There’s a lot of ultrasonic deterrent products on the market that all seem to make some similar claims, so it can be a little overwhelming to decide which ones will be the most effective.

What has always baffled me are the ones that claim to be ‘animal deterrents’ and then go onto list a variety of animals as if they are all affected the same way. Obviously this is not the case, as animals respond differently to different pitches and types of noise.

I’ve recently been in contact with some people in the animal repellent manufacturing industry and have learned some interesting information that i wasn’t aware of before.

Beware Of Cheap Chinese Repellent Products

Virtually all ultrasonic devices available to buy are cheaply made in China with low cost components and are then shipped over here to flood the market. In general, these products have not been specifically tested on the animals they claim to repel, which makes the likelihood of them achieving the result you want very unlikely. You also face the issue of the products becoming faulty very quickly because of the low-grade materials that have gone into making them.

The FoxWatch Fox Repeller – Made in England

In fact, the only ultrasonic fox deterrent on the market that has been specifically tested on the UK’s urban foxes is the FoxWatch Fox Repeller. The FoxWatch is manufactured in Stevenage by Concept Research Ltd, who have been specialising in high quality animal repellent devices for over 20 years. The unit underwent tests for 2 years in gardens in urban areas in the UK before it was released for sale and has since proved to be the market leader in ultrasonic fox deterrents.

A Deterrent Endorsed By Experts

The unit has been endorsed by fox expert Professor Stephen Harris of Bristol University and has also featured on BBC’s Countryfile programme, which is testament to it’s quality. The FoxWatch has become so popular because it is very effective at keeping foxes away and is simple to set up in your garden. It can be mounted onto a wall or fence or stuck into the ground and is powered by a 9 Volt battery or via the mains. Provided you can locate whereabouts the fox gains access to your property, positioning the unit so the fox has no choice but to cross the motion detector and set off the sonic burst, will help to scare off foxes.

Repeller Comes With 2 Year Warranty

If you have been overwhelmed with all the deterrent choices and you really are serious about keeping foxes out of your garden, then the FoxWatch Fox Repeller is thoroughly recommended in terms of effectiveness and build quality. As the only ultrasonic fox repeller manufactured in the UK, it also comes with a 2 year manufacturers warranty from Concept Research. Their customer service is excellent and they are happy to rectify any issues in the rare scenario that a problem arises. Knowing that you can deal with a company in the UK is a huge benefit to owning a FoxWatch device, rather than a poor quality Chinese imitation model that probably won’t last.

Buy the FoxWatch on Amazon »»

Watch a video on the FoxWatch Fox Repeller »»

I imagine that the idea of deterring foxes by placing a life-sized ornament of a fox in your garden had not occurred to you? Well that’s understandable, particularly if you are not especially fond of these creatures. However, placing a realistic-looking fox in your garden could be an ingenious way of keeping real ones away because of the mindset and behaviour traits of foxes in the wild.

Foxes are very territorial which is one of the main reasons for them fouling and spraying in your garden. It’s also an important reason of the side who argue against fox culling. Remove a fox from a territory and another one will simply move in and take it’s place.

Now these ornamental foxes are a similar size to a large fox and, if used in the correct way, are an excellent fox repellent device. These particular ones are made by a UK-based company called Vivid Arts and have been designed with incredible attention to detail. The fur has been expertly hand painted, giving the impression of deep texture and looks incredibly realistic. The real strength of these ornamental foxes though are the eyes. Foxes are acutely aware of being ‘watched’ and the reflection of light off of eyes causes an incredibly powerful effect. Anyone who has driven into their driveway at night catching their headlights on the eyes of a cat will know exactly what I mean. The eyes on the ornamental fox have been impeccably designed and glint and gleam in the same way. It’s almost eerie how lifelike they are. Creepiness aside, this is great for causing doubt, fear and suspicion in the foxes coming into your garden. Foxes are notorious for wanting to avoid conflict and are more likely to move on to another area rather than risk an encounter with a rival.

I believe that the best way to use these ornaments to deter foxes is in conjunction with Scoot Fox Repellent, a very popular scent-based deterrent that confuses the fox’s sense of smell and gives the impression that another predator has claimed the territory. As many of you will already know, a fox uses it’s nose at all times to detect food, orientation and danger, so spraying Scoot on and around the ornamental fox will add a realistic smell to it’s lifelike appearance.

The Prowling Fox Garden Ornament is weatherproof so can sit comfortably in your garden without being destroyed by the elements. I recommend placing it on the edge of shrubbery or a flower bed to slightly obscure it, creating even more wariness in local foxes. Spray it on a semi-regular basis with Scoot and you’ve got yourself a very effective fox deterrent.

Buy the Prowling Fox Garden Ornament now »»

Recommended further reading:

See all Fox Repellent Reviews »»

With the huge media coverage of this issue over the last few days, there can be relatively few of us unaware of the reported attack by a fox on a baby that apparently tore it’s finger off, in my own area of Bromley. I think everyone will agree that it is a horrible attack and you really feel for both the family and the poor little baby.

However, I am very disappointed that it has been the Daily Mail that has got exclusive rights to this story, as this newspaper famously loves to scaremonger and it is almost guaranteed that the Mail will not report fairly and with balance. Much better coverage of the story has come from this piece on Channel 4 News:

Whilst this attack has been horrible for the family and the baby, fox attacks on humans remain incredibly rare. It’s the rarity of these attacks that makes them such huge news when they do occur. The fact remains that your children are far more at risk from being injured by a domestic cat and dog and this latest fox attack should be put into perspective.

I live in Bromley and there are a lot of foxes, but there always have been in the 40+ years that I’ve lived here. One of the problems is people forgetting that foxes are wild animals who are constantly on the lookout for food (as are all creatures in nature) and will defend themselves if cornered and cannot run away. I hear too many reports of people feeding foxes and encouraging them to come right up to their houses. Foxes are not pet dogs or pet cats, they are wild animals who should not be fed by humans. In the fox’s mind, they simply begin associate humans with food and therefore lose their natural fear of humans.

Of course we have no idea of the circumstances in this particular case, but I believe that it’s the ‘fox lovers’ feeding foxes that are contributing to the problem and strengthening the ‘fox haters’ arguments that a fox cull is in order. I like foxes, and I accept that part of the trade off for being able to see them at such close quarters is that they will be a pain from time to time. However, I do not feed them and I employ humane fox deterrent methods (which i constantly write about on this site) to minimise the problems that they can cause. Unfortunately, if a fox has got used to a human feeding it, the fox obviously won’t distinguish between the neighbour who likes foxes and the neighbour who despises foxes, which is often the root of the problem.

So my advice is to get a decent fox deterrent like Scoot or a Water Scarecrow or a Waterproof Radio and put them to good use. You don’t have to just have one fox repellent; use a combination of methods in order to get the most effective set up in your garden. And if you know of friends or neighbours who are feeding foxes, tell them not to! In my opinion, it’s the feeders of foxes who are to blame for some foxes losing their fear of humans, rather than the foxes themselves. Just watch them naturally without intervening by putting out food!

See my Top 10 Fox Repellent List »»

A great little interview I found with David Tennant which shows that even inter-galactical timelords have problems with urban foxes coming into their garden. By the sounds of things David Tennant is plagued by foxes in the area of London that he lives and decided to urinate in his garden to deter them.

As he explains, although human urine can be an effective way of repelling foxes, you do have to relieve yourself on a daily basis. Not so nice if the weather is terrible outside. Plus, there is only so much bodily fluid a human can provide, which could make things difficult if you have anything other than a small garden!

I’ve talked about the effectiveness of urinating in your garden and also suggested some easier alternatives in my article Is Human Urine An Effective Fox Repellent?

You can listen to the David Tennant Fox Repellent interview below:

In 2012, the Channel 4 series ‘Foxes Live: Wild In The City’ conducted a survey throughout the running of the series.

The survey asked viewers a vast range of questions including what their most common issue or problem that they faced from the urban fox.

By the final episode of the series, approximately 10,000 people from around the UK took part and here are the results to that particular question:

Not surprisingly, foxes fouling was the biggest problem reported by the viewers. It’s an annoying problem and is caused because foxes use their excrement and urine as a way of marking their territory. I have written an article that goes into further detail on What Can Be Done To Stop Foxes Fouling?.

At number two is the loud noise foxes make. It can be taken as read that noise actually refers to the loud blood curdling screams that foxes are well-known to let out. Used as a way to communicate and during the mating season, the screams can be loud and very off putting. If you live in an urban area with a large fox population, this is a problem that will be familiar. While there is no product that can make a fox stop screaming, there are things you can do to keep foxes at a safe distance to minimise the impact of the noise. I have written about this in Why Do Foxes Scream & What Can I Do?.

Foxes digging up the garden is also another common complaint was third in the survey of fox problems. The main cause of digging is foxes simply looking for food. Annoying if you have just planted some new flowers, or the fox has dug up the remains of a dead pet. I have discussed this issue further in What To Do About Foxes Digging Up Your Garden.

There are no surprises really in this particular part of the survey, and although there are a variety of problems, the solution to deterring foxes from your property are similar whatever the problems they cause. Reading the advice in the articles I have linked to above should assist you greatly in keeping foxes away and solving these issues.

Other interesting facts and figures from the Foxes Live: Wild In The City survey were:

• 86% of people who took the survey like foxes.
• 70% of Londoners see a fox more than once per week.
• Women like foxes more than men
• Foxes are considered less of a garden pest than seagulls, cats, mice and rats

I’ve recently had a few people contact me regarding foxes causing damage to their cars. One gentleman had an issue with foxes chewing his car’s vinyl roof, another was getting scratched paint work, whilst a lady contacted me for ideas on how to stop foxes chewing wires underneath her car. Having to fix a car because a fox has caused damage to it is incredibly frustrating, inconvenient and often expensive, so I’ve come up with a few ideas for you to try to keep the foxes away and off your car!

Depending on whether you park your car in a driveway, in your garden or on the street, you need to decide which option would work best for you.

Cover your car with a car cover or a tarpaulin

If you have a problem with foxes (or cats for that matter) jumping up on your car and causing damage to the paintwork, then a simple and cost effective solution is to buy a car cover. They are available in a range of sizes, are often water resistant and don’t take much time to put on or remove. If you’re looking for something inexpensive just to protect your paintwork, then a manufacturer called Maypole do car covers in small, medium and large, so you can select one according to the size of your car.
See all car cover options »» 

Alternatively, another more heavy duty option is to buy a large piece of tarpaulin. This will keep foxes off of your paintwork and, if you buy a large enough piece, it can protect the underside of your car also. You can secure the overhanging tarpaulin to the ground with something heavy like bricks, or fastening it with tent pegs (if parked on grass). This will make the underside of the car inaccessible to foxes, therefore protecting against chewed wires. There is a range of tarpaulin on Amazon so try and make sure you buy tarpaulin large enough that you can fix it to the ground.

Put a portable radio in or under your car

Obviously I’m not advocating leaving your car stereo on all night, otherwise you’ll come down in the morning to a flat battery. But you can get very cheap but very functional battery-powered or wind up radios that will do the job. Tune it to a station that has only conversation (e.g. Radio 4) and put it in or under your car. The foxes will hear the voices and think humans are close by which should be enough to keep them away. To see how surprisingly effective radios are in keeping foxes away, please read my article on Using a Radio as A Fox Repellent here »»

Spray Scoot Fox Repellent around your car

In addition to the above two options, you can also use Scoot to spray on the ground where you park your car. This is probably more applicable if you park your car in the same place each night and maybe not so easy if you park on the street. Scoot works by covering any scent left by a fox and makes the foxes think that another animal has claimed the territory. The fox will want to avoid any conflict and after a short while will leave the area alone. Scoot is easy to mix into a solution and is not harmful to pets or the environment, but could help in keeping foxes away from your car.

Hopefully one of these options, or a combination of options, has provided you with food for thought on how to protect your car from the unwanted attention of foxes. You must understand that repelling foxes is rarely something that can be achieved overnight, but by making your car as unappealing to a fox as possible, the fox will soon get the message and turn it’s attention elsewhere.

Transcribed from Channel 4′s “Foxes Live” series.

This is our definitive guide to finding foxes in your area and getting those all-important photographs for the Fox Census.

Step 1 – Find A Fox

Mark Evans: I’ve asked photographer and fox fanatic Jamie to give me some advice on how to get started.

Jamie Hall: Look for greener areas in the cities as obviously that’s where they’re going to be living. Generally just drive around and look.

Mark Evans: So this kind of set up here where you’ve got a lot of housing on a housing estate but you have got a lot of green areas and small areas of woodland. This would be absolutely prime.

Jamie Hall: As well you need to look for a food source for them. They’re obviously going to and from places for food. Think things like fast food restaurants and shops. There’s always food around.

Step 2 – Check The Hole

Mark Evans: One way of finding foxes is to look for their dens. Fox holes are often under buildings or sheds or in patches of waste ground. If you want to know whether a hole like this is being used by foxes, there are some tell-tale signs. First look for paw prints in the earth within the hole. There aren’t any here but there are other signs. On these brambles, there are tiny tiny little tufts of fur. A little bit red, a little bit grey and some darker fur.

If you can’t see any disturbance in terms of the soil, one little trick is to leave a few twigs in the entrance, come back tomorrow and see if they’ve moved. And right in front of my nose, there’s some evidence…fox droppings.

Step 3 – Take A Photo

Mark Evans: When you spot a fox, stay quiet and take a photo. You don’t need an expensive camera, even a mobile phone will do.

Jamie Hall: In terms of photographing them, look for brighter areas, look for lit up areas. Here we’ve got street lights, we’ve got house lights, we’ve got car headlights with the cars going past. There’s a lot more light here on the street that will enable us to get a shot. You’re not going to get that over in a dark area.

In conclusion

Mark Evans: So seek out green spaces in built up areas and potential sources of food. If you see a hole, check for signs of activity. And if you’re trying to take a photo, make sure you’ve got plenty of light. Dusk is the ideal time to spot foxes so get out there.

Transcribed from Channel 4′s “Foxes Live” series.

Mark Evans: “How much food does a vixen with cubs actually need to eat? Well there are three big chunks of calories she’ll need.

The first is just to keep herself going. It’s like the fuel your car uses when it’s idling. Now that in the case of a vixen is about 250 calories, about the equivalent of one hamburger.

The second big chunk of calories is to fuel her moving around, her hunting and her normal daily activity. Again that’s about another 250 calories.

So that’s what she needs for her, but then there’s the big numbers in terms of calories. Her body has got to make this super strong milk to fuel the development of cubs that are growing really really fast. For each one of those cubs, she needs to consume to produce that milk another 250 calories on average while she’s breast feeding. So that’s 2500 calories that she has to be able to consume just to look after her cubs. That’s about the equivalent of a human mum feeding a baby at peak milk flow, which is a huge number of calories.

But then think about this if you equate it to something else. If she’s actually nearer a chicken takeaway, that’s how much chicken she would need to eat (10 drumsticks) . But hopefully she’s not having too much fast food. If it’s wild food then we’re talking a herd of mice every day and if she was hunting exclusively earthworms, she would need to eat around one thousand of these worms everyday. That’s a colossal amount of food. So Gertrude being there, Phil, is great in terms of taking some of that workload off but actually does it delay the weaning of the cubs having more milk available and affect their development and behaviour?”

Dr Phil Baker: “I think at this stage it’s more quantity is perhaps more important than quality, although, there is increasing interest in terms this kind of diet is not necessarily good for them. So having her around is a big advantage. The other thing is it’s an advantage for her. She may gain experience of how to be a mum in the future.”

Mark Evans: “Which would be great news if she has another litter.”

To be honest, for such a well known animal that lives with many of us in such close quarters, there aren’t too many books dedicated to foxes, let alone fox repellent methods. Foxes usually get a chapter or a section in broader wildlife books, or perhaps studies in specialist journals, but very rarely will you find in-depth analysis specifically about foxes, that are easily available to the general public.

Below are listed the few books that do concentrate solely on foxes. All listed here are very good in helping to understand the life of a fox and their unique behaviours. If you were considering buying a book on foxes, I hope that by bringing these publications together in one article you find it easier to see what is available to you. The list is an ongoing resource and will be added to as I discover further useful books on foxes.

URBAN FOXES by Stephen Harris & Phil Baker

Stephen Harris is a Professor of Environmental Sciences at Bristol University and is generally regarded as an authority on urban foxes, having had papers published in the likes of the Journal of Animal Ecology BBC Wildlife Magazine and the Journal of Mammalogy, amongst many others. Likewise, Dr Phil Baker is an academic at Reading University and has also published many papers on wildlife and mammals in a range of specialist journals.

Harris and Baker consolidate their huge knowledge of foxes in this comprehensive book foxes. A pleasant surprise is that despite their academic backgrounds, the book is written in an informative and entertaining way, making it easy for the layperson to understand. It’s excellent in explaining the behaviour of foxes. If you understand how and why foxes behave as they do, you will find you will have more success in deterring them. Equally, if you enjoy having foxes in your garden, then this book is an excellent companion to you fox watching!
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 UNEARTHING THE URBAN FOX: A HOUSEHOLDER’S GUIDE TO FOX DETERRENCE by Trevor Harris & John Bryant

This is an updated and revised version of a book originally published some years ago and now includes a foreword by everyone’s favourite wildlife expert, Chris Packham. Chris Packham isn’t going to risk his credentials for a subpar book and there is no danger of that here. Trevor Harris is a former musician who is perhaps more well known as the founder of the Fox Project Charity. The Fox Project does excellent work in the world of foxes, including fox rescue and rehabilitation. John Bryant is an animal welfare expert who also runs the Humane Wildlife Deterrence Association and has been heavily involved at the upper echelons of the RSPCA. So you can be sure both authors have a wealth of experience and, to put it bluntly, know what they are talking about!

The excellent book clearly explains the behaviour of foxes in simple terms, plus it gives very usable advice on deterrent ideas and techniques to help foxes keep away.
BUY A HOUSEHOLDER’S GUIDE TO FOX DETERRENCE »» 

RELATED LINKS

Different Types of Foxes List
10 Great Fox Repellents on Amazon
Why foxes foul & how to deal with it
FoxWatch Fox Repellent Review
Foxes With Mange

Scoot Fox Repellent is a product targeted specifically at foxes, manufactured by Foxolutions who are fox control specialists based in London, so you can be confident it’s a fox repellent that works.

Scoot is very effective as a means of deterring foxes and it comes in two 50g sachets of powder. Diluted in water, it can then be sprayed over your garden or affected area, therefore deterring the foxes from entering. Diluting both sachets can cover an area of up to 32m², so Scoot can be considered excellent value for money considering the large area it covers.

Following the banning of the chemical Renardine in 2005, Scoot has become an incredibly popular alternative. Whereas Renardine was banned for concerns to health and to the environment, Scoot is biodegradable and non-toxic, making it very eco-friendly. This is important as it means it can be sprayed in gardens, plants and even crops, without fear of harmful effects to humans or animals.

You can BUY SCOOT FOX REPELLENT securely here or read on for further information…

How do I use Scoot Fox Repellent?

If you have a problem with foxes fouling in your garden, ensure that you remove all trace of fox poo before spraying Scoot on your garden. This is a procedure that should be followed whatever fox repellent you use. Foxes use fouling as a way of marking their territory so failure to remove it will greatly reduce the effectiveness of your deterrent programme.

Take one of the 50g sachets and empty the contents into a large bowl or bucket and add just enough water to dissolve all the powder. You can then add water to make a minimum of 2.5 litres or a maximum of 9 litres. If you have particular hotspots in your garden where you know foxes are particularly active (e.g. in fox earths or flowerbeds), you may wish to go for the higher concentration. For blanket coverage across your whole garden, it is better to spray using the maximum dilution.

Ideally you should use a pressurised water sprayer to dispense the Scoot fox repellent as this will achieve even coverage across your garden, however a watering can will suffice. Make sure you spray the repellent whilst it is dry as spraying under wet conditions is another factor that can reduce the effectiveness. Scoot can withstand light rain showers and will last for around a month before you need to reapply, although after very heavy downpours, you may want to think about re-spraying.

How does Scoot Fox Repellent work?

As a fox relies heavily on it’s sense of smell, Scoot works by tricking the fox into thinking another animal has already ‘claimed’ the territory. The fox will feel threatened and will try and mark it’s territory again to try and ‘overscent’ the threat to it’s territory. After a short while the power of the Scoot will be too strong and the fox will see your garden as a threatening place that has been claimed by another animal and will go somewhere else.

When using Scoot, it’s always best to identify where the fox gets into your garden if you can. Apply Scoot 3 times in that area every 2-3 days to really overpower the fox’s attempts at scent marking, then give it another spray after a week and then again after a fortnight if you think it’s necessary. By that time, the fox associate your garden as a danger area and will stay away.

A little patience is absolutely key here. However much you would like them to, foxes will not change their behaviour overnight. Using a strategy with Scoot as I have described above, is the best way of ensuring effective fox deterrence.

Is Scoot Fox Repellent harmful to cats and dogs?

No, Scoot is not harmful to cats or dogs and is safe to use in your garden to repel foxes even if you have pets. It is not a repellent that works by ‘harming’ the fox. It is effective because it gives the fox a false impression that another animal has claimed the territory. Because foxes are so territorial they will feel threatened by the false predator smell Scoot creates. Domestic cats and dogs do not need to rely on claiming territory in the same way wild urban foxes do and therefore will not be affected by Scoot. It wont make them run away or unwilling to go out into the garden or anything unpleasant like that.

Scoot is non-toxic and is safe to spray on edible plants and crops. It breaks down over time and is not harmful to the environment. The main ingredient of Scoot is also used in everyday items like deodorant and in water purification. However, usual precautions such as not ingesting Scoot and keeping out of the reach of children apply.

Scoot has been recommended in the past by The Fox Project Charity and wildlife celebrity Chris Packham in his book Creating Your Own Back Garden Nature Reserve.

Additional products required for using Scoot Fox Repellent

You will need a vessel like a watering can or a garden sprayer to dispense the diluted Scoot around your garden. If you have a large garden, then an excellent and efficient way of ensuring Scoot is evenly distributed is by using the superb Hozelock Killaspray Plus (10 Litre) pressure sprayer.

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RELATED LINKS

The 2 Best Ways To Spread Scoot Around Your Garden
Get Off My Garden Fox Repellent Review
FoxWatch Fox Repellent Review
10 Great Fox Repellents on Amazon