You may see more foxes around your home this season in NC. Here’s why and what to do
North Carolina residents might be seeing more curious foxes roaming around their homes this time of year.
Wildlife officials say it’s their breeding season, which means sightings are more likely as young foxes and their parents are spending more time away from their dens and out in the open.
“Foxes are known to be sly, but that doesn’t necessary mean not seen,” the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission says.
Red and grey foxes are found across North Carolina, including in urban and suburban areas, the NCWRC says. Both species are about the size of a house cat but red foxes have longer legs that make them look larger.
It’s common for them to be found in residential areas as foxes are “very adaptable” and find them “excellent places to live and raise their young,” the NCWRC says. Decks, raised porches and crawl spaces in these areas provide “protection from the elements,” making them ideal fox homes.
“Foxes are well adapted to living around people and thrive in neighborhoods across North Carolina,” Falyn Owens, an extension biologist with the NCWRC said in a release. “If you spot a fox around your house or business, don’t be surprised — it has probably lived in the area for years.”
The agency says it gets about 1,000 calls each year about foxes living under buildings or getting “too comfortable around humans.” But residents shouldn’t necessarily be concerned if they see a fox near their home.
“Fox attacks on people, including children, are rare,” the agency says “While it is in a fox’s nature to be curious, and even bold sometimes, they are not aggressive.”
Still, the NWRC says “not everyone welcomes these temporary tenants” and offers tips to avoid conflicts with them.
First, the agency says not to feed them as “long-term handouts” from humans won’t benefit them.
It’s also best to feed pets indoors or to remove all food and food dishes after feeding them outdoors. The agency also recommends using bird feeders that keep seed from spilling onto the ground and picking up any fallen fruit from around trees.
It’s also important to put up sturdy fences around “dog runs,” chicken coops and rabbit pens to protect pets. The agency recommends walking pets on a leash and teaching children to “enjoy wildlife from a safe distance.”
Closing off the crawl spaces under decks, porches and buildings will prevent foxes from using the areas to rest or raise their young, the NCWRC says.
But if a fox has set up a den near your home and is “too close for comfort,” the NCWRC says there are a few ways to encourage it to leave.
Residents can put a spotlight or strobe light on the ground and point it toward the entrance of the den, play talk radio loudly near the den entrance or make loud noises in the area often.
Installing a motion-activated sprinkler near the den entrance or throwing small objects in an adults fox’s direction can also help “assert that their presence won’t be tolerated.”
The NCWRC says foxes will only use the den while raising their young and will move along once they get older, which is usually by mid or late summer.
But the agency says it’s illegal to relocate foxes in the state to prevent the spread of disease.
“As a result, any removals require that the animal be humanely euthanized,” the NCWRC says.
