Foxes (and cats?) and their habit of messing up freshly sown/mulched/no-dig beds

[Mark Lottie]

Hi

I dont really have a problem with foxes in general but the ones near me have a habit of tearing up freshly sown and mulched ground as soon as I turn my back. I'm convinced they do it on purpose to wind me up.

I put up cages of plastic fencing / netting around fresh sowings and transplants but I dont really have enough to do this with every sowing.

The worst is when I put newspaper down and cover with compost; they will always tear up some newspaper or move it about so the seeds are messed with.


How do you guys deal with it? I'm not conviced the foxes/cat repellant things work and my local Lion poo dealer is all out.

[Mikey]

My neighbouring plot holder who has an adjoining hedge, cuts lengths of bramble and lays them over his beds to keep certain critters off. He also lines the bottom of his pea trench with dead bramble stems, before adding seeds as mice are not so keen on scratching through it.

[Guest]

Oh Mikey beat me to it but yes prickly hedge trimmings. Mine tends to be holly.

[Mark Lottie]

That's a good one actually, cheers. Was pruning a Hawthorn the other day and that might be good too.

Although the foxes round here can jump a 6 foot fence, so may just need to spread it literally everywhere

[Penellype]

I've put fleece over my mulched beds weighted down with bricks, which seems to keep next doors cat off. I don't have foxes in my garden so I can't comment on them.

[greenishfing]

My neighbouring plot holder who has an adjoining hedge, cuts lengths of bramble and lays them over his beds to keep certain critters off. He also lines the bottom of his pea trench with dead bramble stems, before adding seeds as mice are not so keen on scratching through it.

I really like this idea and the brambles might just remind my forgetfull husband to keep his size 11s clear as well.

[Terryr]

Hi There

We have a cat and each of our neighbours have at least one. Our neighbourhood is also overrun with foxes. I am the only one who cultivates their garden as such doing both vegetables and floral. That means that they all us my plot as a toilet or digging area. If I sow seeds or plant seedlings then that piece of garden seems to be even more attractive to them. I have tried many ways to dissuade them, As already stated something prickly seems to work the best. Every year I cut off the branches of our Christmas fir tree and insert them around and over my freshly worked soil. This works quite well although I still get soil pushed over seedlings. I also regularly have to shovel soil of paths back into deep beds. Fleece over carrots and mesh over the greens also seem to keep them off.

Bets of luck
Terryr

[BertieFox]

Thanks for the brambles idea. That might deter some of the other livestock! Like you we are trying to establish no dig deep mulch beds but the moment they are all beautifully covered, along comes one of the dogs, the cat, or worse, the chickens, and they kick or dig the mulch to the four winds. Worse, they mix our woodchips which should always be on the surface to stop nitrogen robbery with the soil making the plot almost worthless as a mulched bed.
I have thought of fencing everything but that would cost a fortune as we have a large plot, but we have loads of brambles everywhere so will be trying that!

[Mark Lottie]

thanks for all the advice people

[Snadger]

I love to see foxes and cats prowling around. We have a couple of foxes at home who sit either side of a kitten eating the stuff we put out for them. (Must get a piccie some time!)
I have had a fox kill some of my chickens but blame myself for leaving the run door open. I can't understand how my neighbours six bantam cockerels never get eaten by foxes as they are all over the allotment site both day and night. I am like the pied piper when I go to feed my own chooks, with half a dozen banty cocks following me!
My mate at work had been shooting geese and mistakenly left one lying behind the shed, intending to gut and ploat it the next day. Needless to say the foxes found it and his goose disappeared! Serves him right for shooting wildlife I say.

Sorry I am tangetising again but I feel we need to look after wildlife and not annihilate them. Without the foxes and cats we'd be overrun with rats!

[penny]

I tried hugel beds last year stuff grew well but now voles or rats have nested in the beds and foxes have tried to dig them out so there is one big mess which I need to sort out before planting. I have covered the beds with metal bread trays at present which stops the digging but helps the rodents but short of rat poison I am at a bit of a loss as to should I dig the whole lot up or just ignore the little devils?

[More basil]

Chilli powder. This provides an unpleasant surprise to anyone digging the beds and rootling but the discomfort is very short lived. They then seem to learn that a particular patch of ground leads to trouble and will stay away. A small amount scattered will do. Also, birds are immune to the Capsaicin in chillies so it will not deter them from eating slugs etc on the patch.

[simon12]

I have 1 of these Contech ScareCrow Motion Activated Animal Deterrent: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors and it keeps cats out of the whole garden and even when I turn it off in winter to stop water freezing in it they stay away for months until they work it out.