Fox track in lawn. How to get rid of it

The last few months we have what appears to be a track mark made by an urban fox. My idiotic tree hugger of a neighbour keeps leaving food down for it are night bur now it seems to have changed it's route and is now coming through my garden.

There's a track mark where you can clearly see the path it walks every night and I don't know how to get the grass to come back. I've raked it up and parts of it have started to grow but weirdly where it's grown back it's a darker colour so it still leaves a track mark. How can I get rid of it and get the grass to grow back normally?

 

I'd embrace the fox. Being a bona fide "tree hugger" as I love trees (and plants) and wildlife, I'd be chuffed to have a fox in the garden. Anyway I'm just going outside to hug my tree and talk to my plants..........

 

This neighbor of mine is a nuisance. She throws food out on the lawn and attracts vermin like rats, foxes and squirrels which then make an absolute mess of my lawn. I have young children so don't want an urban fox hanging about. She throws monkey nuts down by the bag full and every day I'm picking up what must be 30 to 40 empty shells which I have to do by hand on my knees as they are too small to rake up not to mention the holes they keep digging. She puts cat food down and throws scrap food out for foxes and meat for hedgehogs but it's attracting rats too. I've asked her politely to refrain from feeding vermin and maybe if she could lay off the monkey nuts and put another type of nuts down that don't make so much mess but there's no compromising with her.

 

I don't think there's much you can do about this situation Wizard. You could speak to your local environment department about it, they may be able to help particularly about the squirrels, assuming they are grey ones. As vermin I don't think it's legal to put food out for them.

 

Next door neighbour had an unwanted fox coming into the house to nick the cats food.

 

@The Wizard ...P in a bucket and pour it in the area where the Fox comes into your garden

 

Pity you don't live closer as my neighbour is a very good shot and would rid you of your problem in the quickest and least painful manner (as opposed to the hideous practice of trapping and poisoning of vermin). He has a small holding close to here with many ducks chickens and Guinea Fowl. Despite a well maintained 12 ft high fence he still has foxes either digging under the fence or biting through it! He lost 6 chickens the other night. 1 chicken taken, the rest just had their heads nipped off. The fox returned the next night which was pretty well a certainty and was duly despatched.I'm an animal lover but afraid my affections do not stretch to foxes rats or spiders. No doubt there will be others who totally disagree which is their right but I feel my neighbour also has the right to protect his livestock and their right to life too.

 

And block up any holes to make it harder

I know some farmers who dislike foxs, but when they have had a cow that has calfed, the after birth is put out for the fox to eat

 

Thanks for tour advice everyone. As far as getting my lawn to recover any ideas? I've cut it twice since and the grass where the fox has walked is still not growing. I've raked it up and it doesn't look dead but it's just not growing so all I can see is this dark trench across my lawn. I'm also puzzled as to why the grass is also darker where it's been walking. Even on the parts where the grass has sprung back up it's really dark green.

 

is it like a female dog which kills grass, you know you see the patches where they have been,
does the fox leak 'incontinent' like rats,sounds contaminated with something

 

Aye its weird, i would give the lawn a feed,feeling it would sort its self

 

Looking at the pictures Wizard, I don't think it's a fox as the track is to even. I believe it is from an animal that follows the same path every night and is lower to the ground, like a hedgehog.

Hedgehogs pass through my garden and I've seen them use exactly the same path more than once, they are creatures of habit.

 

I'm surprised that a hedgehog would be capable of making such a dent in the lawn but unsure of what's causing the grass to change colour unless it's secreting something as it goes along. It's almost as if it HAS been fertilised but just along that path.

I know that my neighbour feeds a fox and hedgehogs too so it's possible it's a hedgehog then. Any advice on how to get my grass to grow back or should I just leave it? It's been there several months now and there's no sign of it disappearing. I've raked the grass back up but it just doesn't seem to be growing and the dark line isn't going away. I presume the dents are where it snuffles about. I've since thrown some seed over it but not sure if that will do anything. It doesn't seem to have gotten any worse so I presume whatever it is has gone or found another route.

 

I think, what ever may be causing it has been exceedingly helpful ...


... if you ever wanted to lay stepping stones to the shed, the route is already marked out for you