OMG!!!!!! We have a FOX!!!!!!!!

[Davaroo]

Practice A LOT with a bow, if you go that way. First they are harder to hit with than you may imagine. A killing shot is gonna be tough on a small animal like a fox. Any other hit is a maimer.

And you gotta be stealthy with a bow. I mean sneaky quiet, unseen. Banging on windows, whispering and "sssshing" and generally lurking around wringing your hands could be your undoing. "Sly like a fox," speaks volumes here.

I think you may have hit on something, though, with the poison and leg trap ideas. We needn't get into the morality of them, nor the legality. You're in a pickle here and it really is you or the fox. There's no way to sugar coat that.

I don't know much about poisons, and leg traps are easy enough, so I'll sit back now and be quiet. This is getting interesting.

By the way, I hope this all comes out well so you eventually can get some sleep. I forgot to say that, earlier....

 

[cjeanean]

leg traps are legal to use here, from what the conservation agent said. I forgot to ask, but he asked if I was planning to use a leg trap or a live trap. What size would I need for a fox??? I'm planning to keep an eye out the night I decide to bait, but if a pet gets into it won't it hurt them??? That's all I'm worried about.....How would I bait it??? Just put the bait in the center of the trap??? Never used one before, so I have no clue! Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions!!!! I know that thing is out there right now, I can hear my ducks getting all nervous and I'm starting to feel the blood pump.

 

[mooman]

Because hubby can't own gun then you can't either? Borrow one. If you're outside of town every neighbor's probably got an old .22 sitting around gathering dust.

 

[Wraith]

Just because your husband isn't allowed to own firearms doesn't mean you can't does it? I know G. Gordon Liddy can't own guns because he's a felon, but his wife owns all the ones that were formerly his. This isn't legal advice or anything, but just something to check into.

 

[MRNpoultry]

Here is a page that tells you what size of trap for foxes -

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=36840

but if a pet gets into it won't it hurt them???

From what I have heard they want be happy but it won't hurt them. Whit leg hold traps, you can release animals that are to small or not the right animal.

How would I bait it???

You find a tree stake your trap 1/2 a foot off of the tree. Leave enough chain so the animal will wrap itself around the tree so it will calm down. Once you have your trap staked, and the mouth of the trap 1/2 a foot off the tree. You put your bait right next to the tree and put a little lure around the trap area.

Then wasn't the fox is walking in that area it will step on the trap and you caught him.​

 

[Davaroo]

Oh, you are feeling the primal urges, eh? Isn't it interesting how readily our New Age notions go out the window, when threatened? What a revelation...

I'd suggest a #1 1/2 - #2 leg hold trap. Only because a little bit of research told me so.
These will snag the unwary pet, so alert the neighbors to what is going on. They should be restraining their animals already, but it would be good to tell them.

The fox is going to know about you being around, so you have to practice deception.
- Make the fox focus attention on the bait and not the trap by dangling the bait two feet above the trap on a branch. Chickenboys suggestion on the chain by the tree is a great one.
- Site the trap in a known travel path of the fox as it approaches the target area.
- Try to find a funnel area in the brush along the travel path which the fox has to pass through and put it there.
- Wear clean, high-rise rubber boots rubbed with mud and/or broken pine twigs to mask your own scent when you are setting the trap.
Keep in mind you are dealing with a fox, not the local mutt.

- The fox has told you what he wants as bait - bird. Bait with that.
- Another option is a bit of bacon grease smeared on a soft sponge, hung above the trap. This has two facets:
The fox will be attracted to it. And if it manages to get the sponge and not get caught in the trap.... well, the sponge is not good for his intestinal health and he will likely die from gastric blockage.
(I've only heard of the sponge trick, having never seen it in action.)

I still say a gun is best...