How to Attract Foxes to Your Yard: A Complete Guide

Spotting a fox casually strolling through your backyard can be an exciting and memorable wildlife encounter. With their bushy tails and pointed ears, foxes have an unmistakable charm that makes them a delight to observe. While you can’t fully domesticate foxes, you can create an environment that encourages foxes to visit your yard with some strategic planning. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to ethically and safely attract foxes to your backyard oasis.

Why Attract Foxes to Your Yard?

Before embarking on your mission to draw foxes in, consider why you want to host these wild canids on your property. Here are some of the top reasons homeowners choose to attract foxes:

• Enjoy nature up close: Having foxes around allows you to observe wildlife right outside your door. Watching their curious, cat-like behaviour can be fascinating.

• Natural pest control: Foxes prey on rats, mice, voles, rabbits, and other animals that homeowners consider pests. A family of foxes can help control nuisance animals on your land.

• Ambiance: The presence of wildlife fosters a sense of natural tranquility. Catching sight of a fox fosters a feeling of being connected to the wilderness.

• Conservation Providing habitat for foxes assists with maintaining biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. As development encroaches on wild areas wildlife needs refuge.

However, there are also downsides of attracting foxes that should be carefully weighed:

• Risk to pets Foxes may prey on unattended small pets, especially cats and tiny dogs Close supervision is required.

• Property damage: Foxes are excellent diggers and may destroy landscaping or undermine sheds and decks while creating dens.

• Potential mess Foxes can get into trash, leave droppings, shed fur, or make dens under porches Be prepared to clean and seal off unwanted areas

• Safety concerns: Foxes very rarely contract or transmit rabies, but a fox behaving erratically should be avoided and reported.

Only undertake attracting foxes if the benefits outweigh the potential problems for your unique situation. For many homeowners, the joy of wildlife sightings prevails!

Fox Behaviour and Habits

The first step in attracting foxes is understanding their habits, needs and natural behaviours. This allows you to assess if your property has the right habitat components and take steps to improve conditions.

There are 6 species of foxes in North America, with red, grey and arctic foxes being the most widespread. Foxes are omnivorous opportunistic foragers, eating rodents, fruit, insects, birds and anything else they can find. Foxes are solitary hunters and prey on animals smaller than themselves.

Foxes are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dusk and dawn. Urban foxes may also be active during daylight. Fox families share a den, with pairs mating for life. Foxes prefer wooded areas interspersed with open meadows or fields.

Key facts about fox behaviour:

• Nocturnal: Most active at night, especially where persecution exists. More diurnal in safe habitat.

• Denning: Need secure dens to birth and raise kits. Also rest in dens.

• Wary: Foxes avoid humans whenever possible. Easily frightened by close approach.

• Playful: Fox kits love to play-fight and chase each other while adults nap.

• Vocal: Foxes make a variety of howls, barks, yips and screams for communication.

• Digging: Foxes dig dens in elevated, well-drained soil, under brush piles, in hollow logs, etc.

• Roaming: Use large territories of 3 to 8 square km, especially males.

By understanding fox behaviour patterns, you can plan ways to make them feel at home.

Creating an Appealing Fox Habitat

The key to attracting wildlife to your yard is providing what they need to thrive – food, water, shelter and safe denning sites. Here are top habitat enhancements to bring in foxes:

Plant native vegetation – Tall grasses, clustered shrubs, fruit bushes and tree cavities provide cover and den sites. Oak, hazel, blackberry, raspberry and blueberry plants are fox favorites.

Leave brush piles – Neat piles of fallen branches make good fox dens. Place them in sheltered spots at the habitat edge.

Add a water source – A pond, bird bath or other fresh water source will attract foxes and their prey.

Install raised beds – Vegetable gardens and compost piles attract rodents that foxes prey upon. Locate them away from the house.

Reduce lawn areas – Replace manicured turf with natural vegetation and leaf litter that shelter small mammals.

Avoid pesticides – Chemicals reduce insects and small animals that foxes eat. Allow insect diversity.

Set out shelters – An overturned box with straw bedding or hollow log provides an extra den. Place a few around the habitat.

Keep areas wild – Let nature take its course in corners of your yard to create the layered structure foxes love.

The more you can make your property resemble a natural ecosystem, the better chance of foxes moving in. Be patient as you transform your yard into primo fox habitat.

Ethical Fox Feeding Considerations

Well-meaning homeowners often put out food like pet food, meat scraps or corn to purposefully attract wildlife. However, intentional feeding of foxes is controversial, with laws prohibiting it in many states.

Here are some risks of feeding foxes:

• Causes foxes to congregate unnaturally, increasing disease transmission

• Leads to bold behaviour and foxes losing fear of humans

• Results in foxes becoming dependent on human food sources

• Attracts other nuisance wildlife like skunks and raccoons

• Encourages aggressive behaviour between foxes over the food resource

• Can be dangerous if foxes ingest spoiled food and get sick

For these reasons, wildlife experts recommend against intentionally feeding foxes. Instead focus your efforts on improving the native habitat naturally to draw foxes in.

If you do choose to put out food, adhere to these ethical guidelines:

• Only feed in winter when natural food is scarce

• Offer tiny portions of smelly, natural foods like raw chicken or fish

• Never feed foxes by hand, or let them take food from you

• Stop feeding if bold fox behaviour or congregating is noted

• Immediately remove any food foxes don’t eat right away

• Never feed fox kits, as it may attract predators to their den

• Avoid dog and cat foods high in fillers, which are unhealthy for foxes

• Monitor local ordinances and cease feeding if ordered by wildlife authorities

Improving habitat to help foxes survive without dependence on humans is the ideal approach for ethical fox attraction.

Smart Fox Feeding Stations

If you want to supplement habitat improvements with occasional light feeding, some tips will help create a responsible fox feeding station:

Choose a quiet spot – Pick a secluded part of your property away from dwellings and foot traffic. This allows shy foxes to eat undisturbed.

Offer food at dusk – Foxes are most active at dawn and dusk, so set out food during crepuscular hours when foxes will find it quickly.

Elevate feeders – Platform feeders with short ramps restrict access to foxes while excluding scavengers like opossums. Or place small portions up on a deck or shed roof.

Put out tiny portions – A tablespoon of food per fox is sufficient. They don’t need large quantities.

Vary the menu – Provide a diversity of natural foods like chopped meat, fish, eggs, fruits and veggies to supplement foxes’ wild diet.

Remove uneaten food – Pick up any food not eaten after a short period of time so it doesn’t spoil or attract pests.

Keep areas clean – Sweep up food scraps and seeds dropped under feeders to avoid contamination.

Use trail cameras – Set up a trail camera aimed at feeders to monitor fox activity and feeding behaviour while avoiding disturbance.

Discontinue if problems arise – Cease feeding if issues like congregating foxes, boldness or sick foxes occur.

With some creativity, you can design a responsible feeding station to assist local foxes without detriment.

What Not to Do When Attracting Foxes

While improving habitat for foxes is generally ecologically beneficial, some practices should be avoided:

• Don’t use fox urine or other artificial lures, which can spread disease between foxes.

• Avoid planting non-native plants, which don’t offer benefit to wildlife. Stick with native species.

• Don’t leave out food waste in piles that could attract vermin. Compost organically in enclosed bins.

• Refrain from destroying fox dens and habitat for property aesthetics. Coexist with foxes.

• Never deliberately approach, touch or try to tame foxes. They must remain wild.

• Don’t install bright lights shining into fox habitat, as this disturbs their natural rhythms.

• Avoid using harsh pesticides that remove fox prey like insects, snails and rodents.

• Don’t leave out pet food that could attract foxes close to your pets. Feed pets indoors.

• Never trap, poison, shoot or harm foxes. Peaceful coexistence is the goal.

• Don’t overlook local bylaws. Some municipalities prohibit feeding wildlife.

The overarching goal is enhancing natural habitat to benefit the native fox population without causing harm. Keep working to gradually improve your backyard ecosystem. With time, the foxes will take notice and reward your efforts with their charming presence!