Archive for category: Advice

Research doesn’t suggest ‘explosion’ in urban fox population

Contrary to what many may think, there isn’t any solid scientific evidence to suggest that the urban fox population has hugely increased.

In fact, what studies have shown is that as our urban areas have grown, foxes living in our towns and cities have simply grown at the same rate.

But it’s not the crazy explosion of ‘killer foxes’ that some media outlets would have us believe.

Here’s some research to back up that statement:

In 1999, the Game Conservancy Trust’s ‘National Gamebag Census‘ estimated that there were around 33,600 urban foxes in the UK.

In 2012, the preliminary results of the survey conducted on Channel 4’s ‘Foxes Live: Wild In The City‘ series, suggested there were around 40,000 urban foxes.

That’s a gap of 13 years, during which a lot of development has taken place in urban areas across the country, so the relative increase in foxes is to be expected.

A human cause for urban fox success

As the urban human population increases, more and more facilities are required to support this growth.

This sees an increase in things like restaurants, bars, cafes, takeaways, mini-supermarkets, all of which inadvertently provide sustenance for foxes.

Add in the fact that households waste an awful lot of food, along with many councils not providing wheelie bins and resorting to fortnightly collections, it means that there’s a very human cause behind urban foxes thriving.

Well-known wildlife expert and TV personality, Chris Packham has put it well:

“The fox population is self-regulating. If there’s not enough food, the foxes will move elsewhere or they will stop breeding. The problem in cities is we waste so much food. We drop our takeaways and so much other stuff, that foxes are able to prosper. There’s never any need to pull the trigger on [cull] them. If we just cleaned up our cities, with more bins and more responsible action, then we would have less foxes.”

Are foxes tamer than in the past?

A question that isn’t often asked is whether urban foxes have lost their fear of humans over the last 20 – 30 years.

The research done on 2012’s Foxes Live programme, headed by University of Brighton’s Dr Dawn Scott, found that 1.5% of people who took part in their survey reported the problem of foxes actually coming into their house.

Dr Scott was very surprised by this figure and admitted it was much higher than she had expected. However, without any data to compare this to, it’s really just an interesting statistic rather than anything conclusive about behavioural changes.

Which brings us round to the issue of humans feeding foxes. It’s a thorny issue that seems to polarise opinion among the public.

A recent phone in on Vanessa Feltz’s BBC London Radio Show had several members of the public calling in to say how much they love foxes, how they’ve always fed them and how they have no intention of stopping.

But, crucially, the ‘what’s the harm in feeding foxes’ view is generally held by people who are not experts on wildlife.

What do the experts say about feeding foxes?

Chris Packham, who is a fan of foxes, says:

“These animals shouldn’t be hand-fed. They shouldn’t be encouraged too close to people. If you’re going to feed them, feed them at a great distance and watch them through binoculars. We don’t want to tame a fox who could confuse someone else [who doesn’t like foxes] for you.”

Peter Crowden, Pest Control Specialist & Chairman of the National Pest Technician’s Association (NPTA):

“The problem isn’t the foxes, they unfortunately have got a very bad label. The problem is the people. We have got to educate the people not to feed and encourage foxes into their homes. You can’t cuddle a fox, they are very dangerous wild animals. Numbers of foxes have not increased over the last 30 years, but a fox cannot tell the difference between a house that is happy to provide it with a source of food and one that is not.”

Dr Roger Mugford, Animal Behaviourist & founder of The Animal Behaviour Centre:

“In the country, foxes are very averse to human contact, but in London it’s different. They associate humans with food… I think it’s human behaviour that has to change and that means not feeding foxes. I think education is the way forward. I know foxes are beautiful creatures and they’re wonderful to watch, but let them be wild. By changing their mindset and turning them into semi-domesticated animals, we endanger them.”

The views of the experts quoted here do make logical sense. However fluffy and cute some of us may think they are, ultimately foxes are wild animals who are more than capable of fending for themselves without the need to receive human handouts.

Of course, it’s impossible to prove that the foxes who attacked baby twins, bit the finger off of a baby or who were caught licking a baby’s face had been the recipient of food from other people in the area, but humans trying to tame foxes by feeding them probably does more harm than good.

Foxes are a part of the urban landscape and we should count ourselves lucky that we get to see them at such close quarters.

But the statistics show that foxes are doing just fine and do not need extra help from us. Laws against feeding foxes are not necessary, but people should really think twice before (quite selfishly) putting out food for a species that doesn’t need it.

If you live in an area that has foxes, you’re inevitably going to see them whether you put food out or not.

Why encourage an animal that doesn’t need encouragement?

Many homeowners, pet owners and parents have heard about foxes carrying mange and the protection of ourselves, our pets and children are one of the main reasons we seek to buy an effective fox repellent.

Understandably, we have all heard rumours of the horrors of mange and automatically associate it with foxes, therefore causing the deterrent of foxes from our gardens to be of top priority.

Although most people have heard of mange and even use the word ‘mangy’ as an adjective to describe something dishevelled and unpleasant, there are surprisingly few simple explanations of mange given in the fox repellent industry that help people to understand exactly what it is.

Symptoms Of Mange In Foxes

The most common form of mange in foxes is sarcoptic mange which is caused by a parasitic mite burrowing into the skin of the fox. This in turn causes an itching sensation resulting in the fox scratching and scratching resulting in infection and hair loss.

The effects of sarcoptic mange can be quite severe and can lead to the death of a fox within 6 months, if the infection is not treated.

The hair loss means the fox will no longer be able to keep warm and eventually no longer be able to hunt for food effectively, leading to quite a sad, slow and painful death.

Foxes can be infected with mange in a variety of ways, including direct contact with another animal or via walls or fences that another infected animal has brushed past, leaving a trail of parasites.

While it is important to note that foxes can pass mange onto dogs, you should not unduly panic as transmission between these two animals is relatively rare.

However, making use of a good fox deterrent such as spraying Scoot Fox Repellent around your garden, or placing a sonic device such as the FoxWatch Fox Deterrent at the point where you believe the fox enters your garden, should be enough to keep foxes away.

It is also worth noting that most fox diseases cannot be transmitted to cats. Should your dog catch mange from an infected fox, a trip to the vet and a course of medication should resolve the issue fairly quickly.

Mange can in rare cases be passed onto humans, but usually the symptoms are very mild and usually only involve a slightly itchy rash.

Slightly more cause for concern would be young children catching toxocariasis, which is also harboured by foxes.

Use A Fox Repellent To Keep Mange Away

In general however, mange is a disease that is easily treatable, but it is sensible for you to take precautions.

If you are looking for an effective fox repellent to make sure that foxes keep out of your  garden, then please take a look at Fox Repellent Experts Top 10 Fox Repellent List for reviews and further information on the effectiveness of the repellent.

As always, when trying to repel foxes and stop the danger of mange, you may find that you need to try a few different fox repellents before you find one that suits you.

So please be patient and persevere because a fox’s behaviour cannot be changed overnight. They need frequent reminders that your garden is out of bounds and eventually they will learn to stay away.

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). T

his 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.