What are some different ways to kill a fox?
It’s important to note that before you go for the option of killing a nuisance fox, there are plenty of other options that you can try beforehand. Firstly, if you notice a fox regularly entering your yard, you should make sure that you remove all the attractants. This means securing your trash cans, clearing up any food or edible debris, and making sure there are no places for a fox to hide or make a den. You should also make sure you have a strong perimeter such as a thick gauge wire or a wooden fence with no gaps.
If prevention fails, you can opt for the live trapping method. There are many types of traps out there that confine the animal safely for relocation, and they are easy to set up with a little preparation.
If all else fails then termination is an effective last resort, and there are a few ways that you can go about it.
Lethal Trapping and Snares
Lethal traps are an effective solution for animal control. With this method, you can either opt for a trap that automatically kills the fox, or trap it in a live trap to shoot it once it’s confined. If you opt for a lethal trap, you run the risk of killing non-target animals such as domestic animals and other vagrant creatures. For this reason, if you insist on dispatching the fox, it’s far better to use a live trap after which you can quickly and cleanly put it down with a firearm.
Self-locking snares are designed to tighten the more the animal struggles, whilst free-running snares are designed to relax once the animal stops moving. Self-locking snares are illegal for this reason, so the only snare you can lawfully use is nonlethal.
Firearms
Guns on their own may be used to control foxes, but should only be undertaken by individuals with the skills necessary to wield them safely. Improper conduct around firearms will put you under far more dangerous than even the most disease-ridden of foxes. However, if you do possess the proper knowledge and discipline you can dispatch the fox with at least a .22 calibre rifle.
The utmost care should be taken when discharging a firearm, and you must make sure you abide by the regulations applied to firearm use for your area. Typically, this is only a legal and viable option in more rural areas.
Poison
Much like lethal trapping, poisoning a fox has wide-reaching ramifications. Firstly, the use of poison for killing foxes is widely criminalized across America. Careless use of poison can put pets, other animals, and even humans at risk. It can introduce toxins into the food chain if the fox dies somewhere where other animals can ingest the poison.
Ultimately poison is included here solely as a warning. It is by far the least successful and most dangerous option and should be avoided.
Killing as a solution is generally ill-advised. While it may fix your problem in the short-term depending on the number of foxes in the area, foxes are territorial creatures. This means it’s likely that another animal will soon move in. If you’re looking for a quick and clean solution to your problem, call a wildlife removal expert. They can either advise you on the best way forward for your particular problem, or they can take care of the entire process for you.
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