Hi Windychippy
Luckily I haven’t had to deal with foxes where I am, but I imagine the deterrants for keeping cats out of feeding stations might help – perhaps with a bit more weight.
I have wooden hog houses which I use for feeding. The best thing I have found for keeping cats out is to place bricks in the internal corridors (to reduce the height) and the animals have to turn back on themselves. The reduced height of the corridor seems to prevent them from turning (the cats can’t turn easily when they are flattened to get through the reduced height). Hogs are very good at getting through different shaped spaces and have no problem getting in.
Hopefully if you are able to prevent the foxes from getting any food, they might give up visiting there.
Some foxes don’t bother hogs too much, but some become experts at killing hogs – they wait until they unroll and pounce. That is why I find it very concerning when I hear of some people feeding foxes and hogs side by side. Just because a wild animal has behaved in a certan way in the past, doesn’t mean that it will always behave in that way – they are predators. My feeling is that hogs need to maintain a healthy wariness of foxes and all predators. I also understand that young foxes sometimes play with hedgehogs and can be the cause of serious back leg injuries or even amputations.
I have heard reports that male human urine around entrance points to the garden can deter them but I think the jury is out on that one! But as said, if the foxes don’t get any food in your garden, hopefully they will stop visiting there. But any other ways you can think of which make life in your garden more difficult for them (without interfering with the amenity for the hogs) might help. Just be careful with what you use, that it isn’t something that the hogs could become tangled in or try to eat.
Good luck. I hope all goes well.
