Agriculture Victoria is reminding urban residents that effective fox control starts at home.
The availability of food and shelter in urban areas provides an ideal environment for fox habitat and can result in high population densities.
Agriculture Victoria's Leading Biosecurity Officer Annie Lamb said controlling foxes in built-up areas is difficult, as traditional control methods such as baiting and shooting are not suitable.
'This leaves trapping, which is not a silver bullet as it can be challenging, and other foxes will quickly reinvade the area,' she said.
'Foxes are intelligent and opportunistic animals that quickly learn which areas can provide a meal for minimal effort. The best way to make your property fox-free is to make it undesirable for foxes.'
Ms Lamb said urban residents can make their properties fox unfriendly by:
- removing rubbish especially around existing structures
- reducing weedy thickets and overgrown vegetation such as blackberries
- covering openings that allow entry underneath houses and/or other structures such as sheds, garages and cubby houses
- considering the installation of exclusion fencing.
To reduce the food available to foxes and discourage them from entering your property, you should:
- ensure pet food and other food scraps are not left outside to attract foxes, especially overnight
- use secure compost and waste bins and ensure that lids close fully
- clean up fallen fruit from fruit trees
- do not intentionally feed foxes (it is illegal to keep established pest animals such as foxes without a permit and this includes feeding them).
Ms Lamb said if neighbours work together as a community, fox numbers and their impacts can be reduced.
