I saw a fox out in the daytime; should I worry?
It isn’t unusual for foxes to hunt for food in the daytime, especially when feeding a litter of hungry cubs. And they also like to nap in the warmth of the sun.
Is it OK to feed foxes?
In a word, no. The Humane Society of the U.S. gives us several reasons for not feeding any wild animals except birds and squirrels:
- “People food” isn’t nutritionally suitable for wildlife.
- It isn’t safe for foxes. Unfortunately, not all humans are wildlife lovers and, from fear or dislike, may kill a “tamed” animal that has innocently approached them for food.
- It isn’t safe for humans because some bold animals may not take “no” for an answer and become aggressive.
- Feeding encourages greater numbers of foxes to gather. This can incite fighting and the spread of disease, sometimes to pets and humans.
If you’re going to feed them anyway, give them canned dog food, which is a better diet than dry food, which is over-processed. Never feed chocolate to them. Chocolate, that delectable we humans enjoy with little more to worry about than a guilty extra pound, is a deadly poison to canines. In fact, most animals are sickened by chocolate.
Encountering a fox
Enjoy the experience. Foxes are small under their thick fur, weighing only 10 pounds or so (4.5 kg), and are hunters of squirrel-sized animals. They don’t attack humans—not even small children. (Thirty thousand foxes live without incident among the densely crowded population of London and have done so since the 1930s.)
We’re at higher risk of being bitten by dogs or cats. In the U.S., about 5 million people are bitten each year by dogs! Cats bite another 400,000. On the other hand, the number of fox bites is statistically insignificant. Though humans have little to fear, foxes will defend themselves if necessary. If you inadvertently corner one, just turn and walk away.
If you notice a fox observing you, it may just be curious. Ignore it, or take the opportunity to watch it back. You may feel uncomfortable if one enters your yard; if so, yell, stamp your feet, wave your arms, or spray it with water, and it’ll leave the scene. Stay far away from one that seems ill and contact Animal Control.
If you discover a mother fox using a maternal den in your yard, give it a wide berth if you want her to stay. Observe from a distance. If she feels insecure, she’ll move her kits. Worse, if you corner her, she’ll defend her young. If you remain non-threatening, she’ll tolerate your presence and allow you to watch. As one writer says, she can’t be your pet, but “you can become a fox’s pet.”
How can I keep foxes out of my yard?
First, before trying to eliminate them, consider that foxes are beneficial animals. They prey heavily on rodents, rabbits, and insects. Must they be barred? If so, here are some suggestions.
Check to see if a mother fox is raising her young. You might find fur and feathers at a den entrance, indicating that food is being delivered to the youngsters. If possible, wait until the kits are fully weaned.
If a family must be removed, try becoming more active near the den periodically throughout the day. Make lots of noise: Bang, shout, run motors. Leave yard tools near the entrance. Move the birdbath or other objects near the den and change their positions daily. The goal is to make them feel insecure.
Stuff rags in all the holes to the den. Do that every day until the rags haven’t moved for a couple of days. That will be the sign that the foxes are gone. Alternatively, you can sprinkle fresh flour at the entrance and look for footprints each day. Afterward, block off the holes.
To discourage fox activity, remove temptation.
- Feed pets indoors or bring the food bowl inside after each use. If you have caged rabbits or chickens, ensure all cages are fox-proofed: heavy mesh wire, wire or solid floor, and a secure latch that can’t be worked loose.
- Is your trash container lid secured? Use a heavy strap to hold the cover down. If necessary, use a chain.
- Use a lidded composting bin or enclose your compost pile on all sides with welded mesh wire (chicken wire isn’t fox-proof.)
- Try planting “scaredy-cat plants,” Coleus canina, an annual with a foul odor detectable by canines (and cats) but not by humans. It’s available on the internet.
- Check under porches and sheds for a den. Seal all openings, first ensuring no animals will be trapped inside.
- If you have a dog: Walk your dog around the perimeter of your yard, allowing it to scent-mark. Do it regularly and also crisscross the property, so it will seem your dog has a free run of the area (and perhaps it does).
Foxes and rabies
Foxes can have rabies, but it’s rare. Rabid foxes are found mainly in the eastern and southern U.S. Those seen in the daytime are rarely rabid; they’ve just ventured outside of their dens to play, hunt for food, or bask in the sun. However, if a fox acts aggressively without provocation, is listless, disoriented, or paralyzed, call Animal Control for help. Don’t touch it. Should you be bitten or scratched by even a healthy-seeming fox, you must immediately undergo rabies vaccinations. The rabies virus is deadly; only one person in the U.S. has recovered (from a bat bite) without taking the vaccines. The series of injections (which now go into the upper arm, not the stomach) is no more painful than a flu shot. Always err on the side of caution.
Are my pets safe from foxes?
Foxes are small. Under all their fur, they’re not much larger than a large house cat. So your cat is probably more of a danger to fox cubs than the other way around. Still, don’t leave rabbit-sized pets outside alone unless they’re fenced in, especially after dark.
Even a fence may not keep foxes out. They have justifiably earned some infamy for finding ways into hen houses and rabbit hutches, even when it means chewing through chicken wire. They’re smart and can also claw and leap a 6-foot (1.8 m) fence. Smaller foxes can crawl through an opening as small as 4 inches (10 cm) square. The Gray Fox, a much shier U.S. species, can even climb trees.
If you have animals caged in your yard (rabbits, for example), ensure they’re securely protected on all sides, including the bottom, with wire heavier than chicken wire and latches that cannot be knocked open.
Keep your pets vaccinated against rabies—the risk to them isn’t high, but it exists. Also, be aware that foxes can carry several diseases common to canines, like mange and distemper, as well as parasites and worms. This affects only a small fraction of their population, however.
How will I know if a fox visits my yard?
Watch for foxes at dusk and dawn or at night. Some folks set up a video recorder or motion-sensing flash camera. If you see movement in the dark, shine a flashlight on it. Look for signs of digging under a shed or fence. If you uncover buried food items (except nuts), it’s probably a fox’s cache. If your yard sometimes smells faintly skunk-ish, it’s fox urine. You may be able to detect a fox by looking for its footprints in soft dirt or mud.
You may be able to tell just by listening for them. Red Foxes communicate vocally through sharp barks, yaps, yells, raspy “chirps,” howls, purrs, trills, and screeches. Some of their sounds are rather plaintive, but the tiny bark of young foxes is much like the sounds of puppies. You can listen to fox vocalizations here.
How to help an injured or orphaned fox
Don’t try to touch an injured adult fox. Foxes have needle-sharp teeth and will bite you badly out of fear. Instead, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for instructions.
As for young foxes, it’s normal for kits only a month old to start exploring the area around their den. If you spot one, it’s probably doing just that. If it’s in danger or isn’t well hidden, move it to a sheltered spot nearby. Wear gloves and handle it as little as possible. Its parents are probably busy trying to find food for themselves and their family. Observe from a distance—30 feet (9.0 m) or more—so the parents will approach their baby.
Kits bark and cry when they get hungry, trying to command their parents to feed them. If it is crying and a parent doesn’t arrive to feed it within three or four hours, then a tragedy has occurred—not only for the parents but also for the baby, which now faces growing up without their guidance. Continue to observe from a distance while contacting a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for instructions.
If you find kits that appear cold, place them in a box with low sides. Add a warm blanket, towel, or hot water bottle (about the temperature of a warmed baby’s bottle). Leave them where you found them or in a safer place nearby. Stay well away. If the kits haven’t been rescued soon after dark, you must take them in.
Inside, keep them warm in an enclosed box (with air holes). You can use a heating pad on the lowest setting, but place it under only half the box; that way, the kits can move away if they get too warm. Then, place the box in a quiet, darkened spot, safe from pets, until you can get them to a wildlife rehabilitator.
If you must keep them overnight, feed them only Pedialyte, for rehydration, with an eyedropper or pet-nursing bottle. Do it every three to four hours, followed by a gentle rubbing of the genital area until they urinate, defecate, or both (this is critical for their health’s sake.)
Can I keep an orphaned fox as a pet?
It won’t be a good pet. It’s wild and has “wild” genes. Although your intentions are good, the fox should be taken to a qualified wildlife rehabilitator to be raised to survive in the wild and someday released.
Foxes are smart and have a “personality.” But, even when hand-raised from birth, their behavior can be unpredictably wild, and they aren’t happy in captivity. They need lots of space for exercise; produce a strong, unpleasant odor from their scent glands; will dig up your yard, sofa, and carpet; and gnaw on your furniture. Most fox pets die young or must be removed because of behavior problems. It’s also against the law in most states to own wildlife. If authorities discover you with one, it’ll be confiscated and probably euthanized, no matter how sweet-tempered it may be.
On the subject of “pet” foxes: For 40 years, a research project in Russia selectively bred foxes to try to domesticate them. From each generation of foxes, only the tamest, most non-aggressive, and least fearful of humans were allowed to breed. The scientists’ purpose was to observe a speeded-up version of how wild animals evolve into domesticated ones, like when the wolf became a dog over the course of thousands of years. The experiment succeeded after 45,000 foxes were raised.
The scientists now have a few hundred domesticated foxes in their care. So, what’s the result? It took 35 generations of foxes to do it, but the foxes now want to be around humans. They’re as sweet as your average pet dog, wagging their tails and jockeying for a pat on the head. But, their color is different, their tails and legs are now shorter, some have floppy ears and curled tails, and the shape of their skull has changed. Now they look like, well, dogs. The fox, alas, is gone. Instead, they look like Corgis, the dog breed much loved by Queen Elizabeth.
Are foxes smart?
People use the phrase “sly as a fox” for a reason. Foxes are intelligent in ways that matter to them: finding food, surviving in weather extremes, outwitting predators, and protecting their young. They’re brighter than most, but not all, dog breeds. Here’s an example of their cleverness: There’s a fox rescue organization that sometimes scatters slices of bread in a nearby field. They report that the foxes retrieve each slice of bread, stack them one atop another, and then take the entire stack away, just as we might do.
All about the Red Fox
Wildlife’s good mothers
