Urban Foxes Are They Dangerous?
In Pests
Urban Foxes Are They Dangerous?:
Foxes are now a topical subject due to the recent ‘attack’ on a child by a fox. We have had more than the usual number of enquiries about foxes and yesterday actually set a fox trap in a garden and got called back twice due to the neighbour’s cat being caught!
How Dangerous Are Foxes?
Wild foxes are usually scared of people but urban foxes live closely with people and get used to them. Urban foxes feed off refuse and small animals (rats, pigeons etc), but sometimes people encourage them closer by feeding them. The foxes then get to associate houses with food and this will lead them to become bold and venture inside our homes. Foxes are carnivores and see other smaller animals as food so to me it is no surprise that the fox tried to eat the baby. Humans are made of meat. Babies are small and need protecting from foxes, just as it would be unwise to leave a baby or small child alone with a strange cat or dog. These types of incidences are extremely rare but get a lot of publicity.
Foxes and Disease
More dangerous than attacks are the diseases foxes carry:
- Sarcoptic Mange Mite (scientific name Sarcoptes scabiei) – a mite that can infect both foxes and domestic dogs. The disease can be fatal in foxes but is usually easily treated in dogs.
- Toxocariasis – this is caused by a parasitic roundworm in the fox – toxocara canis – and can cause blindness in young children. Young children playing on lawns where foxes have been can pick this up.
- Fleas and ticks – can easily be caught by dogs and cats from areas where foxes have been
The smell of fox urine (especially the males) can be quite strong.
Most of our enquiries are from schools and domestic properties where foxes foul playing fields and gardens.
While hunting with birds of prey and snaring are legal methods of fox control, we consider them inhumane. We will either shoot or trap foxes. Unfortunately foxes that have been trapped and released or foxes that have had a “near miss” with a trap become bolder, which is why we prefer shooting as it is the most effective method, and ultimately the least stressful for the fox.
It is a sad reality that we need to resort to these measures, but there is still a thriving wild fox population in our countryside.
To book a pest control treatment or free advice then please call us at PEST UK: 0330 100 2811 (local rate) or 0800 026 0308 (free from land lines & some mobiles).
