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  1. #16
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    Darkest NSW
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    OK......land mines it is then. I recommend the M16 (U.S. Army) for foxes - saves having to get rid of fox carcasses, and will give your garden a useful treatment of "blood and bone" too.

    Just remember not to go out in your backyard for a bit.

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  3. #17
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    Feb 2003
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    back in Alberta for a while
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    You'll find that a Claymore is much more effective against a Fox than a land mine
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  4. #18
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    Nov 2005
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    Darkest NSW
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    ian - I tips me lid to your experience in these matters . A Claymore would probably result in less devastation to the surrounding landscape, I agree....

    Seriously, for the OP, 1080 bait is probably your only effective option. Used with all appropriate precautions (it is deadly for cats and dogs too) it should do the job, but best handled by a professional. Unless you're doing lots, it isn't worth getting all the necessary training to use the stuff yourself. More info at

    https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/1080/fox-1080-baiting

  5. #19
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    Nov 2005
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    Darkest NSW
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    So only 7,499,994 or 5 to go ?

    I assume the numbers are about the same from year to year?
    Pretty much yes. Which means all I'm doing is keeping the local population in check, and stopping them breeding up. You're right though; as fast as you kill them, others will move into the vacant territory. I only bump the foxes to give our local native wildlife a chance - we have all sorts of things on our property which foxes would wipe out.

  6. #20
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    Feb 2003
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    back in Alberta for a while
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Brush View Post
    ian - I tips me lid to your experience in these matters . A Claymore would probably result in less devastation to the surrounding landscape, I agree....
    directional, so no damage to the sides of the shed

    no unsightly crater to fill in

    also cuts down on slashing costs
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  7. #21
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    Apr 2014
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    Little River
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    77
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    Quote Originally Posted by China View Post
    And make fence very tall, yes I know Foxes can't clime fences, only when you are not looking
    In my place all the fences are electric except the gates which are made of 40 mm square tubing. I regularly find a pile of fox poop on the top of a gate, almost exactly in the middle.

    I am amazed that they can climb the gate, balance on a 40 mm wide ledge and still be able to poop to mark their territory.

    If they get seen a .17 cal Remington convinces them to lie down permanently.

  8. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    Darkest NSW
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    .17 Remington is an excellent gun for foxes - shoots almost flat out to the limits of your spotlight Good for the foxes that sit further out laughing at you....

    Speaking of laughing, I've had no success 'whistling up' foxes, even with the proper (commercial) whistle. Makes a high pitched squealing noise that sounds like a rabbit in distress. Had a few goes at night with no luck, then finally had a chance to try it on a fox in daylight that was about 100 yards away. Final proof that I'd been wasting my time. The fox stopped, looked up briefly, then wandered off. I could almost see it shaking its head and laughing at me.....

    Apparently it can be done - Google fox whistling

  9. #23
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    SC, USA
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    The real problem is educating them... Shoot and miss and you have just educated a fox. Set out a trap baited with food and don't kill it - you have just educated a fox. Trapping them and carrying them away - you just delivered an educated fox to someone else...

    So if you aren't prepared to permanently deal with them (for whatever reason) - please consider doing everything you can to make your place uninteresting....

    A few tips....

    #1. All trash and food scraps are stored in locked trash cans till you haul them to the dump.
    #2. No pet food or livestock food out doors. This includes bird seed...
    #3. No birds, rabbits, goats, pygmy pigs... These are all bait....
    #4. Don't do things to attract wildlife - no bird feeders, etc.
    #5. Keep the grass cut low and hedges trimmed... No brush piles. This is all "habitat".... Either for them or things they eat.
    #6. Make sure fences go high and the bottoms are buried underground. Make use of electric fences and barbed wire....

    Really an truly - the #1 item - trash - could be on the list 72 times and it would not be enough... Dumping food waste and trash out at the edge of the woods is like a bright flashing neon lamp to a Fox... You will never ever get rid of them if you are dumping trash.... This includes compost piles...

  10. #24
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    Nov 2011
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    Sutherland Shire, Sydney
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Brush View Post

    If their widdle puddy cat comes out at night hunting native wildlife on our property, it had better be able to run real fast when it gets the spotlight on it.
    Maybe it is Supercat, faster than a speeding bullet .

    Alan...

  11. #25
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    Dec 2005
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    South Australia
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    Mr Brush, fox whistling can be very effective, I have dispatched many a fox this way, but the saying "Cunning as Fox" is well said they only need the slightest hint that something is not right and they are off

  12. #26
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    Nov 2005
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    Darkest NSW
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    China - I've watched many YouTube videos on this with envy. Some guys can whistle a fox up from a hundred yards away to literally the other side of a gate they are leaning on before Mr Fox catches on.

    It almost seems to work better in daylight??

    As for cunning, they do learn fast. Best to get them young before they learn the ropes. A young fox will sit still staring into the spotlight, whereas an adult is constantly on the move (and generally just out of range). With the young ones I'm always careful not to take the shot unless I'm certain I can get him, otherwise you just make the job that much harder if you miss once. Only exception was a fox which had encephalitis (brain disease); this makes them effectively stupid with no concept of cunning. The fox concerned was despatched after I noticed it sitting on our verandah peering through the window watching TV of an evening......

  13. #27
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
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    Willunga, Australia
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    We have a 2M high fox proof fence around about 25 acres and it has successfully kept the foxes, dogs and cats out for the last 25 years. It has a skirt inside and out of about 400mm either side then it has 2 electric wires, one at the top and one at about the 1m mark. The fence itself is heavy duty chicken wire to about 900mm then lighter chicken wire of 1.2m. Three lines of fencing wire one at the bottom along the ground to which the fence and skirt is clipped, one at the join in the two chicken wires then one at the top. You can see the construction here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgRIXvUdaNM

    To eradicate foxes you need to use a trap or bait. It is quite a specialised art and depends on the location and what the foxes themselves recognise. There are local agencies that will help you and loan you the equipment to deal with them. You cannot be squeamish with them. They are a pest and have destroyed many species of local wildlife.

    The FP fence is the only permanent solution since it only gets rid of those foxes you have and will open the way to others.

    Also note that they are seldom alone. They usually hunt in pairs.

  14. #28
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    May 2003
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    Central Coast, NSW
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    Thanks for the replies. With the constraints we have, and the cunning nature of these beasts, it sounds like I have little chance of getting rid of them myself, and if I did they would only infill anyway.

    I have considered contacting National Parks, but I have some knowledge of them externally and with the way their budget and manpower has been decimated in this area I doubt they can commit to much.

    Cheers (sort of)
    Arron
    Apologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.

  15. #29
    Join Date
    May 2003
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    Central Coast, NSW
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yanis View Post
    We have a 2M high fox proof fence around about 25 acres and it has successfully kept the foxes, dogs and cats out for the last 25 years. It has a skirt inside and out of about 400mm either side then it has 2 electric wires, one at the top and one at about the 1m mark. The fence itself is heavy duty chicken wire to about 900mm then lighter chicken wire of 1.2m. Three lines of fencing wire one at the bottom along the ground to which the fence and skirt is clipped, one at the join in the two chicken wires then one at the top. You can see the construction here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgRIXvUdaNM
    You must have some interesting wildlife on your block. What species have benefitted from your fence?
    Cheers
    Arron
    Apologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.

  16. #30
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    Jan 2013
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    Tasmaniac
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    Thankfully there are no foxes here in Tasmania. Although that topic is up for debate.
    I have seen a bloke on the mainland whistle up a few foxes with great success.
    Feral cats are a big problem here.
    One evening we saw one walking down our pathway so the next day we borrowed a possum trap from some friends.
    For the first 6 nights we caught a cat every night.
    7th night nothing, 8th night another cat.
    9th night nothing, 10th night another cat.
    8 cats in 10 nights.
    The compost heap swelled big time. The eastern barred bandicoots have come back with vigor, not to mention the other native critters.
    That was a while ago, might be time to try again.
    Flaming introduced creatures eh?
    Bout the only worse thing is humans.

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