Foxes are in your yard because it has shelter, food, and water. Both gray foxes and red foxes have adapted to urban environments. Their preferred habitats have some cover. Gray foxes generally live in open country with moderate cover at the edges of open fields and meadows. Red foxes tend to be found in forested areas with dense cover.
Need Help with Foxes?
Find a Critter Control near you.
Why Are Foxes in the Yard?
Fox Diet
Foxes are opportunistic eaters/ They will eat mice, voles, bird eggs, rabbits, insects, and native fruits, and will also eat poultry, lambs, piglets, carrion, and cats. Foxes are relatively small predators (about the weight of a house cat). They typically hunt rodents like mice and pose very little threat to people or dogs. However, foxes will predate on livestock such as chickens (and chicken eggs) and rabbits.
Fox Dens in Yard
You will find a fox den on your property during the breeding season which lasts from December until March and peaks in January. Foxes use dens to raise their young and typically use two to four dens. By June, they usually abandon the den.
Red foxes may dig their den or use an abandoned groundhog burrow. Gray foxes often den in wood or brush piles or in a hollow tree. Urban foxes have adapted to people’s yards for denning sites. Foxes can build dens under porches or decks, under sheds, or brush piles.
If you find pups in your yard, they are not abandoned. The adult fox is probably hunting for food. Do not try to rescue the pups on your own.
Problems Caused by Foxes in the Yard
Usually, the biggest fox problem with a fox in the yard is feeling scared. Foxes are generally most active at dawn and dusk, but they can be seen at any time of day at any point of the year.
Fox Hunting
Foxes pose practically no risk to people or dogs. They are small predators (about the weight of a house cat) and only hunt smaller animals like mice, chickens, or rabbits.
Damage from Foxes
Foxes do not cause much damage. They can dig up gardens and lawns. Their burrows can undermine the structure. They have been known to chew on irrigation pipes. They can cause a mess rummaging in the garbage.
Fox Diseases
There are a few diseases foxes carry that put people and pets at risk. Mange is a contagious skin disease caused by microscopic mites that can spread to your cat or dog. Distemper is a virus that affects the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. It is spread by coming in direct contact with urine, saliva, feces, or other infected animal secretions.
Rabies in foxes is relatively rare. It is important to note that a fox that is active during the day is not necessarily rabid but it could be a sign of a healthy animal feeding more often because of the demands of their young
How to Get Rid of a Fox in Your Yard
You might be able to ignore a fox in your yard. The fox could just be passing through or hunting. Even if a den is present, it is temporary and usually resolves by the end of June.
You should consider fox control in the yard if you have animals at risk or structural damage is happening. Foxes can chew on irrigation pipes and their burrows can undermine the structural integrity of porches, decks, and sheds.
Noise and visual deterrents might work at scaring away the family of foxes. Once they are gone, you can block the entrance to the den. Loud noises and flashing lights will be an ineffective deterrent for livestock depredation.
Cage traps for foxes are a humane way to remove the foxes, but it requires skill. An inexperienced fox trapper will more likely educate the fox on what to avoid instead of catching it.
Watch a Fox Enter a Den Under a Shed
Fox Prevention & Exclusion
Installing a fence with 2-inch net wire or hardware cloth and extending it underground will block off entrances to typical fox den locations. Securing the chicken coop and bringing other livestock into sheds will remove food sources for the fox. Small pets such as rabbits should be kept inside when possible or kept in a secure enclosure.
Foxes are adaptable and widespread animals that can pose challenges in both rural and suburban settings. At Critter Control, we understand their biology and behavior to install effective management techniques to minimize conflicts with foxes. Integrated pest management strategies, which combine habitat modification, exclusion, and, when necessary, regulated trapping or removal, are the most effective approaches.
Get them out.
Keep them out.®
Experiencing a wildlife or pest issue? We can help! Complete this form and your local Critter Control® office will contact you to assist.
Fox Dens in Yard
Foxes use dens to raise their young and typically use two to four dens. The young disperse in the fall between September and December.
Red foxes may dig their den or use an abandoned groundhog burrow. Gray foxes often den in wood or brush piles or in a hollow tree. Urban foxes have adapted to people’s yards for denning sites. Foxes can build dens under porches or decks, under sheds, or brush piles.
You will find a fox den on your property during the breeding season which starts in December and last through March. The peak is in January.
If you find pups in your yard, they are not abandoned. The adult fox is probably hunting for food. Do not try to rescue the pups on your own.
