Garden issues can anyone advise please

System

We had vile neighbours when our kids were growing up and their dog was even worse, he would jump up the chain link fencing and scared anyone who came to our door with his barking and growling. We got round this problem by erecting a fence just inside our boundary. Of course we lost a few inches from the side of our house but it was better than being scared to death each time we opened our front door.

Dont have the problem now as his awful wife and kids left taking the dog with them.

teabag29

Thanks guys, yes I guess I can lose a few inches and erect the fence on my boundary however it!!!8217;s unlikely to keep the foxes out as they can still dig under or climb and with all the rubbish mounting from the back neighbours garden they are unlikely to move on, mice too.

Fireflyaway

A large Jamaican family......... Yes culturally I believe Jamaicans don't like fences more than a certain height. What nationality are the other neighbours? Of course foxes probably present a bigger problem. Especially if it's a group of foreign ones. Can't be trusting them.

chesky

The foxes are there, endemic to your neighbourhood now, so even if your neighbours cleared up, they won't disappear. I get them in my garden, even though none of my neighbours encourage them.

rach_k

I'd say your main issue with the foxes is that your child isn't sensible around animals. Get that sorted - if he's old enough to be left outside alone (I'm not disputing that, I certainly let my kids play out at that age), he is old enough to learn how to behave around wild and not-so-wild animals. Until he learns, he plays inside or goes out only when you feel up to it.

Even if you sort these particular foxes, you will never remove all of the foxes in the local area. What about cats? Some like to scratch. Squirrels can be weird and toothy creatures. Rats might fancy a nibble. Teach your child to come inside and tell you straight away if something like that is in the garden when he's outside alone and he'll be fine.

Issue 1 is only an issue if they don't give permission, so go around and ask. Don't worry about it until they say no. Ask them if you'd mind if you replaced the damaged fence with a nice new one in the same place, free to them, and I doubt they'd say no.

Davesnave

I'd leave the old fence in place if there is a possibility that neighbours might pile stuff up against a new one.

Even in the countryside, there are foxes rats and mice , but none give much trouble to those whose property is uninteresting, so I'd forget the rabbits and not provide any cover at the far end of the garden.


Also I might put up a marker, like a small flag, and tell my 3 year old not to go beyond it. While it might not do much good, it should teach him to observe limits and keep him away from the area most likely to have animals crossing it, leaving their faeces, stolen waste food etc, as even urban foxes won't come near people if there's a choice.

TBagpuss

I'd treat it as two separate issues.

Issue one - speak to the neighbours, explain you are planning to replace the back fence, adjoining their garden, and want to check that they have no objections. Ask whether there is any issue with your feners coming onto their land to put the new fence up.

If they agree, get the new fence up then address the bags of rubbish afterwards.

If they do object, then have your new fence on your land, leaving the old broken one behind it.

Either way, contact the council environmental health department afterwards to raise concerns about the rubbish and that it is a attracting rats and foxes.

a 6 foot fence won't keep determined foxes out but if they have good pickings in the neighbours garden they are less likely to come into yours if it is not easy to access.

I'd think very carefully about getting rabbits - they are quite long lived and if you have them in the garden then it will make it more attractive to foxes and rats.