Any threat from Foxes?

[mrnyman]

I were wondering if there is any threats from Foxes , such as communicable diseases etc. Apart from rabies what should i look out for? How far away should i stay from them?

Where i work st night there are a lot of Foxes that like to come out at night to feed off the garbage and scraps of food from the garbage cans, they sometime comes pretty close to me , is it safe to have them that close in case they have some type of rare disease etc. ?

Thanks for your advice.

Nyman

[stack$99]

In my experience hunting as soon as a fox lays eyes on me, they turn and run the opposite direction as fast as possible. They are typically timid animals and are frightened easily. Not sure about the diseases they could possibly carry.

[DavidTM]

Same response as the previous fellow. But man.....come fox season....I want permission from your factory owner and I'll be there with my 22 mag!!!!!

HA!!

Dave

[PocketProtector]

I have a family of 8 foxes living under a shed on a 6 acre parcel behind my house. They roam the neighborhood freely all day long. I've walked up to within 3 feet of them and they don't get spooked, just turn and walk away. There is a rabies danger from them, as with any wild animal, but this group has been quite "suburbanized

[Hokkmike]

There was a fox in our area several years ago chasing cars like a dog. The farmer, friend, and landowner rightfully suspected that he was rabid. He asked me to come and shoot the animal. Brilliant me, I put one round in the rifle and jumped out of my pick-up. Sure enough, the critter ran right towards me. Afterwards my wife wanted to know why I let it get so close to me before I fired and killed it. It NEVER occured to me that I might miss. I would have been a funny sight running around the field with this fox chasing me.

[NikeBauer21]

I have a family of 8 foxes living under a shed on a 6 acre parcel behind my house. They roam the neighborhood freely all day long. I've walked up to within 3 feet of them and they don't get spooked, just turn and walk away. There is a rabies danger from them, as with any wild animal, but this group has been quite "suburbanized

As far as I currently know, this is about it. Just the usual suspect.

And as far as how "dangerous" they are, they are normally very timid, and more scared of you than anything. If they don't run away from you when you are very close, they most likely have rabies. lol I have never seen one (not sick) that was threatening to a human...

(Obviously, you still need to be careful, if it has young ones or something nearby, it may be very aggressive.)

There was a fox in our area several years ago chasing cars like a dog. The farmer, friend, and landowner rightfully suspected that he was rabid. He asked me to come and shoot the animal. Brilliant me, I put one round in the rifle and jumped out of my pick-up. Sure enough, the critter ran right towards me. Afterwards my wife wanted to know why I let it get so close to me before I fired and killed it. It NEVER occured to me that I might miss. I would have been a funny sight running around the field with this fox chasing me.

I don't know how long that chase would have lasted *cough* couple seconds *cough*, but it probably would have been one heck of a youtube video!

[mrnyman]

Thanks for the response guys, i live in Monroe county where i rarely ever see them , but i work in Brienigsville near Allentown in the Lehigh valley , the company built our new plant on 122 acres in the middle of a Cornfield, at nights the Foxes are all over the place, they come within a few feet of me but they seem to have thier wits about them so i dont think they are rabid.

Nyman

[DonM55]

Only reason to worry is if one is agressive. Then odds are it's rabid.

[scott125]

My dog came down with the mange. I had seen a fox in my yard with a bad case of it earlier. The vet said it was highly improbable since rather close contact, directly or in bedding, is required to transfer the parasite. I defer to her expertise but I still suspect it came from the fox.

[phill]

We have a bitch fox that lives in the old barn. They are way better than a lazy cat at catching mice and other vermin in the yard. No moles, mice, crickets and snakes gives them a free ride at our house.
Last years cubs would come out and set and watch us around the yard. They never have been a threat here.