On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 14:57:38 +0100, "Reg"
wrote:

~A question from a newbie to this group, who to be honest doesn't do much
~gardening!
~
~I have a problem with foxes, digging the lawn up, chewing holes in the net
~of childrens' football goal and fouling all over the place.
~
~What makes this inevitable is our neighbour feeding them chicken every
~night.
Deliberately? I guess if you consider them a pest or health hazard you
could call environmental health but as many folk have said on this
group, it would mean a dispute with your neighbour.
Can you not google about to get health facts on foxes and then go
round to speak with them on the matter? You may be able to persuade
them with facts.

~
~Are there any methods of deterring them from entering our garden?

Chicken wire or that green fence wire all round the boundary?
Expensive but works. Possibly you'd need to bury it slightly to stop
them digging under it. May have to be quite tall. My dad did this
years ago when we had a rather escapologist cairn terrier puppy. He
put it at the base of the hedges that were then the garden boundary,
so the dog would have had to cut through the wire or tunnel through a
hawthorn. We didn't lose him much after that unless we left the gate
open!

~
~I expect there are substances that deter them by smell. We have cats and
~obviously don't want them affected.
Renardine ?sp

Chicken wire will hopefully encourage cats to stay in, too, preventing
them getting into other folks' gardens and also you know they're safe.
Not the easiest stuff to climb or hop up.

Mind you, I've discovered clematis is a great thing for catproofing a
garden. My current little madam can't get past the barrier it makes
:-) Mostly tangutica and montana, with a bit of viticella and a
passiflora. She can't see the 6' fence any more so can't climb it.

~Ant advice welcome.
tempting... hot water and borax? 8-)
runs off fast


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!