Kitchen Garden Forum

As I may have mentioned before, we're plagued around here with urban foxes, thanks to at least two people in the neighbourhood who think it is great to feed them. I'm learning to live with the foxes, largely by putting wire netting round my raised beds and containers, and staking everything in the flower borders. This week, though, I cleared a 3ftx3ft bed of broad beans, souped up the soil with some home made garden compost, full of wriggly red worms, and replanted with some leftover leek seedlings. A couple of nights later, a fox crushed the wire netting and 'dug over' the bed for me, tearing or burying the young leeks in the process. I have to assume it was after the worms. I've rescued as many of the leeks as I could, and hope some of them will recover in a different place. Not so much a 'what can I do' posting on the forum, as letting off steam.

Oh Ken, how annoying

There is a lady on the plot next to mine who feeds the foxes on left over takeaway and bread. She thinks its a good idea as they keep the foxes keep the rats down - they may well do but her manky old kebabs probably attract the rats in the first place, and the foxes do a lot of damage to boot.

Yes, we're very conscious of the rat problem as well, although we haven't seen any yet. But among the things the foxes have brought into our garden are a chop bone, and the elderly lady next door to us (who says she is on the point of giving up gardening, she has become so depressed by the damage), found a pig's trotter on her lawn...

I cannot understand why people feed foxes...they belong in the country - not in the suburbs. Do they think they are being "kind" by boosting fox numbers...which then get mange and carry disease.

Personally I think these people feed them for their own selfish reasons without giving a thought to the balance of nature.
(that may seem harsh...but it's how I feel )

I am so sorry for your damage. It is so upsetting to lose anything you have sown and nurtured. I don't know why people feed these foxes they are wild animals. If they lived in Africa would they put food out for the local lions. (My sister lives in Zambia

Above our plot between the next plot we have seen a path being worn into a plot which is not being used. I think it might be foxes or badgers.

Our problem with rats is that a new person has arrived on our allotment site and they have made a really small area for their chickens. On a once very productive plot They seem to feed them alsorts of rubbish, pizza bits,bread rubbish etc. they have dirty water pans and recently a few of their chickens died. Our problem is do you say anything to them and worry about damage to your plot or do you not saying anything and have to watch these chickens on such bare ground. They are not the most pleasant of people.

Anonymous rspca tip off?

I have considered that route.

Hi Catherine,

You could also ask your council's allotment officer to do a full site inspection, as I am sure that they would have something in there tenancy agreement regarding the hens welfare.

Regards

Arnie

The most effective way I've found to deter the urban fox is for a meat-eating man (me) to wee in a watering can and then pour it in lines to scent mark around borders. It lets the fox know the territory is already taken.
For years I tried all the usual methods of electric high pitched sound box, Renardine, mothballs, plastic bottles full of water, luminous predator eyes et al but this method is the only one that really seems to work.

Hi Spare Chair,

Interesting method you have there! I have to admit to sending sons out to the garden of an evening several years ago on a regular basis when we were bothered by foxes. They thought it was hilarious and we lived in a house that was not overlooked at all I have to say! But it seems the foxes were more tempted by the prospect of a chicken dinner than put off by widdle...

I thought we had a fox problem on the allotment earlier this year as my beds were getting ruffled up overnight but when a family in a house behind finally put up a fence the problem went away.

MW

Widdle round the edge of the garden is certainly an interesting idea...I have one ultrasonic device protecting two flower beds, and it seems to work OK, but I'd need a minimum of four to protect the whole of the L-shaped back garden, I reckon, and they are quite expensive. Someone mentioned at one point that holly leaves were the only sure deterrent. By coincidence, someone down the road was pruning a big holly hedge at the weekend, so I cadged a bin-full of prunings from him to scatter in the areas where the fox seems to enter and leave.