To keep foxes away, some people have used animal repellents successfully. Just like dogs, foxes have a highly developed sense of smell and use scenting from urine and faeces to mark their territory.
A range of approved products are available from garden centres and DIY stores that will work with foxes. These should always be used in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions.
I have heard of other more organic methods being used like putting human hair inside women’s tights and tying these around the area to be protected, putting urine on every fence post or using Lion’s dung obtained from a zoo or safari park to the same effect.
I don’t know whether any of the repellents, chemical or organic work successfully and they certainly need re-applying regularly as the smell will be washed away with the rain. I would imagine that these could be good short-term solutions if you have a problem with foxes, or they could be used with a combination of other control methods.
Other chemicals (like creosote and diesel) are not permitted by UK law and can be dangerous to pets as well as the environment. You can be prosecuted for using non-approved chemicals too.
Two approved chemical products that are approved for use against foxes are:
- Renardine, (after the French word Renard meaning Fox) made with bone oil.
- Scoot that uses aluminium ammonium sulphate
