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Home > Archive > UK gardening > March 2008 > Deterring Foxes...
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Deterring Foxes...
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| Mark Nicholls 2008-03-29, 9:25 am |
| I'm fast reaching the point where the pleasure from watching local foxes
playing in mine and my garden in the early morning is being outweighed by
the damage they are doing to my newly emerging plants!
I wondered if anyone here has any experience with and advice on ways to deal
with these roguish pests? There are plenty of gadgets on Ebay, but the
likeliest looking one I've found is elsewhere, called 'Foxwatch'. It's a bit
pricey compared to the others, but claims to be 'the most successful
ultrasonic fox deterrent ever invented', which sounds promising:-) I want
something that scares off foxes but doesn't affect birds in any way. It'd be
nice if it kept cats away too - as the other gadgets claim they can - but
that's not essential. Apart from scaring off foxes, my main concern is not
to disturb the birds...
Any advice would be appreciated...
Regds
Mark
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| Mark Nicholls 2008-03-29, 9:25 am |
| I meant to include a link to Foxwatch:
http://www.foxdeterrents.com/shop/i...cade055480ec354
"Mark Nicholls" <mark@thepiano.co.uk> wrote in message
news:UYpHj.114376$M9.20140@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> I'm fast reaching the point where the pleasure from watching local foxes
> playing in mine and my garden in the early morning is being outweighed by
> the damage they are doing to my newly emerging plants!
>
> I wondered if anyone here has any experience with and advice on ways to
> deal with these roguish pests? There are plenty of gadgets on Ebay, but
> the likeliest looking one I've found is elsewhere, called 'Foxwatch'. It's
> a bit pricey compared to the others, but claims to be 'the most successful
> ultrasonic fox deterrent ever invented', which sounds promising:-) I want
> something that scares off foxes but doesn't affect birds in any way. It'd
> be nice if it kept cats away too - as the other gadgets claim they can -
> but that's not essential. Apart from scaring off foxes, my main concern is
> not to disturb the birds...
>
> Any advice would be appreciated...
>
> Regds
>
> Mark
>
| |
| robert 2008-03-29, 9:25 am |
| In message <UYpHj.114376$M9.20140@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk>, Mark
Nicholls <mark@thepiano.co.uk> writes
>I'm fast reaching the point where the pleasure from watching local foxes
>playing in mine and my garden in the early morning is being outweighed by
>the damage they are doing to my newly emerging plants!
That is a shame. I wonder if you are putting food out on the ground for
birds, hedgehogs etc? If so this is likely to encourage the fox visits
to the garden. Something that does encourage foxes to dig in cultivated
areas is the use of blood, fish and bone/bone meal fertiliser.
>
>I wondered if anyone here has any experience with and advice on ways to deal
>with these roguish pests? There are plenty of gadgets on Ebay, but the
>likeliest looking one I've found is elsewhere, called 'Foxwatch'. It's a bit
>pricey compared to the others, but claims to be 'the most successful
>ultrasonic fox deterrent ever invented', which sounds promising:-) I want
>something that scares off foxes but doesn't affect birds in any way. It'd be
>nice if it kept cats away too - as the other gadgets claim they can - but
>that's not essential. Apart from scaring off foxes, my main concern is not
>to disturb the birds...
I am not aware none of an ultrasonic device that has been proven to work
with foxes - if anyone has used one which has demonstrably worked as a
standalone deterrent I would be interested in hearing about it.
IIRC the Fox Project recommended a couple of chemical deterrents - Scoot
and Get off my garden. Deterrents such as these are most effective if
you can locate where the fox(es) are marking their territory by peeing
on specific objects or patches of ground and applying the deterrent in
the same place. Random application is unlikely to work.
Our local dog fox is a prodigious territory marker and marks the same
items on a regular basis - mainly large plant containers. We have been
lucky with damage that has been clearly down to foxes although they
visit every night and occasionally during the day. The only problem has
been their use of newly planted small shrubs as territory markers but a
rag kept soaked in Renardine on a short stick placed immediately
adjacent to the shrub solved the problem each time (Renardine has now
been withdrawn from sale).
--
Robert
| |
| robert 2008-03-29, 9:25 am |
| In message <UYpHj.114376$M9.20140@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk>, Mark
Nicholls <mark@thepiano.co.uk> writes
>I'm fast reaching the point where the pleasure from watching local foxes
>playing in mine and my garden in the early morning is being outweighed by
>the damage they are doing to my newly emerging plants!
>
That is a shame. I wonder if you are putting food out on the ground for
birds, hedgehogs etc? If so this is likely to encourage the fox visits
to the garden. Something that does encourage foxes to dig in cultivated
areas is the use of blood, fish and bone/bone meal fertiliser.
>I wondered if anyone here has any experience with and advice on ways to deal
>with these roguish pests? There are plenty of gadgets on Ebay, but the
>likeliest looking one I've found is elsewhere, called 'Foxwatch'. It's a bit
>pricey compared to the others, but claims to be 'the most successful
>ultrasonic fox deterrent ever invented', which sounds promising:-) I want
>something that scares off foxes but doesn't affect birds in any way. It'd be
>nice if it kept cats away too - as the other gadgets claim they can - but
>that's not essential. Apart from scaring off foxes, my main concern is not
>to disturb the birds...
>
>Any advice would be appreciated...
I am not aware of an ultrasonic device that has been proven to work with
foxes - if anyone has used one which has demonstrably worked as a
standalone deterrent I would be interested in hearing about it.
IIRC the Fox Project recommended a couple of chemical deterrents - Scoot
and Get off my garden. Deterrents such as these are most effective if
you can locate where the fox(es) are marking their territory by peeing
on specific objects or patches of ground and applying the deterrent in
the same place. Random application is unlikely to work.
Our local dog fox is a prodigious territory marker and marks the same
items on a regular basis - mainly large plant containers. We have been
lucky with damage that has been clearly down to foxes although they
visit every night and occasionally during the day. The only problem has
been their use of newly planted small shrubs as territory markers but a
rag kept soaked in Renardine on a short stick placed immediately
adjacent to the shrub solved the problem each time (Renardine has now
been withdrawn from sale).
--
Robert
| |
| Mary Fisher 2008-03-29, 1:25 pm |
|
"Mark Nicholls" <mark@thepiano.co.uk> wrote in message
news:UYpHj.114376$M9.20140@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> I'm fast reaching the point where the pleasure from watching local foxes
> playing in mine and my garden in the early morning is being outweighed by
> the damage they are doing to my newly emerging plants!
>
> I wondered if anyone here has any experience with and advice on ways to
> deal with these roguish pests? There are plenty of gadgets on Ebay, but
> the likeliest looking one I've found is elsewhere, called 'Foxwatch'. It's
> a bit pricey compared to the others, but claims to be 'the most successful
> ultrasonic fox deterrent ever invented', which sounds promising:-) I want
> something that scares off foxes but doesn't affect birds in any way. It'd
> be nice if it kept cats away too - as the other gadgets claim they can -
> but that's not essential. Apart from scaring off foxes, my main concern is
> not to disturb the birds...
>
The only sure, permanent way to keep fox out of your garden is by secure,
high fencing. It works and gives peace of mind. It also keeps two legged
predators out.
We've slept soundly since we put up plastic coated chain link fencing
attached to square section steel uprights with the same steel linking top
and bottom of the uprights, which are embedded in concrete.
It's not as ugly as it sounds, in fact because it lets light in and gives a
lot of scope for climbing plants it's an asset to the garden.
Mary
| |
| Mark Nicholls 2008-03-29, 1:25 pm |
|
"robert" <robertNews@rlh1.com> wrote in message
news:BTA9BQHOxj7HFwvP@rbel1.plus.com...
> In message <UYpHj.114376$M9.20140@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk>, Mark
> Nicholls <mark@thepiano.co.uk> writes
>
> That is a shame. I wonder if you are putting food out on the ground for
> birds, hedgehogs etc? If so this is likely to encourage the fox visits to
> the garden. Something that does encourage foxes to dig in cultivated
> areas is the use of blood, fish and bone/bone meal fertiliser.
>
I only put out bird seed, and have recently used some bonemeal while
planting roses, but their visits seem to be part of a long-established
routine well preceding my cultivation of the garden, which I only acquired
last year as a virgin plot. But now you mention it they seem to have a
liking for B&Q compost - they were always having a go at the bags in the
garden, and often their digging has been around new plants which have
compost around them...But I have to say they mainly seem to play rather than
forage - spending a long time chasing each other around like puppies: I
think the two around now may be the cubs from the family that visited
throughout last summer...would that be likely, I wonder?..
>
> I am not aware none of an ultrasonic device that has been proven to work
> with foxes - if anyone has used one which has demonstrably worked as a
> standalone deterrent I would be interested in hearing about it.
Well, this Foxwatch gadget is '100% guaranteed to work or your money back',
so I might give it a go and report back...
>
> IIRC the Fox Project recommended a couple of chemical deterrents - Scoot
> and Get off my garden.
Yes, they still say that ultrasonic deterrents are 'broadly ineffective',
and recommend either the above products you mention or a water propelled
gadget called 'scarecrow'. I think that has to be connected to a hose-pipe,
so I'm not too into the thought of that trailing up the garden all the
time...I might email Fox Project about Foxwatch, to see if it was one of the
ones they tested...
Deterrents such as these are most effective if
> you can locate where the fox(es) are marking their territory by peeing on
> specific objects or patches of ground and applying the deterrent in the
> same place. Random application is unlikely to work.
I don't feel confident in locating their pee!...but I'll check out the
chemical deterrents; I found something that was a bright blue gel, but was
distinctly unimpressed by the thought of having the stuff spread all over
the garden, or even locally applied - too likely to get trodden in a walked
all over the house!..
> Our local dog fox is a prodigious territory marker and marks the same
> items on a regular basis - mainly large plant containers. We have been
> lucky with damage that has been clearly down to foxes although they visit
> every night and occasionally during the day. The only problem has been
> their use of newly planted small shrubs as territory markers but a rag
> kept soaked in Renardine on a short stick placed immediately adjacent to
> the shrub solved the problem each time (Renardine has now been withdrawn
> from sale).
>
I was prepared to let them keep playing until they destroyed two newly
growing peonies, after which their fate was sealed...:-)
Thanks for your info anyway!
Mark
| |
| Mark Nicholls 2008-03-29, 1:25 pm |
|
"Mary Fisher" <mary.fisher@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:47ee557f$0$770$4c56ba96@master.news.zetnet.net...
>
> The only sure, permanent way to keep fox out of your garden is by secure,
> high fencing. It works and gives peace of mind. It also keeps two legged
> predators out.
>
> We've slept soundly since we put up plastic coated chain link fencing
> attached to square section steel uprights with the same steel linking top
> and bottom of the uprights, which are embedded in concrete.
>
> It's not as ugly as it sounds, in fact because it lets light in and gives
> a lot of scope for climbing plants it's an asset to the garden.
>
How tall is yor fence?...When I moved here last year my first garden task
was to extend the fences all round with trellis - they're now about 8 feet
high - except for one stretch of about 20ft which is waste high chain-link
fence, which is of course where the foxes hop over. This belongs to my
neighbour, along with the stumps of the 3 x 60ft leylandii which I pursuaded
him to chop down last summer. He's promised to replace the fence with a
taller wooden fence and then I will extend that to about 8ft with trellis,
planted with the prickliest climbing roses I can find, which I hope will
keep out both four and two legged interlopers! But I'd hoped in the meantime
to find something to keep the foxes out - I may end up just knocking the
window at them every morning, as I'm up early!...
Many thanks for your suggestion, anyway!
Mark
| |
| Mary Fisher 2008-03-30, 9:25 am |
|
"Mark Nicholls" <mark@thepiano.co.uk> wrote in message
news:JPvHj.118759$M9.75983@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>
> "Mary Fisher" <mary.fisher@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:47ee557f$0$770$4c56ba96@master.news.zetnet.net...
> How tall is yor fence?...
Two metres.
Mary
| |
| Mark Nicholls 2008-03-30, 9:25 am |
|
"Mary Fisher" <mary.fisher@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:47ef72c3$0$764$4c56ba96@master.news.zetnet.net...
garden.
>
> Two metres.
>
Thanks for that - when my neighbour gets his act together and replaces the
short section of fence over which they currently jump, my problem should be
solved....
Mark
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