We have a fox. There has always been a fox trail along the edge of our garden. And from time to time we would see a fox run across the lawn and disappear through the top hedge. We co-existed peacefully, until recently. One night the fox came into the back yard and raided the cat food that is kept in the greenhouse. Both of our semi-feral cats sleep in the back yard. We worried that they might become a convenient meal for a hungry fox. They are wily hunters. So how could we deter the fox?
The first
thing we tried was voices. Humans are the main predator of foxes, after all. So
we hung a small transistor radio in the greenhouse. It was tuned to Radio 4,
which becomes the World Service overnight. The internet was confident that talk
radio would put the fox off.
But the
next night, the fox raided the greenhouse again. There was no cat food stored
there anymore, and just a few scraps in the cat bowls. The fox managed to turn
them over. And our two cats were in hiding. What should we do now? Would we
have been better turning to some easy listening station? Were foxes attuned to current
affairs and more deterred by the dulcet tones of Barry Manilow? Indeed, might
the lack of easy pickings make the fox keener for a meal of cat?
We
consulted the internet again. The next night we put the yard light on at dusk
and left it on all night. We also continued with the transistor on Radio 4. And
lo and behold the fox did not come and raid. The combination of the night light
and the shipping forecast was too much for it. A good friend told me that foxes
are opportunistic hunters. They are always on the lookout for an easy meal. So
if you make it hard for them, they will go and try somewhere else.
