Image: Pontman
Sly … clever … cunning … these are all commonly used adjectives to describe the fox, and with good reason. Foxes are known for their “street smarts,” and they have learned to adapt quite nicely to humans invading their turf. They feed on a variety of foods, including carrion, rodents, insects, fruits, vegetables and small animals. And foxes feel no shame at all about raiding your trash for a late-night snack.
Because they love the night life and usually fly solo, you may never see a fox, but the damage they cause is all too real. Foxes become a nuisance when they start to prey on our gardens, livestock or pets. Cats and dogs can be particularly vulnerable when facing a fox, as are birds, squirrels and chipmunks. And, if you own a farm, you are probably all too familiar with the mayhem caused by the proverbial “fox in the henhouse!”
Fox Trapping Tips
Because of their cleverness, knowing how to trap a fox alive can be a challenge. One way to try to “out-fox” a fox is to use step trapping, which involves presenting food over a period of nights. The first night, place the food outside of the trap; the second, at the entrance; the third, inside the trap without setting it. Camouflage the trap with leaves, sticks or pine straw bales.
As far as the type of trap, try to avoid using inhumane leg-hold traps. A better option is a well-camouflaged wire mesh cage with a door that’s activated when the fox pulls on the bait. Foxes are smart enough to realize that a trap sitting out in the open is just that—a trap! Instead, place the trap in a location where it sees more of a natural part of the surroundings such as against a wall.
When it comes to fox baiting tips, the best bait for foxes is fish or fishy-smelling cat food, pork or other meat. Place the bait around the trap rather than only inside it. Avoid leaving your own scent on the trap, as this may prove to be a deterrent.
You can also repel foxes, keeping them off your property in the first place. The fox repellent should target both the sense of smell and taste of the fox. You can attempt to repel foxes by using homemade concoctions made from household products like garlic, onions and chopped sage, although these take time to prepare and are often ineffective. There are also motorized sprinklers that can be effective to repel foxes. These devices use a quick burst of water combined with the noise and motion of the sprinkler going off to scare the fox away from the protected area.
Found our 4 year old female cat up a tree this morning in backyard. Know something is bothering the cat as she doesn’t go far from house. She is an out door cat and she comes home with both gray and red squirls, rabitits, too many birds. Helped her down from the tree and looked back a couple of minutes latter and saw an animal (a red fox) didn’t get a goo d looking climbing down same tree. I have to trap or shot this thing before it gets our cat. Either one won’t be easy. Cat is lucky to be alive. Wish I had looked up into the tree as i got the cat down, then i would have gotten a good look at it. It probably was a fox as a Fisher would have gotten her.
Hi Tom,
We’re glad to hear your cat is safe! Of course, we’d hope you would trap the fox rather than shoot it. Our extra-large humane trap may do the trick: http://www.havahart.com/store/live-animal-traps/stray-dog.
However, please check with your local wildlife commission to see if it is legal and safe to trap and relocate a fox in your area. If you choose to trap the fox, we’d recommend using chicken as bait.
Thank you, and best of luck!
Your Friends at Havahart®
Please help. Fox has found my chickens. He doesn’t seem afraid as he comes very close to the house chasing them. He has taken several already from around the barn. We live in the country and have free ranch chickens. A few less now. I have a trap we got for catching raccoon s but if I put it close to the barn the cats or chickens will get in it. Can it be placed close to the woods? Any help would be appreciated. I am rather handicapped and moving the cage is hard for me. Thanks Jan
Hi Jan,
Sorry to hear about your fox troubles! Foxes can be very harmful to livestock, especially chickens, as you’ve experienced. If you have our trap Model #1081, it will be big enough to live trap a fox. The trap can be placed close to the woods. We recommend placing it as close to the fox’s den as possible. In the case that you cannot find the den, placing it at the edge of your property where you believe they enter the property is the second best option.
We outline all of the recommended steps in detail in this blog post: http://community.havahart.com/learn-fox/
We hope this helps you!
Best,
Your Friends at Havahart®
WE HAVE FREE RANGE CHICKENS AND HAVE BEEN NOTICING SOME COMING UP MISSING. I PUT OUT MY GAME CAMERA FIRST AND LET IT STAY OUT A COUPLE NIGHTS. THE FIRST NIGHT I GOT A PICTURE OF A GREY FOX AND THE SECOND NIGHT I GOT A PICTURE OF A CAYOTE. WE SET A CAYOTE LIVE TRAP UP AND PUT DEER MEAT IN IT ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS.
Hi Patrick,
Sorry to hear about your chickens going missing! At least you know what sort of animal is harming them! The deer meat should work well for coyote bait. We suggest placing the trap as close to the area their den may be as well, rather than close to your house. This way, they are going to come upon the trap before your chickens! Other than that, we would only recommend contacting your local game commission for help. We wish you the best of luck!
Your Friends at Havahart®
hi, i live in farm area, and theres a creek in my back yard and an old chicken coop. no animals though. i do have a small chiuhahua and he is scared to go out back now for some reason. i whent down to the creek to see and noticed some tracks. we have an old rabbit, scunk, and opossum trap, would i be able to catch it with that? and where should i put it?
Hi Kit,
We would recommend researching which type of animal it could be, to know how large it is!
Here are some common animal track images – http://03.edu-cdn.com/files/77101_77200/77154/file_77154.jpg. Opossum tracks look like this – http://www.hawkeye.ca/animal_control/images/possum_track.jpg and groundhog tracks look like this – http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues04/Co07172004/Art/WoodchuckTracks.gif. Rabbit tracks are very unique – http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/mammal/images/cottontail_tracks.gif.
If it is a large animal such as a possum or groundhog, it can certainly be trapped and relocated using your trap. As the weather gets colder, animals leave their natural habitat to look for food. You can use our learning center to know which baits to use to trap a variety of animals: http://www.havahart.com/advice/critter-library.
Thanks!
Your Friends at Havahart®
We are missing chickens everyday they are free range, but we lock them up at night. We have seen hawks get some but they usually leave the body, today we seen a red fox at the edge of the yard, so we assume he’s the preditor, we have a live trap, with a back cage to it can you bait it wit a live chicken, or would the fox be too smart for that, and we don’t know wher the den is, so would it be wise to set the trap close to the chicken house and leave them in there pen for a few days?
Hi Peggy,
Sorry to hear you are having issues with foxes getting your chickens! As we mention in this blog post, using baits such as fish or fishy-smelling cat food, pork or other meat is best. We do not recommend using a live chicken because the fox could somehow kill it. We would suggest placing the trap near its den, but if you cannot locate it, placing it near the chicken house until it is caught may be your only option in this case.
We wish you the best of luck with this issue!
Thank you,
Your Friends at Havahart®
Hi i need help i lost 5 chickens this year all ready last year lost 9 golden buff got 2 lest of them. i finely saw whats takeing them. a fox. i bought a meadiem live trap they said it will be big enuff for the fox. then last weekend i lost 2 at the same time i me and my mom where home it happen around 3pm i seen the fox during the day i thought they come at night? what animal can take chickens at the same time? i need help to lower the fox in the trap any ideas? please help thanx u
Hi Serena,
We’re sorry to hear about your issues with the fox!
It’s not all that unusual to see a fox out during the day. Foxes prey on squirrels and birds, who are only active during the day! Have you seen the fox yourself? There may in fact be more than one fox, which is why there were two chickens gone at once. We suggest using fish or fishy-smelling cat food, pork or other meat as bait to lure the fox into the trap. Also, placing the trap closer to the den than the chickens is the best strategy.
Try step trapping as well, a technique we mention in our blog post here: http://community.havahart.com/live-trapping/fox/.
Best of luck!
Your Friends at Havahart®
Hi, Yes i have seen the fox. it wasent afaird of me just staring at me. i dont know where the den is. what a step trapping? do u have any more idea? i did put my cats soft food in trap the fishy kind. Hope it works.
I have a family of foxes living under my shed in my back yard. So far I have seen one adult, two young ones and three babies. I live in a development with 17 homes and there is a farmette behind my house with a variety of animals, including ducks and chickens. The farm owner is missing several of her ducks and chickens and I am fearful for my neighbors’ pets . This morning I watched the adult fox chase down and kill a squirrel in my yard and then drag it under the shed. I don’t want to kill any of them but its seems like it would be a monumental task to try to trap all of them. I assume there is also another adult since I read that the mother and father share the responsiblity of raising their kits. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Serena,
We outline “step trapping” in this blog post: http://community.havahart.com/live-trapping/fox/. The first night, place the food outside of the trap; the second, at the entrance; the third, inside the trap without setting it. You should also camouflage the trap as best as you can, as foxes are very skittish creatures. We hope it works for you, too! Let us know!
Thanks,
Your Friends at Havahart®
Hi Linda,
In this situation, we would highly recommend calling your local wildlife rescue to come and handle the foxes professionally. Your safety and your neighbors’ safety is most important in this situation, and trapping a family of foxes yourself would be very difficult to do safely.
Best,
Your Friends at Havahart®
i am having problems with a fox. i assume have borrowed a live trap. my question is if i am lucky enough to trap him, when i release him wi9ll he find his way home from about 2 miles?
Hi Steve,
If you relocate the fox, it will more than likely find a new home or den close to its new source of food. Foxes do not always return to one den, and can survive in any wooded/grassland area. However, if your location has the only food source or source of shelter in the area, it may find its way back. We recommend relocating the fox to an appropriate location where there is ample food, shelter and water.
Thanks!
Your Friends at Havahart®
There is a red fox who has a den inside our cemetery in Lexington. We also have 3 beautiful kitties that live at the cemetery and are cared for by the employees and some of us who are friends. One kitty was injured last year and one of her eyes is in bad shape. We are sure that this fox was the culprit. The kitties are tame enough to be petted ever so often, but not enough to be picked up. The fox lately has been coming right up to where the kitties are fed and she is not afraid of humans at all. Last year, there was a Company called that traps wild animals and they tried unsuccessfully for several months to trap her then. We love all love the kitties and they keep mice and rodents population down and are an asset to the property. What do you suggest that we do now? Attention to this matter is eminent for “our” kitties safety. They have all been neutered when the kitties were babies and we were able to trap the mother with them at the time.
Thank you for any help you can give us in this matter.
Sincerely,
Hi Barbara,
We’re sorry to hear about the fox harming the kitties! We would still recommend contacting a wildlife control specialist to handle the fox situation as it can be difficult to trap a fox on your own. Perhaps there is another company you could call to try to relocate the fox. As long as the fox has a food source and shelter, it will remain in the cemetery and possibly harm the cats.
Thanks!
Your Friends at Havahart®
We have been trying to trap one of our indoor cats who got outside awhile back. We have your feral cat trap, but although he comes by every couple of days, he will not get in the trap. So to get him more accustomed to it, we have it disguised, with door bungeed open and wet and dry catfood just inside the trap to get him used to eating from it.
This last week we have a fox from the neighboring woods (we have a couple of fox families in the woods around our suburban home) visiting our trap and eating all the catfood. So we moved the food all the way to the back of the trap, with the door still bungeed open. The fox gets all the way inside the cat-sized trap, eats all the food. The last 3 nights the fox came 2X to 3X each night. Our cat did not show up any of those nights. (We have an infrared camera set up by the traps so we know what animal is visiting.)
We do not know what to do to keep the fox out of the trap, I read about using used cat litter or mothballs to deter the fox, but will they also deter our cat? I also read to put a separate “buffet” for the fox with raisins away from the trap. The fox also eats the raisins along with the catfood.
Can you suggest anything to keep the fox away so, hopefully, our cat will return and get trapped.
PS Having Animal Control trap the fox likely won’t work since foxes are common here, but leave our pets alone. They said that another fox will likely take over the territory of this fox. Also this is the time when vixens give birth, and I don’t want to break up a family group.
Hi Ann,
We are sorry to hear about your problem with trapping your cat!
Unfortunately, anything you use to repel the fox will also likely repel the cat. In reality, there is not much that you can do that would keep a fox away but lure in a cat! In this situation, it is your best bet is to contact a professional and explain the situation. We hope they are able to work with you to capture your cat safely!
Your Friends at Havahart®
We have had 20 free range chickens killed and two horses bit. The chickens have either disappeared or have been found with their heads ripped off. Some have been partially eaten. I have been using a game cam and only got a partial view of something. I finally used a second cam and got two views of it. One full side view and one view as it jumped off the tractor I had the camera set on. It is smart and as soon as the camera clicks and the infa-red starts to come on it runs. The reason I think it was on the tractor, was to jump and grab one of the chickens out of the rafters of the barn. He is about 15″ at the shoulders and overall between 2 1/2 and 3 feet overall. I got his height and length from items it was photographed by. This one will be tough to trap.
A fox ate one of my ducks last night so we went from 6 to 5 ducks. We have a pond in our backyard where the ducks have been and the fox found them… How can we trap the fox to remove it from our property? Where should we put the trap? How to make the trap? We had ducks a while back and a different fox got all of them in one night and we don’t want that to happen again… We really need help please write back thanks!!!!
Hi Lori,
We are sorry to hear about your ducks being taken by the fox! We recommend this live trap for foxes: http://www.havahart.com/store/live-animal-traps/large and we have a variety of information on how to go about doing this here: http://community.havahart.com/learn-fox/
We hope this is helpful for you!
Thanks,
Your Friends at Havahart®
We have a 3 year old APBT that has 11 pups. For the last week or so we have heard what sounds like a fox out by her kennel. About a week ago I was inside the kennel putting a pup back in the dog house when the “fox” startled me. It was right outside the kennel. And made several loud growl/screams at me. I yelled for my husband and it ran off. Tonight it was back. I am worried its trying to get the pups. And do not want the momma dog hurt either. We put up a trail camera to try and see if that’s exactly what it is. But have had no luck. My neighbors also have 4 cats that have been making awful screaming sounds at night. One has a bad wound on its ear. Any suggestions on how to keep it away safely? Or trap it?
Hi Pittymom,
Sorry to hear about the issues you are having with the foxes! Our first recommendation to keep the foxes away is to use exclusion, such as a fence, to protect the puppies. If this is not possible, we’d then suggest trying to repel the fox with a water sprinkler repellent, such as this one: http://www.havahart.com/store/electronic-repellents/5266, or homemade concoction as mentioned in this post.
If this is not working, we recommend using a Large live trap from our website (http://www.havahart.com/store/live-animal-traps/large) and following the “step trapping” method we outline in this post.
If you have any other questions, please let us know!
Thanks!
Your Friends at Havahart®