attracting foxes etc but not rats

[gurnhill63]

Hi new to the site
I live very rurally with no near neighbours in the middle of fields really!!
How can I attract foxes badgers etc without the fear of hundreds of rats?
I feed birds and have rat poison in certain areas of the garden at times when the crops are out of the fields.
I would really like to attract other wildlife if anyone can help
Thank you

[ron1863]

Hi and a very warm welcome to WAB. I too live in a rural location but don't know how to attract Foxes to the garden (never tried) but I assume that leaving scraps of food out in the evening would help.
There are members on WAB who frequently attract Foxes into the garden, I'm sure you will get good advice from them.

[Words]

Probably quite a difficult combination to manage. Food attracts foxes (and just about everything else... including badgers, hedgehogs, cats, mice and rats). And as mentioned on other threads, poisons can enter the food chain, so putting poison down and attracting foxes that may predate the rats could misfire quite badly.

If you do try to attract foxes, keep food amounts small and try to monitor what is taking it. Foxes can become quite regular and so you can time when you leave it (and remove it if they don't show or you suspect rats). Dog food, scraps (not cooked bones), sultanas, eggs (though the shells are favoured by rats) all do fine.

Rural foxes will mainly be hunting smaller mammals, birds and (if your area is anything like mine) rabbits. They'll also forage worms, bugs, fruits etc. so they don't need the food as such, but I do appreciate wanting to see them up close.

Here's a rural fox in its element.. a bit like a trip down to the local supermarket