Foxes digging holes in your garden is one of the biggest problems people have with foxes and is one of the main reasons for purchasing a suitable fox repellent. It is incredibly frustrating to come down in the morning to find plants from your flowerbed strewn across the lawn, or unsightly holes that have been dug in your well-manicured grass.
Why do foxes dig holes?
One of the main reasons is simply that the fox is looking for food. When the ground is wet, tasty morsels such as earthworms and grubs come very close to the surface. Digging up the grass or soil in these conditions is a very easy way for the fox to catch prey. Unfortunately, this can also mean that buried pets are a target as they will give off a strong odour to the fox and are usually not buried far below the surface.
Foxes also like to dig holes as a place to store previously caught prey for retrieval at a later date. The fox is a resourceful creature and often catches more prey than it needs for one meal, which is known as ‘surplus killing’. So as not to waste the food, the fox will look for a safe place (or places) to dig a hole and stash it. The food source will then be scent marked by the fox to ward off other animals and to remind it where the food is buried. Holes for burying food are often dug in places the fox perceives to be an enclosed area, such as in thick shrubbery or near a fence or wall. As the fox can only eat about 10% of its body weight per meal, the need to dig a hole to bury the remaining food is very common.
Holes are also commonly dug by foxes because they like to live underground in a place that is warm and safe from intruders. This makes places such as under a shed or a garage prime locations for a fox to live. It is often the case that a fox will start to dig a hole, only to decide that it wasn’t a suitable place after all and will move on. This explains the mystery of why many people find large holes in their gardens that are uninhabited.
What can I do to stop foxes digging?
A good place to start is to look at why a fox might be interested in coming into your garden. Do you leave food out, whether or not it is intended for the fox? Do you have small pets in the garden that are insecurely housed? Do you have an open compost heap that isn’t fenced in? Would your garage or shed be easy for a fox to burrow under? Do you have unnecessary undergrowth that could be cleared away?
Dealing with these questions first will cut down the chances of a fox being tempted into your garden and is an excellent start in keeping foxes away. However, if you have addressed these issues and are still having fox problems then it may be time to buy a fox repellent product to deal with the issue.
Buying Fox Repellents and Deterrents
Depending on your individual problem, there are a range of fox repellents that can help. One thing to bear in mind when applying fox repellent is that you need to have patience. Foxes will not just disappear overnight and you will need to stick to your repellent programme until the fox learns that your garden is not a place it wants to be.
Get Off My Garden Fox Repellent Review – For deterring foxes from specific parts of your garden, using a cheap, eco-friendly gel containing citronella
FoxWatch Fox Repellent Review – For scaring foxes foxes away using motion detectors and sonic booms specifically targetting foxes
Scoot Fox Repellent Review – Cheap and effective fox repellent for blanket coverage of your garden using ammonium powder dissolved in water
List of Top 10 Fox Repellents on Amazon – Quick list of 10 effective and well-priced deterrents delivered directly to your door from Amazon