Tips for Trapping a Fox

Foxes are well known for their tenacity, cunningness, and resourcefulness. Because of this, it’s sometimes very difficult to dissuade them from entering your property.

It’s important to note that the best course of action is always prevention. Securing your trash bags, eliminating any dropped food or other attractants, and creating a robust perimeter around your property should typically be enough. However, if this is either ineffective or not possible on your property, the next step is to lay traps.

Another thing to consider before purchasing traps is the potential cruelty of the trap you are laying. That’s not to say that all traps are inhumane, but many people still opt for traps that severely wound and traumatize the target animal. Foxes are no threat to humans (except for very rare occasions where they display rabid behaviour) and fox attacks are incredibly rare. You shouldn’t consider yourself in danger when capturing these animals; even when they’re captured their natural tendency is to flee rather than attack.

The Trap

As always the best option is a live trap, after which you can safely relocate the animal. The trap works in a similar way to a live trap for rodents or cats and is used by many professional animal control companies. To be sure you have enough space, opt for a trap around 40 x 15 inches.

Fox Trapping
Fox Trapping

Placement

The best place to put a trap for any animal is in the area of most activity, and for foxes, this is their established den. If you can’t find a den nearby and can’t locate an area of frequent activity, it’s likely that trapping is not needed, and you should opt for preventative measures instead.

Once the den is located, place the trap beside the entrance. Like rodents, foxes display neophobic behaviour. 

Fox Trapping

This means that they are overly cautious of unfamiliar objects and materials, so make sure that you effectively camouflage your trap with leaf matter and other natural materials to help it blend in. A fox’s sense of smell is acute, so wear gloves to stop the scent from being transferred to the trap.

The Bait

Now that your trap is expertly hidden, you need to allow the fox to get comfortable with the idea of seeing the trap as a food source. If you set the trap immediately and place the food far inside, the fox will likely be too suspicious to enter.

First, scatter some of the bait around the unset trap, and wait until that bait has been eaten. Then place food inside the trap but keep it unset. This will allow the fox to acclimatize and see the trap as nonthreatening. When this bait has been eaten you can set the trap and wait for a catch. Employing this method will make success far more likely and save you time in the long run.

The best bait to use is cat food, fish, and poultry. Cat food works especially well as it often has a pungent odour that readily attracts foxes.

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