How do I stop foxes coming into my garden?

Removing the food, closing the shelter and making the garden dull, because those are the only three things that reliably change fox behaviour.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 1 hr 30 min
Read: 5 min
Safety: caution

Short answer

Foxes are in the garden because there is food, shelter or both. Secure the bins and stop all feeding — deliberate or accidental — block the gaps under sheds and decking outside the cub season, and clear the cover. Deterrent sprays and scarers work briefly at best, and removing a fox simply makes a vacancy another one fills.

Urban foxes are now a permanent part of British towns and there is no realistic prospect of a fox-free garden. What is entirely achievable is a garden that offers nothing worth stopping for. Everything below is about that, because every attempt to remove foxes runs into the same fact: territory that is empty gets occupied within weeks.

Safety

Foxes are wild animals and are not protected in the way bats and nesting birds are, but cruel methods, poisoning and most trapping are unlawful or tightly controlled, and poison laid outdoors also kills pets and other wildlife. Do not attempt to trap, poison or harm a fox. Never handle a fox, alive or dead, and never approach a den or cubs. Fox faeces can carry parasites — wear gloves and wash hands after clearing them.

What you'll need

Bins with lids that latch, or a bin store with a solid base
Chicken wire or timber to close gaps under decking and sheds (optional)
Gloves and a bag for clearing fouling
Motion-activated water deterrent (optional)

Step by step

Stop every source of food.Bins with lids that close, no sacks on the ground, food waste caddy indoors, no dropped food, no fallen fruit left, and no fat balls or bread on the lawn. This is the whole basis of the problem in most gardens.
Ask whether anyone nearby is feeding them.Deliberate feeding by a neighbour keeps a family in the area whatever you do. It is worth a polite conversation — many people do not realise it produces fouling and digging in every garden on the street.
Deal with the bird feeders and the pet food.Spilled seed, ground feeding stations, cat food left out overnight and outdoor dog bowls are all direct fox food. Feed pets indoors and sweep beneath feeders.
Close the shelter under sheds and decking.A gap under a shed, decking or a summerhouse is the classic den site. Block it with mesh dug into the ground, or raise the structure so the space is open and visible — but never during the cub season.
Check for cubs before blocking anything.Cubs are underground from around March and above ground into early summer. Sealing a den with cubs inside is cruel and produces a serious problem. If there are cubs, wait until the family has moved on, which usually happens by late summer.
Clear the cover.Overgrown corners, piles of timber, dense low shrubs and long grass all provide daytime lying-up spots. A garden with less cover is used less.
Protect what you care about specifically.A secure run with a mesh floor for chickens or rabbits, shut before dusk and not just closed. Netting over a pond in spring, and cloches or mesh over newly seeded ground and bulbs.
Be realistic about deterrents.Motion-activated water sprinklers work reasonably well for a while and are the best of a poor field. Ultrasonic devices, lion dung, male urine products and repellent granules all give inconsistent and short-lived results because foxes habituate quickly.
Use scent deterrents where fouling is the issue.A fox uses a favourite spot repeatedly. Wash the area thoroughly with a biological washing solution to remove the scent marking, then apply an approved animal repellent — clearing the scent is what matters more than the product.
Accept that removal does not work.Foxes hold territory, so a removed animal is replaced from the surrounding population within weeks. This is why councils largely stopped fox control and why habitat and food management is the recommended approach.
Leave a sick or injured fox to the specialists.Obvious mange, injury or a fox out in the open showing no fear may need a wildlife rescue organisation. Do not approach or handle it — call for advice.

Tips

Digging in new turf or a freshly planted bed is usually a fox looking for grubs. It stops once the soil settles, and mesh pegged over the area gets you through the first few weeks.
Noise at night in late winter is the mating season, not an infestation. It is loud, it is brief, and nothing needs doing.
Fouling in the same spot repeatedly means scent marking. Removing the scent properly changes far more than any repellent applied over the top of it.

Common mistakes

Feeding foxes deliberately and then objecting to the consequences — Feeding produces bold animals, larger litters and concentrated fouling and digging across every neighbouring garden. It is the most common underlying cause of a street-level problem.
Blocking a den without checking for cubs — It kills cubs, produces a serious smell and a great deal of digging as the vixen tries to get back in. Wait until the family has moved on.

If it doesn't work

Fouling on the lawn every night

Cause: Established scent marking point, usually with a food source nearby — Fix: Clear it with gloves, wash the spot with a biological solution to destroy the scent, then apply an approved repellent. Deal with the food source at the same time or it returns.

Digging holes in a newly turfed lawn

Cause: Chafer grubs or leatherjackets in the soil — Fix: Treat the grubs — that is what they are after. Mesh pegged down protects the turf while it roots.

Foxes under the decking

Cause: Sheltered dry space with an open edge — Fix: Once you are certain no cubs are present, close the perimeter with mesh dug in at the edge. Do this in autumn or winter.

Chickens taken from a run

Cause: A run without a mesh floor or with a gap at the base — Fix: Foxes dig. The run needs a buried skirt of mesh or a mesh floor, and the birds need shutting in properly before dusk rather than just the door being closed.

Questions people ask

Will the council remove a fox?

Most councils no longer offer fox control, because removal does not work — the territory is refilled. They will generally advise on food and shelter management, and may act on someone feeding foxes if it is causing a nuisance.

Are foxes dangerous to pets or children?

Attacks are very rare and foxes normally avoid people. Small pets kept outside — rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens — are genuinely at risk and need a properly built, dig-proof enclosure. Cats and dogs are generally left alone.

Is it legal to trap a fox in my garden?

Trapping and dispatch are tightly regulated, and getting it wrong can be a criminal offence under animal welfare law. It is also pointless, because another fox takes the territory. Food and shelter management is the only approach that changes anything.