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Thread: Foxes, what should I do
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9th April 2018, 11:26 AM #16
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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9th April 2018, 11:53 AM #17
You'll find that a Claymore is much more effective against a Fox than a land mine
regards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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9th April 2018, 12:17 PM #18
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
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9th April 2018, 12:23 PM #19
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.
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9th April 2018, 12:37 PM #20
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9th April 2018, 12:54 PM #21GOLD MEMBER
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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.
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9th April 2018, 01:14 PM #22
.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
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9th April 2018, 04:13 PM #23SENIOR MEMBER
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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...
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9th April 2018, 09:13 PM #24GOLD MEMBER
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9th April 2018, 11:27 PM #25China
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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
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11th April 2018, 09:54 AM #26
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......
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11th April 2018, 04:45 PM #27
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.
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11th April 2018, 05:34 PM #28GOLD MEMBER
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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)
ArronApologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.
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11th April 2018, 05:37 PM #29GOLD MEMBER
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11th April 2018, 08:48 PM #30GOLD MEMBER
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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.