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[daveonyx]

security light came on at rear of house so i took a look out of window and all i saw was a thick bushy tail with a 2 or 3 inch white tip on the end. quickly ran to patio doors and saw for the first time in my back garden a fox!
it didn't hang around tho, think it was just passing through.
Question is.. Do i want to attract a fox to my garden, what are the pros and cons?
i live in the outskirts of lancaster(small city), lots of semi detached houses with 30~70ft gardens if that helps any.

[Wild-Woman]

Sounds likes a brush with nature....sorry for the pun! Wonderful and beautiful creatures aren't they. I suspect that your encounter may have been from a fox that has it's local patch that includes your garden as part of it, and it may have been out and about looking for some food and this time of year, a mate. If you hear some pretty unearthly calls, then that's what's going on.
As for attracting them to your garden, as I've already said, it may be part of the fox's range anyway and will make a regular visit. Some folk may welcome foxes and wouldn't be worried about their presence but unfortunately some folk do, as they tend to dig and mark their territory which is in the form of a poo or by spraying, which is fairly pungent.
Foxes although happy to scavenge, are predators and will happily take a unprotected rabbit or guinea pig for food, so just make sure any pets like this have sturdy cages with good locks and double thickness chicken wire. Best of all is to keep hutches in a garage, shed for safety and during the winter to keep it's resident warm and draught free too.
This all sounds very negative but sadly foxes have had a bad press and some folk just don't understand or enjoy their company and aren't willing to share their garden with them.
I personally do and am always thrilled to see our local vixen, especially when she has a nap near our shed before trotting off home.
I'd just enjoy seeing your fox, when it decides to visit but I'd let it do everything naturally, like looking for it's own grub and moving on if it feels the need. Artificial feeding may not benefit it.
Keep us updated as we enjoy a foxy story.

[shei111]

Id love to wake up to a fox on the patio suit me down to the ground. sheila

[ron1863]

There seem to be more foxes in towns and cities nowadays than there are in the countryside and the one you saw has probably been around for a while and your garden is part of it's territory, enjoy it.

[BloomingMarvellous]

A friend and I had just just got off the London night bus in Orpington around 5am when 5 Foxes crossed our path, It was so wonderful to see, never seen this amount of Foxes together at one time, my friend told me that this was a common sight, he lives in an area that has a network of alleyways.

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by BloomingMarvellous

A friend and I had just just got off the London night bus in Orpington around 5am when 5 Foxes crossed our path, It was so wonderful to see, never seen this amount of Foxes together at one time, my friend told me that this was a common sight, he lives in an area that has a network of alleyways.

Just like buses - you wait for ages and then five come along at once.

Regrds
Mike.

[daveonyx]

thanks for the advice folks, will have to keep an eye out for it from now on.
are they creatures of habit that will pass through nearly every night at roughly the same time? or is more as and when they're in the neighbourhood?

[Tobyh]

I find the foxes near us are creatures of habit. I do put out food for them because I love to see them around and whenever food is put out, it goes. They may not visit at same time every night but they always come through several times at least. The only downside for me is the occasional poo left on the lawn...and *newsflash* it stinks! I also leave any dead birds etc out if I find one in the garden, guaranteed to be gone as soon as night falls.

I personally see nothing wrong with feeding them the right things. I don't go mad, just a few bits to help them along. There's nothing in my garden or those around me that the foxes would be a threat to so I'm happy they see it as a refuge.

TobyH