Mr. Fox might be fantastic, but he’s overstayed his welcome
Red and gray foxes are common across North America, so you’ve likely had a bushy-tailed intruder passing by your property. And if your yard offers regular food and water or a cozy place to shelter, these interlopers could become regular visitors.
Living peacefully alongside them isn’t always a bad thing. Foxes are fascinating wild animals that help keep rodents at bay. But they can be a nuisance—digging holes in your lawn, putting small pets at risk, and the waste they leave behind is not pleasant.
If you’re wondering how to keep foxes away from your yard, try these safe, humane strategies for lasting eviction.
Foxes are often the villains in cartoons. But while they might be cunning creatures, they’re rarely a risk to people as they’re usually wary of humans. Some homeowners choose to live alongside their fox visitors because they help get rid of vermin infestations and contribute to biodiversity.
But even if you're a fox fan, you might not want them as tenants as they can:
Hassle, hurt, or kill small pets
Chase away wild birds you feed
Carry diseases and parasites (including fleas, ticks, distemper and, on very rare occasions, rabies)
Cover your yard with strong-smelling urine and feces
Dig up plants or manicured lawns
Make a mess bin raiding
It’s not just the late-night unnerving screaming and raspy barking sounds that can alert you to foxes in your yard. Look out for:
Dark brown to black poop (scat) with a distinctive musky odor
A pungent smell of ammonia-heavy urine
Holes in your lawn or plant beds
Signs of den digging near decks, porches, or patios
Raided bins
Paw tracks
Remains of scavenged food or prey
Your pet may also alert you to the presence of foxes with changes in their behavior. Are they less enthusiastic about going outside, barking or hissing at the bushes, or more keen to mark their territory?
There are many tactics you can employ when working out how to keep foxes away from your property—whether they are repeat offenders or new arrivals.
If you’re offering regular free meals and water, it’s no surprise that foxes and other unwanted animals visit your yard. This checklist will help you avoid unintentionally offering a foxy feast:
Keep trash and compost in secure bins.
Keep rabbits, chickens, and other small pets housed outdoors in fully secure enclosures. Any covered fencing should go at least 1.5 feet into the ground.
Feed your pets indoors, and don’t leave water bowls out overnight.
Clean up fallen fruit from trees. Foxes are scavenging omnivores and don’t just eat meat.
If you have bird feeders, keep them high and do a daily clean-up of fallen seed.
Get rid of mice or rat populations. This helps prevent the spread of rodent diseases and home damage and keeps foxes at bay. Other small wildlife that foxes will return for include voles, snakes, frogs, and birds. And you might also want to keep rabbits out of your garden.
Don’t deliberately feed foxes. They can lose their healthy fear of humans, and your chicken-keeping neighbor is unlikely to thank you for it.
Your yard is more attractive to foxes (especially pregnant females) if it offers a ready-made den. Block access to home, deck, or patio crawl spaces and recessed window wells, and close up any outbuildings or sheds.
If you find a fox den with young kits, it’s best to leave them be until they’re old enough to hunt with their parents, about 9 weeks. They’ll now be getting ready to leave the den, and you can safely encourage them on their way.
Repair any gaps or loose boards in existing fencing. Foxes are adept climbers, so the best type of fencing will be at least 6 to 8 feet tall. You’ll need to ensure they don’t have access to platforms, trees, or shrubs near the fence to help them climb over.
For persistent foxes, consider installing coyote rollers on the top of the fencing to make it difficult to scramble over or fence extenders. Installing electric fencing is another option, but always check local regulations before installing.
Foxes are also expert diggers. Your fence needs to go at least 1.5 feet into the ground. You can bury chicken wire or stainless-steel hardware cloth at the base of existing fences or walls to bar burrowing.
An overgrown, cluttered yard offers lots of hiding spots for wary foxes and the rodents they love to eat. Remove old, musty wood piles and leaf litter, and trim sprawling shrubs and tall grasses.
Motion-activated lights or sprinklers are an option for scaring off unwelcome foxes. Although, some brave foxes can become comfortably habituated to these tactics.
If a skulk of foxes has already moved in, try hazing to scare them away and encourage a healthy fear of humans without causing harm. Every fox is different, so be persistent and willing to try different techniques. Options include:
Making loud noises: Rattle those pots and pans, toot an air horn, or shake a pebble-filled can.
Spraying or throwing things: Get out the garden hose or a water pistol, or throw tennis balls near but not directly at them.
Get out in the garden: Sometimes, it's enough just to go out and yell and wave your arms.
Turn lights on: If you have outdoor lights, switch them on whenever a fox makes an after-dark appearance. Alternatively, point a flashing torch at them.
Foxes can become habituated to hazing, so it’s best to use these techniques while you work on making your yard less attractive to them.
A combination of deterrents, scare tactics, and yard adaptations is usually enough to fend off flighty foxes. But if your flock of chickens is proving too tempting and you can’t get rid of a family of foxes, it might be time to call in a wildlife removal expert near you. The average cost for professional wildlife removal is $350. But this ensures humane, legal, and licensed trapping, so it’s well worth the bill.
There’s little scientific evidence to suggest that homemade remedies to ward off wildlife are effective. But, often, when using them alongside other management techniques, it won’t do any harm to try. Suggestions include using urine-soaked kitty litter or sweat-soaked clothing items. Try applying them around your fence perimeters. Always read the instructions carefully for any commercially-bought repellents and opt for EPA-approved products. Multiple applications, especially after rain, are often necessary.
Hazing is an effective strategy for keeping foxes away from your yard because these wild animals are usually scared of people, loud noises, and sudden movements. If you have a large dog patrolling the yard, that’s also usually a powerful deterrent for foxes. You can also use hazing to keep badgers away from your yard, along with pests like raccoons and coyotes.
Foxes are primarily nocturnal, meaning you’re less likely to see one strutting onto your lawn in the middle of the day. However, daytime activity is more common if you have a female with her cubs on your property during the spring and summer. And you can see adaptable urban foxes at any time when regular food is available.
Foxes can catch rabies. However, it is rare, and even rarer for them to pass this disease on to humans. If you do see a fox in your vicinity acting strangely, disorientated, having seizures, or randomly trying to bite, contact your local animal control, police, or Department of Environmental Control. And if you are scratched or bitten by an animal you suspect has rabies, seek medical treatment immediately.
