How to best set your fox traps?

You should set your fox traps, cat traps or any trap on a flat surface. Grass or concrete is fine. If the surface is uneven the fox traps may rock when the fox walks in and may startle it. Foxes and other mammals don’t like walking on mesh and so it often pays to spread grass clippings, leaves or even a towel over the mesh.

Foxes don’t particularly like open spaces. They often skulk around corners and close to edges where they feel safer. Placing your fox trap next to an edge is a good idea, as it gives the fox less places to try and get in. Some urban foxes are pretty used to humans and as such are easier to catch. They are used to jumping in bins, climbing fences and squeezing through gaps and are often easier to catch. They have less predators or interference than in the countryside and are often a lot more confident when it comes to exploring new things. Usually a trap sat on your lawn.

A secluded area is also best, so if you can get your fox trap in a shadowy corner or under a low hanging tree, the fox will be comfortable seeing what the food is that’s up for grabs. Alternatively if the fox is used to stealing your bird or cat food from the porch or middle of your lawn, there is no harm in trying where the fox is familiar with. It can be a good idea to drape a towel or rug over the trap to make the inside darker and to disguise the harsh ‘unnatural’ straight lines of the trap. The more it looks like a bush or rock than a trap the better.

Foxes have huge territories. Generally, the less scarce food is, the bigger the territory. An urban fox may visit 100 gardens per night on its usual round. A country fox may pass over the same ground only once every couple of weeks. If you have seen the fox visiting regularly, whether it be your garden, field or raiding your bins there is a good chance it will be back. 

Patience is key with trapping foxes. Some you will catch straight away others may take weeks. Remember the fox may have been released from a trap before and so be very wary of entering another metal cage for a night time snack. 

Feel free to contact our Pin Feather Outdoors team at any time and know more about How to best set your fox traps.