Keeping foxes of your irrigation system.

Foxes are constantly attacking my Hozelock irrigation system. They chew the pipes, and remove the drippers. I have to check every day for the damage they have done: I'm worried about leaving the system while I'm on holiday.

Has anyone managed to fox-proof their irrigation system?

 

It's outside serving large containers about 50 cm high. There are a lot of them (over 25)

Short runs of 13mm hose run to the pots from a circuit of 25mm soaker hose. The drippers are on spikes and the 13mm hose is secured in the pots with pegs.

The foxes may chew the 25mm pipe or detach the 13mm pipe from the 25mm pipe. Before I used the pegs they would remove the dripper spikes.

I think I either need to somehow find a fox proof conduit for it all, or find some sort of fox repellent which works.

 

Only one way. Male urine.
Collect it up and pour small amounts on the pipes regularly especially after heavy rain. Our solution to our foxes and has worked for us.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

The rentokil equipment shown above works.

Part of the problem was using blood fish and bone, never again!

 

Yes-i wondered why my dogs kept digging up the garden and pots...it was the blood fish and bonemeal-they love the smell. My Dotty loves sticking her snout in the tub of it. Yuk!

 

I wonder if I could possibly pick your brains on your watering system, I am helping to develop a new version of our flood/leak detection and prevention system.
At the moment it only switches water off if flow is detected for a set amount of time (shuts of the mains water and sounds an alarm), we are hoping to be able to tailor it to work for gardeners with irrigation systems in place.
My idea is to have the system go in to an away/holiday mode after 24 hours of inactivity, or when the gardening mode is activated.
The gardening mode would switch off the water at the mains, but allow gardeners to set timed periods when the water would be allowed to flow e.g at automated irrigation times.
Whilst it would not prevent the foxes chewing up the pipes, it would prevent them from flooding out the garden.
It could also possibly be left to sense for a set period after the irrigation system is due to turn off and if it senses flow would know that the pipes are damaged and prevent the system coming on until you return.
Would something like this be of interest to you?