7 useful tools for cleaning up fox poo from your garden
A quick list of useful items that you can keep in your garage or shed to make the nasty job of picking up smelly fox poo slightly less disgusting. It’s a horrible job, but someone’s gotta do it!
Foxes pooing on lawns, flowerbeds and patios is a common problem many of us have when urban foxes visit our gardens.
The bad smell and the inconvenience of treading in it are bad enough on their own. However, more worrying are the germs contained within fox faeces, particularly the roundworm that can cause Toxocariasis.
We can make sure we wash our hands but it’s more difficult to keep tabs on young children and dogs, both of whom like to eat things and are therefore most susceptible to Toxocariasis.
The tools below are very useful for cleaning up fox poo, disposing of it safely and for getting rid of the harmful germs and bacteria afterwards.
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1. Arm’s Length Pooper Scooper
Yes, you could bend down with a trowel or shovel and try and scrape the poo up into a bag (or flick it off somewhere into the undergrowth).
But for the more squeamish among us, getting up close and personal with fox poo isn’t anyone’s idea of fun.
The Arm’s Length Pooper Scooper is a really useful device that allows you to stand up straight and clean up poo easily.
Helpfully, the handles on the rake and shovel parts are telescopic so they can be adjusted to suit your height.
Not only does this keep the vile smell as far away as possible, but it’s also great for older people or those with back problems who find it difficult to bend down.
Designed to be used on all kinds of surfaces like hard surfaces, gravel, grass or soil – the most common areas for fox poo – this is an excellent tool which makes a disgusting job slightly less disgusting.
2. Earth Friendly Poop Bags
It’s important to consider how you’re actually going to dispose of the fox poo once you’ve picked it up.
If you tip it straight into your dustbin, it could be sat around stinking the place out for a week or two, depending on your local rubbish collection schedule.
A less smelly option is to put it into a scented poop bag before putting it in your dustbin. This adds an extra protective layer, stopping the smell escaping in case it’s a while before your bins are collected.
These biodegradable, powder-scented poop bags come in packs of 300 and come with carry handles to make tying them up that much easier.
The bags are nice and large too, making it easy to scoop up the poo and transfer it straight into the bag without getting your hands involved. Yuck!
3. Fresh Pet Cleaner & Disinfectant
We all know that fox poo stinks, as does their urine. But as well as getting rid of the horrible smell, it’s important that the germs and bacteria are removed too.
Foxes can carry mange and toxocariasis and, while it’s unlikely these diseases will be passed on, it’s safer to minimise the risk to children, pets and ourselves by giving the soiled area a good clean.
‘Fresh Pet Cleaner & Disinfectant’ is popular in kennels and catteries as it does a great job of killing bacteria, disinfecting and deodorising, and is also completely safe for animals.
This makes it perfect for cleaning up fox poo and urine in the usual spots like driveways, paths, patios and decking and artificial grass without the worry of it causing harm to your pets.
It can be used fully concentrated, but it’s best to dilute it with some water and apply it with a pressure sprayer (see below) or a trigger spray bottle [aff] to the affected area.
4. Small Poo Dustbin
Having a separate dustbin in your garden that is only used for your bagged-up animal poo can be very useful.
It keeps the poo away from your regular rubbish and also provides a quick and convenient place to get rid of it, rather than walking back into your house or to another area where your main bins are.
If you’re particularly squeamish, then a small garden dustbin can be an easy place to get the fox droppings out of sight, out of mind and out of nostrils. If you’ve got dogs or cats, an dedicated ‘poo bin’ would also be useful for dealing with their doings and litter tray contents.
This is a small, 15 litre dustbin manufactured from galvanised metal, making it small enough to be discreet yet sturdy enough to sit outside.
5. Spear & Jackson 8 Litre Pressure Sprayer
Having a good quality pressure sprayer in your gardening tools collection is always going to come in useful, if only for watering your garden.
In a fox poo context, a sprayer is an efficient way of spreading Fresh Pet Cleaner & Disinfectant around your garden.
It would also come in handy if you’re applying a solution-based deterrent like Scoot Fox Repellent on your lawn, borders and fence posts.
This solid Spear & Jackson pump action pressure sprayer is one of the most popular in the UK. It’s long hose and wand, along with pressure release valve, means you can be really accurate when spraying. This great if you want even coverage or need to avoid certain areas.
This is the 8 Litre version and comes with shoulder straps so you can put it on like a backpack. There are larger and smaller versions available, depending on what’s suitable for your size and strength.
6. Plant-based Biodegradable Gloves
Though you can use poop bags turned inside out, you may also feel more confident about picking up after the fox if you’re wearing gloves.
Latex has been the traditional material for these type of single-use gloves, but latex is not a particularly eco-friendly material.
Instead, why not consider these biodegradable and compostable gloves that are made from plant-based materials?
You can throw them out with your poo bags with the knowledge that they have a lower carbon footprint and will break dow much more quickly than petroleum-based alternatives.
The main drawback to latex-free gloves is that they don’t fit quite as snugly and are a bit looser on the hands and fingers. But if you can get over that (you’ll only be using them briefly each time after all) these gloves are a very useful thing to have on hand, literally and metaphorically.
7. Anti-fouling Fox Spray
Once you’ve gone to the effort of cleaning up the fox poo in your garden, it’s helpful to use a deterrent to try and discourage the fox from coming back and doing the same thing again.
This citronella-based spray is a cost-effective and easy-to-use product that you can spray on soil, decking, patios or anywhere else that needs protecting.
Citronella is a common ingredient in animal deterrent products and will help to reduce the chances of the fox fouling in that particular spot again.
However, keep in mind that the scent quickly fades over time and after rainfall, so you will need to remember to spray it again every so often as a reminder to the fox to stay away.
RESOURCES
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Photo credit: Animology
Photo credit: Concept Research
