don't know if the noise/shock factor of it is something the fox would get used to over time. :? http://www.foxolutions.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=11
 
Arrgggghhhh it's a nightmare, thanks loads and loads for your help. I am starting to think that everything I try is going to be pretty much got around, I think I am stuck with him, the temptation of my rabbits is too much :(
 
Arrgggghhhh it's a nightmare, thanks loads and loads for your help. I am starting to think that everything I try is going to be pretty much got around, I think I am stuck with him, the temptation of my rabbits is too much :(

To be honest, foxes are actually quite lazy - if the runs are all secure and fox proofed, he'll learn he cant get in, and move on.... but i understand, its the worry of the rabbits being stressed, and the thought that what if he did - we have scratches all up the shed door and on the roof, from when we first got R&T - the fox must have tried to get to them but gave up cos he couldn't get in (its the reason we don't have a run, cos we knew we had the fox etc. the shed has an internal mesh door, you should see how many staples is on the mesh, then its sandwiched, then the biggest screws ive ever seen, and has three padlocks on it.

he gave up.

Most ppl think foxes are evil, but actually, they're less evil than cats - cats 'play' with their victims, foxes are lazy and just wanna get the job done (yes, if they get into a chicken coop, they'll kill all the chickens, but thats because they know the chickens making noise will alert ppl, and its easier to kill them all at once - they then take them away and bury them, for dinner later on (like putting food in a fridge).... if someone goes to their chicken coop and theres dead chickens - its not cos the fox has killed them for fun, he's just either on his way to collect them all and you happen to have got there first, or hes been way laid). (same with any animals they kill).

Its really sad that its what happens, but unfortunately it happens :(
 
The Foxwatch thing I have can only be heard by foxes and dogs, so if your neighbours have dogs it could upset them. It doesn't work on deaf foxes! It's battery operated. I don't know how well it works, but I haven't seen a fox since I got it. (We didn't have a fox problem to begin with though, I was just paranoid.)
 
How about finely ground black pepper sprinkled on the ground around the runs? Foxes use their noses a lot and sniff the ground, if there's black pepper around the runs that'll shout up his nose and make him jump and run! I think someone on here suggested that to me when I had fox problems where I used to live, or it came up on a google search. Worth a shot, although it does feel like you are just seasoning the rabbits for the fox.........
 
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