If given a chance, mirrors can act as excellent fox deterrents. The idea involves placing multiple mirrors in strategic parts of your garden to scare away foxes.
These foxes can easily be scared away by making loud noises such as yelling or blowing whistles, dousing them with water houses or squirt guns or throwing objects such as tennis balls toward them.
For example, foxes hate natural ingredients like chili pepper, garlic, capsaicin, and a chemical compound called alliinase. Sprinkling these foods around your garden will naturally prevent foxes coming near your home and garden. Foxes also hate water, flashing lights, and loud noises.
A solar-powered device which offers night time protection from foxes. This maintenance-free product has a high-intensity red flashing LED light which automatically turns on at dusk and off in full daylight. A key benefit is that the solar-powered device needs neither batteries nor mains electricity.
Add lights
Bishop tells us: 'Foxes hate light. They will often get spooked and run away if any sudden lighting appears. I strongly recommend investing in a sensitive motion sensor light and attach it close to where the fox often goes. It's a very effective way to deter them from your garden.
Foxes possess dichromatic (two-colour) vision that essentially makes them red-green colour blind. The result is that foxes probably see the world in more pastel shades than vibrant colour.
Foxes love the darkness. The last thing they will want is a bright light suddenly and unexpectedly switching on. You can install motion activated outdoor lights that are cheap and easy to install. They also have the great added bonus of deterring burglars.
By contrast foxes – like dogs and wolves – see better than we do in low light conditions due to a higher concentration of light-sensitive rod cells in their eyes. The red fox varies in size and colour across its wide geographic range.
Use smells to deter foxes
You can use certain smells to deter foxes, they are reported to dislike the smell of chilli peppers and garlic so try infusing in boiling water and spraying around your garden as a fox repellent.
Most of the time, a fox will run away and hide from a person. However if you are in a situation where a fox approaches you, try to stay calm, slowly back off, and don't make any sudden movements. Try to stand well away so the fox can see that it can get away and you aren't a threat to it.
While there's a chance it was just passing through, you're likely to see foxes return time and time again if: There's a water source such as a pond, fountain, swimming pool, puddles or a pet's water bowl. There's a food source such as bins, pet food or you're feeding other wildlife such as birds or hedgehogs.
Predators. Young red foxes are primarily preyed upon by eagles and coyotes. Mature red foxes can be attacked by larger animals, including bears, wolves and mountain lions. Humans are the most significant predator of adult foxes, who are often hunted for fur or killed because they are considered pests.
Habitat destruction, oil leasing, pesticides, disease and climate change threaten all of these species of fox.
FOXWatch is an Ultrasonic Fox deterrent that detects body heat. Once triggered it releases bursts of ultrasonic sound, resulting in the fox retreating. It is an innovative and humane way of banishing foxes from your property. The longer the unit is in place, the more effective it is.
Overall, it seems that hearing was the most important sense, followed by vision and then smell – even at twilight, vision appeared more important than smell to the hunting fox.
Foxes scream when they fear for their safety, such as when there's a predator close by.
Foxes are normally wary and unlikely to approach humans. However, if fed by a person, they can become conditioned to approach people and may appear to be a threat. They may prey on poultry, lambs, piglets and small pets. They can carry diseases and parasites that may infect people or their animals.
The London Wildlife Trust says the “wee rumour is true”, telling Time Out magazine: “The strong scent from human male urine (and only male urine) masks a male fox's pungent scent, and can often force them out.”
Additionally, animals tend to adjust to their environments. If the trash cans are well-lit at all times, they might get used to it and chow down anyway. However, motion sensor lights come on quickly, which may scare off and disorient the animals. This makes them less likely to return.
Fox Predators: Wolves and Coyotes
Coyotes are naturally the greatest enemy to foxes even though they belong to the same group. These two Canidae family members fight whenever they come in close range with each other. Amusingly, coyotes kill foxes to depopulate them with a primary target to preserve food for themselves.
Fox attacks on dogs are rare because these animals try to evade conflict. However, they will defend themselves against a dog if cornered. Adult cats are usually safe, but a fox may hunt and prey on kittens.
Foxes are great night-time predators because their eyes are specially adapted to night vision. Behind the light sensitive cells lies another layer called the tapetum lucidum which reflects light back through the eye.
Foxes like shaded, sheltered areas that they can use to hide in, so the less, the better.
Red Light – Red light may provide a better eye shine than either white or green light. Using red lights at night for coyote hunting is probably the most traditional way to go, and it's less likely to affect your own eyes during the hunt, reducing eye fatigue.