Content:
- Some Key Facts about the Fox
- Trapping a Fox – Choosing a Proper Trap
- How to Use the Trap
- What Is the Best Bait to Trap a Fox?
- What Should You Do After You Trap a Fox?
- To Conclude
If your chickens have been disappearing, if you have noticed a strange, strong, and unpleasant smell in your garden, if you have heard sounds at night and you do not know what they are, if someone has been messing around with the trash can…
The chances are that a fox is visiting you at night. So, how to get rid of this unwelcome guest? Trapping a fox? It is not so difficult as sounds!
Some Key Facts about Foxes
Foxes are nocturnal animals, which means that they hardly ever show their faces before dusk, and this makes it difficult to spot them around. Moreover, they are very shy and furtive; they hide really well, as it is their nature to hunt unseen.
These animals, famous for being intelligent and skillful, have adapted to living in cities and towns, where they complement their diet with what they fund in trash cans. Like many hinters, they adapt to being scavengers on occasion.
Their diet is very varied, as they are omnivores, and it is based on small mammals like mice and rabbits, birds (including your chickens), invertebrates (such as beetles and caterpillars), and also leaves, fruit, and berries.
They are set in their ways, which means that they will go round the same route (more or less) every night. True, these change with time, but they will tend to visit the same places. That means that if you have noticed the presence of a fox in your garden, the animals will return. You can bank on it. You may simply be on the way to somewhere else or a feeding spot.
Their feces are usually a giveaway of their presence; they have a very, very strong smell, similar to that of cats (but not the same), it is brownish-grey and not too big, about 2 inches long. When it is fresh, it is soft, then it turns hard and white.
Foxes are not usually aggressive to humans; they prefer to stay away from direct contact with us. When seen or disturbed, their first instinct is to hide or run away, especially during the day. This is not a steadfast rule though, in some cities and with some people, foxes have become accustomed to meeting humans and they mainly ignore them, though they will always tend to keep at a safe distance.
“But can foxes bite,” you ask? Yes, they can, but they very rarely do so. The only case when a fox will attack a human being is when they are cornered. If the animal finds that there is no way of escaping, it will bite in self-defense.
There are few cases when this has happened, and it has always occurred in enclosed spaces and when the fox has felt threatened. Very often, this has happened when the fox has entered a room in a house and was found by the owner scavenging in some corner.
Do foxes carry disease? Very rarely have humans been infected by toxocariasis the disease carried by these animals.
However, if you have very small pets, foxes can pose a threat to them; gerbils, rabbits, and hamsters are all food for these famously smart and reddish animals. Even cats may change their behavior and feel threatened by foxes. Foxes are relative to dogs and they will chase cats.
However, cats are more agile, and they can climb, and do scratch foxes when they need to. Still, their presence may disturb the life of your feline friends.
Trapping a Fox – Choosing a Proper Trap
The first thing you have to do is choose a live trap; yes, because killing a fox is inhumane, and the old, famously painful, traps for foxes that could cut people’s legs are now illegal in most countries. You need to choose one of those traps that you then use to carry the animal to a safe and suitable spot in the wild and far from your home to then release the animal.
The second thing you will need to know is that you will require a very large trap; foxes are comparatively big animals, and your trap should be at least one meter long and half a meter large and in height.
The trap will have to be safe for the fox; smoothed edges will guarantee that the animal you have caught will not get hurt when trying to escape.
Your cage should be of good quality; this means that it needs to be strong and it will have to be durable. 12 mm wire of galvanized steel is quite good when it comes to lasting in time and guaranteeing that it does not break before its time.
How to Use the Trap
Setting the trap for a fix is not as easy as for other animals. You may have heard stories of people who have tried and tried, but their fox trap has remained empty all the time…
To start with, study where the fox goes; as we said, they follow very specific routes. Place the trap on the route and in a sheltered place. Foxes will scavenge more willingly if they feel protected but may give a go to some food if they find it in an open field.
Next, foxes notice new things; you need to leave the trap in place for a few days; the animal will look at it, get used to it, and only then she may venture inside. Foxes are smart, and they will avoid getting into a place that appears to have no way out. They will need to think that it is safe to walk into it.
Do not put the bait in the trap straight away. Yes, trapping foxes will cost you a bit, first for the trap itself, then to buy the bait. You need to put the bait next to the trap for a few days. This way, the fox will find, it, eat it, walk away and get used to two things:
- The presence of the trap
- The fact that there is food in that very spot or near there
You will have to keep waiting, then, once the fox has had a few meals at your expense, you can start putting the bait inside the cage. Place it just behind the door.
Even then, you may have to wait a while before the fox ventures inside. If so, change the bait daily, offering fresh food every day.
The last thing you need to keep in mind is that you will absolutely have to check the trap daily; do it during the day, at times when you know that the fox is not active. If the animal sees you nosing around, she or he may become suspicious and your plans may go up in smoke, or at least they will be delayed.
What is the Best Bait to Trap a Fox?
There is special bait on the market, but if you do not want to waste time going to a specialist shop, or if you do not want to shop online, browsing through products, etc. you have the option of using dog food.
Do not use dry food, as that will not small strong, use fresh dog food, the one you get out of a can. Just put some next to the cage and then in the cage and wait for the fox to be tempted.
What Should You Do After You Trap a Fox?
Once you have trapped the fox, your mission is not over. Actually, maybe the most important part comes only once you have caught the animal. To start with, you will notice that the fox is scared; try to reduce his or her time in captivity to the absolute minimum!
Do not hold on to the fox a second more than it is absolutely necessary. Give the fox water (absolutely) and food if necessary, being careful not to introduce your hand in the cage, as you will get bitten.
Next, wear some hard-duty gloves, pick up the cage from the handle, and go straight to its place of release. Choose the place appropriately; it needs to be at least five or ten miles from your home, to be sure that the fox will not come back to visit you again in the future, however, you also need to keep the habitat similar to that where you caught the fox.
If you live in a suburban area, release the animal back in a similar suburban area. Foxes do adapt, but after the trauma of being caught, even these smart creatures may find it difficult to adapt to a totally different home. So, if you got hold of the animal in the countryside, release it back into a similarly rural place.
Make sure that you choose a place with lots of cover for the fox (hedges, bushes, etc.) because they do not like to venture out in the open. Also, do not leave them at an isolated bush in the middle of an open field; they use hedges as corridors; make sure that the fox has a way of moving safely and freely around.
Place the cage so that the door looks into a sheltered place (you may wish to put some bait in there as well, as a goodbye present, but mainly so that the fox smells it and does not turn towards you). Stand at the back of the cage and open the door, with a stick if you wish to stay at safe distance. Finally, it is better if you wear tall boots.
To Conclude
Now you know how to outfox a fox. Keep in mind that they are sensitive animals, not just smart ones. Now you know how to trap a fox and how to release it into a suitable place for the animal to live, all you need to do is start looking at appropriate traps; they will cost in excess of $100, but anything less will simply be too small and unsafe.
Plan your little mission; decide when you will start luring the fox towards the trap, look around for similar environments to release the animal etc. Foxes are smart animals, and time is essential if you want to outsmart them.
