Foxes in the garden
Gardens are an ideal environment for foxes. With access to shelter, food and water, they’re a safe habitat to scavenge, explore and raise cubs. As reserved and normally nocturnal animals, foxes will often peacefully share your garden without disruption. On this page, you’ll learn how to spot signs of a fox in your garden, how to safely attract or deter them, and how foxes interact with children and pets.
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How to spot the signs of foxes
As nocturnal foragers, you may find foxes venturing through your garden at night, scavenging for food and claiming their territory. However, they’re crepuscular animals (active at dawn and dusk), so you may also spot them in the day.
Most of the time foxes pass through gardens unnoticed, leaving little to no damage or destruction. But there are occasional signs they may have visited, from fox poo in your garden to mating sounds.
Common signs of foxes
Trampled or dug up plants
Holes in the earth
Fox poo (avoid contact with any faeces you find)
Food debris
Buried food, to come back to
Chewed garden items, such as hosepipes
Loud screeching noises, often during breeding season (December to February)
Fox-friendly gardens
Creating a wildlife-friendly garden can be rewarding for both you and the wild animals who visit or live there. To make your outdoor space welcoming to foxes:
- Put out food and water: Find out what’s safe to feed them below.
- Let your plants grow: Taller, wilder plants give foxes great places to hide.
- Create a wildlife pond: This will attract foxes and other animals like frogs and hedgehogs.
Tip: As foxes are mostly nocturnal, try installing motion-activated cameras in your garden to see what they get up to!
Finding a fox den in your garden
Foxes will often dig their dens (called ‘earths’) under sheds or decking, or use existing holes made by other animals. A fox territory may contain more than one den, so the mother can move her cubs if they’ve been disturbed.
Always check if a den is empty before doing any work on or near your garden. If you’re unsure whether a den is being used, cover part of the entrance with loose soil or sticks, which will still allow foxes to come and go. If the soil or sticks haven’t moved after a few days, the den is likely empty. If it isn’t empty, wait until after the cubs leave (in late summer) before starting any work.
Do's and don’ts
What to feed foxes
Feeding foxes or any garden animals is a rewarding way to help wildlife thrive. As omnivores, foxes love protein-rich meats as well as an array of bugs and plants.
Do
Feed them tinned cat or dog food: This is a great source of protein.
Feed them fruits: Blueberries, cherries, apples, figs, pears, etc.
Only feed them treats on occasion: Foods like cheese and peanuts should only be given in small amounts, especially as foxes can be lactose intolerant.
Talk to your neighbours: If you do decide to leave out food for foxes, talk to your neighbours first so they’re aware. Explain to them that foxes are shy, mostly nighttime visitors that won’t pose a risk to them, their children, pets or garden, ensuring you plan to feed them responsibly.
Don't
Don’t feed them grapes or raisins: These are highly toxic to foxes.
Don’t feed them meat bones: These can cause fatal internal injuries or choking.
Don’t attempt to hand-feed them: Even though foxes are timid and unlikely to let you get too close, please don’t attempt to feed them yourself as they may bite. If foxes become tame, they may expect food from other people, which can put foxes at risk too.
Don’t put out too much food: This may make them dependent on you as a food source, eventually becoming unable to hunt on their own.
Don’t feed them junk food or sweet food: Foxes eat a diverse diet, but nutritious food is better for them.
Foxes, children and pets
As elusive and often shy animals, many might wonder if foxes are dangerous, and worry how they’ll react to them or their pets.
It’s extremely rare for foxes to pose a threat to people, including children, or pets. There are no records of red foxes ever killing humans. Statistically, dogs are more of a danger than foxes. As foxes are nocturnal/crepuscular creatures, children or unsupervised, off-lead dogs are unlikely to encounter them. If they did, foxes tend to keep their distance, running away if a human or another animal gets too close.
Foxes are not aggressive animals, unless they feel under threat, unable to escape, or their cubs are at risk – the same as most animals. In these cases, foxes are unlikely to do more than nip or scratch before fleeing.
However, foxes can also learn to trust people who aren’t causing them harm or disrupting their routines, and particularly those who leave food out for them. This might make them bolder in their interactions with you, but is unlikely to be a sign of aggression.
Don’t attempt to hand-feed or pet a fox, as some foxes might see this as a threatening act, and bite. Incidents involving foxes and children are incredibly rare. The best way to ensure the safety of both child and fox is to teach children to watch and admire wildlife from a distance, preferably from indoors where they’re quiet and out of sight.
Diseases and fleas
Like lots of animals, foxes can carry diseases and parasites, such as fleas, ringworm and ticks, including some that can pass to people, like mange or toxoplasmosis (an infection carried through faeces). However, dogs and cats are more likely than foxes to be the source of these infections.
The risk of catching diseases from foxes is very low, as direct contact is the most likely source of infection and foxes will rarely let a person get close to them. However, if a fox or any other wild animal does let you get near, it’s best to avoid touching them, unless absolutely necessary (such as covering orphaned cubs by disturbed dens). In that specific circumstance, always wear gloves in case you accidentally make contact and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
Another disease risk is from the roundworm found in dog, cat and fox droppings, which can cause toxocariasis in children. To keep children safe, remove any fox faeces you find – while wearing thick gloves – and regularly wash your and their hands after touching soil or pets. However, the risk of children picking up this parasite from fox droppings appears to be low
If you have any concerns about these, or other potential health risks from animals, contact your doctor.
Foxes and dogs
Foxes don’t usually attack dogs. They generally only show aggression if they feel threatened, to protect their young or during breeding season (December to February), when they become more territorial.
Dogs are more likely to attack foxes than the other way around. However, as scent is an important part of how foxes communicate, a male fox could follow a female dog in heat (neutering pets prevents unwanted attention), but this isn’t common.
Dogs can catch mange from foxes, but it’s unlikely for them to be in close enough contact with a live fox for the disease to be transmitted. If you come across a fox carcass, keep your dog away, as it may remain contagious for a while after death.
If you’re worried that your dog may be infected with mange, contact your vet for advice– mange is easily treated.
Foxes and cats
It’s unusual for foxes to attack cats.
As both cats and foxes are abundant in towns and active at night, the low number of fox-on-cat attacks shows that the risk is low. The animals usually either ignore each other, or foxes are chased away by or are nervous of cats.
Research has found that cats are 40 times more likely to be attacked by another cat, or 14 times more likely to be hit by a car, than be injured by a fox.
How to deter foxes from your garden
Foxes are usually nighttime garden visitors, meaning they often pass through unnoticed. We recommend coexisting peacefully with these bushy-tailed scavengers, as they rarely cause much damage to your outdoor space. However, if you’d rather not share your garden with them, here are some suggestions on how to deter foxes humanely and safely. Make sure to try these out before breeding and cub season (December to April), so that you don’t disturb any fox dens with cubs.
Remove access to any food source
- Use bird feeders that stop food from spilling onto the ground.
- If you feed ground wildlife, use feeding stations somewhere that foxes can’t access.
- Protect fruit or vegetable crops using fences or solid weld-mesh, with holes at least 4cm wide (don’t use flexible netting as there’s a risk of wildlife getting tangled or caught in it).
- Seal bins and composters securely, to prevent access to scraps.
- Clear away fallen fruit from trees and any pet food on the ground.
- Keep pets, such as rabbits, indoors or in a secure enclosure at night, with a solid roof and floor and weld-mesh fencing (not chicken wire) and a secure lock on the door.
- Avoid using garden fertilisers that contain meat, fish, blood or bone products (these may encourage foxes to dig).
Remove access to shelter
- Keep your garage and shed doors closed.
- Block areas beneath decking or sheds, as these are ideal spots for fox dens. Always check to see if any existing den is being used first. If it is, don’t block access. It’s safest to do this during autumn and winter, so you don’t accidentally trap cubs into a den.
- Put up wildlife-friendly fencing (to prevent animals getting tangled) or plant spiky plants around the edges of the garden.
Note: If you find a fox den in your garden, don’t block it unless you’re sure it’s empty. To check, lightly cover the entrances with loose soil or sticks, through which a fox can easily move. If these are undisturbed after a few days, pack the hole more thoroughly with soil.
Illegal deterrents
Foxes are protected by the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996. It’s illegal to cruelly mistreat or get rid of a fox from your garden by harming them in any way, including the use of pesticide poisoning or fox hunting. It’s also against the law to use any substance as a deterrent that hasn’t been approved for such use.
If you find a dead fox that you suspect has been poisoned, or evidence of a pesticide that puts foxes or wildlife at risk, report this through the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme. Don’t touch the dead or poisoned animal.
Report fox crimes
Unfortunately, foxes aren’t currently protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, however it’s against the law to involve foxes in cruel activities such as fox hunting or using dogs to kill them (similar to badger baiting), or mistreat them in any way under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.
Sadly, fox trapping and snaring is still legal in specific circumstances, but we’re campaigning for a complete ban. Trail hunting also remains legal, which uses fox scents – usually fox urine – for dogs to hunt, rather than the live animal, but still often leads to ‘accidental’ fox deaths. Thankfully, this is set to be banned as of 2026.
If you see any illegal / suspicious fox activity – such as hunting with dogs or general cruelty – call the police on 999 if it’s currently taking place, or on 101 for anything non-urgent.
