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Three things: a scent concentrate applied to the ground, a sprinkler that fires when something moves, and a roll of galvanised mesh. Two ask a fox to go elsewhere and one is a physical barrier. Before any of them, there is a legal line and a piece of RSPCA advice that costs nothing.
Start with your situation
- You want to know what you may lawfully use. An unapproved substance used as a deterrent is against the law — the legal position.
- Something is drawing them in. The RSPCA puts food first, and it is free — start with the food.
- You want a scent product with a named active. The Scoot concentrate names aluminium ammonium sulphate and a treated area.
- You have a hose and a run they use. The motion sprinkler claims 10m across a 120-degree arc.
- You need to protect a specific bed or run. The mesh is the only physical item here — and read the RSPCA’s own figure on hole size before you buy it.
Warning
The RSPCA states that foxes are protected by the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996, and that it is against the law to use any substance as a deterrent that has not been approved for such use. That applies to anything you might mix yourself as much as to anything sold for the purpose.
Start With the Food
The RSPCA’s garden page puts removing the food source ahead of any purchase, and its list is specific: “Use bird feeders that stop food from spilling onto the ground.” and “Seal bins and composters securely, to prevent access to scraps.” (RSPCA). Fallen fruit and pet food left out are on the same list.
None of that is a product, and none of it is on this page to sell. It is first because a garden that still offers food is a garden a fox has a reason to return to, whatever else is in it.
The Legal Position
“Foxes are protected by the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996”, the RSPCA states, and it is illegal to cruelly mistreat one or to get rid of a fox from a garden by harming it in any way (RSPCA).
The sentence that bears directly on this page is the next one: “It’s also against the law to use any substance as a deterrent that hasn’t been approved for such use.” A repellent bought for the purpose is one thing; a homemade mixture, or a product sold for something else and repurposed, is another. The one scent product here names its active substance on its listing, which is the minimum a reader needs to check that question at all.
Where a Deterrent Does Not Work
As a claim you can lean on. The ASA’s AdviceOnline entry on pest repellents states that “In past years, the ASA, together with independent experts, has closely examined the evidence for claims for those devices, which can range from cat-shaped metal sheets with glowing eyes to ultrasonic and electromagnetic equipment. It has yet to accept any claim of efficacy.” and that “Marketers who do not hold evidence in the form of UK-based trials should not state or imply efficacy for the products, through either claims, visuals or product names.” (ASA). That is about evidence accepted by a regulator; it is not a finding that these products do nothing, and this page does not make that finding.
On mesh, at this hole size. The RSPCA’s own suggestion for protecting crops is “Protect fruit or vegetable crops using fences or solid weld-mesh, with holes at least 4cm wide (don’t use flexible netting as there’s a risk of wildlife getting tangled or caught in it).” The mesh carded here has 25mm holes — smaller than that figure — and stands 0.6m high. It is a roll for protecting a bed or a run, not a fence, and the card says so.
Beyond the area it covers. Two sachets treating up to 34 sqm, and a sprinkler arc of at least 100 sqm, are the makers’ own figures for their own products. A fox entering somewhere else has not defeated the product; it never met it.
What Decides the Choice
1. Scent, water or barrier
Only one of the three is physical. The other two depend on a fox choosing to go elsewhere, which is the question the ASA’s position above is about.
2. What has to be renewed
The scent concentrate is applied and reapplied; the sprinkler needs a hose connection and batteries; the mesh needs nothing once it is up. That is a running-cost difference the listings state plainly.
3. The area each listing claims
Up to 34 sqm from two sachets, at least 100 sqm for the sprinkler, and 0.6m by 5m of mesh. Those are three different kinds of figure and the comparison table keeps them apart rather than adding them up.
Scent concentrate, 100g — Scoot Fox Repellent Concentrate
Treatment
Scoot Fox Repellent Concentrate 100g
Scent concentrate, 100g
- 100g of concentrate, listed as two sachets treating up to 34 sqm
- Active listed as aluminium ammonium sulphate
- The maker describes it as working by creating an artificial scentmark in the problem fox's territory
- Listed for lawns, trees, shrubs, seeds, bulbs and hard surfaces; outdoor use
- The listing also names badgers, cats, deer, mink and rabbits
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A 100g concentrate in two sachets, listed as treating up to 34 sqm of lawn, trees, shrubs, seeds, bulbs or hard surfaces, with aluminium ammonium sulphate named as the active. Its maker describes the mechanism as an artificial scentmark placed in the problem fox's territory; the listing also names badgers, cats, deer, mink and rabbits.
Motion sprinkler, hose-fed — PestBye Jet Spray Motion-Activated Repeller
Spray
PestBye Jet Spray Repeller — Motion Activated, Hose-Fed
Motion sprinkler, hose-fed
- Connects to a garden hose; battery powered, as listed
- The maker states a range of up to 10m across a 120-degree arc, covering at least 100 sqm
- The maker states a 5-second burst of water on each trigger, and that it resets itself
- Adjustable sensitivity, as listed; 2 year warranty
- Listed at 20 x 7 x 71 cm and 0.7 kg
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A battery-powered sprinkler that connects to a garden hose and fires a five-second burst when its sensor triggers, which the maker rates at up to 10m across a 120-degree arc and at least 100 sqm. Sensitivity is adjustable and the unit resets itself, per the listing; it is 71cm tall and carries a two-year warranty.
Galvanised mesh, 0.6 x 5m — Galvanised Welded Wire Mesh, 25mm Holes
Netting
Galvanised Welded Wire Mesh 0.6m x 5m, 25mm Holes
Galvanised mesh, 0.6 x 5m
- 0.6m high by 5m long, as listed; 25mm x 25mm holes
- Galvanised steel, wire diameter listed as 0.7mm
- Listed as cuttable and bendable with wire cutters, for indoor or outdoor use
- The listing calls it both welded and hexagonal — its title says welded, its description says Hexagonal Welded Wire Mesh Roll
- The detail table carries a different ASIN, B0C8NLCKJK — a variant listing
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A 0.6m by 5m roll of galvanised steel mesh with 25mm holes and 0.7mm wire, listed as cuttable to size for indoor or outdoor use. The listing calls it welded in its title and hexagonal in its description, and its detail table carries a different ASIN; both are stated on the card rather than resolved here.
If a Product Is Not the Answer
Take the food away first. Feeders that do not spill, sealed bins and composters, fallen fruit cleared — the RSPCA’s own list, quoted above.
Secure what you are protecting. The RSPCA advises keeping pets such as rabbits indoors or in a secure enclosure with a solid roof at night. That is a stronger measure than any scent.
Deal with an earth properly. The RSPCA describes checking a hole is unoccupied before blocking it — loose soil or sticks first, and only packing it once undisturbed for several days. Our fox guide covers that sequence.
Placing Them
- Check the product is approved for the use. That is the RSPCA’s legal line and it comes before placement.
- Treat the run, not the lawn. The scent listing names the fox’s territory and the surfaces it may go on; the sprinkler covers an arc from where it stands.
- Connect the sprinkler to a live hose. It has no reservoir; without water it does nothing at all.
- Fix the mesh to something. A 0.6m roll protects a bed or a run when it is fixed to a frame, and does nothing loose.
- Reapply the scent. Both sachets treat up to 34 sqm once; rain and time are why this is a consumable.
The Three Compared
Every column below is what the Amazon listing itself states, with each coverage figure attributed to the maker who claims it. Where a listing does not state something, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Product | Type | Active, as listed | Area or size, as listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoot Fox Repellent 100g | Scent, applied to ground | Aluminium ammonium sulphate | Up to 34 sqm, per the maker |
| PestBye Jet Spray Repeller | Water, motion-triggered | None — water only | At least 100 sqm, per the maker |
| Galvanised welded mesh 0.6 x 5m | Physical barrier | None | 0.6m x 5m, 25mm holes, as listed |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to deter foxes from my garden?
Deterring is not the problem; harming is. The RSPCA states that foxes are protected by the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996, that it is illegal to cruelly mistreat or get rid of a fox by harming it in any way, and — the line that matters most on a page selling deterrents — that it is also against the law to use any substance as a deterrent that has not been approved for such use.
Do fox repellents work?
This page does not say so in its own voice. The ASA reports that it has yet to accept any claim of efficacy for pest repellent devices, and that marketers without UK-based trial evidence should not state or imply efficacy. What each maker claims for its own product is on its card, framed as the maker's.
What does the RSPCA suggest before any product?
Removing the food. Its garden page lists using bird feeders that stop food spilling onto the ground, sealing bins and composters securely, clearing fallen fruit and pet food, and keeping rabbits and other pets in a secure enclosure at night. None of that is a purchase.
Will 25mm mesh keep a fox out?
The mesh here is 0.6m high with 25mm holes, and the RSPCA's own suggestion for protecting crops is fences or solid weld-mesh with holes at least 4cm wide, avoiding flexible netting because wildlife can become tangled in it. The mesh on this page has smaller holes than that figure and is a 0.6m roll rather than a fence; it is stated here as what it is.