Man who trained home cameras to deter foxes praised by gardening experts

A fed-up gardener who invented his own device to repel foxes and badgers from his lawn has been praised by industry experts.

IT wizzard James Milward linked several Ring cameras with a high pitched siren and trained the device he dubbed ‘The Furbinator 3000’ to trigger the noise when it spotted foxes to stop the pests from digging up his prized garden.

The inventor has pledged to make his code available for free so others can fashion their own Furbinators but Chris Bonnett, founder of GardeningExpress has called on electronics firms to make Mr Milward’s device commercially available to help gardeners across the world.

Chris Bonnett said: “Mr Milward has a really fantastic invention on his hands that could be ground breaking for gardeners everywhere.

“It’s genius – he’s linked his cameras to a device that omits a high frequency that only foxes can hear which is perfect for deterring them away from the garden.

“The fact that he then trained his device to spot foxes using different images is also incredibly impressive.

“Gardeners will be aware of how frustrating it can be to find that animals like foxes and badgers have caused havoc in their outdoor space and ruined months and months of hard work.

“There are of course other ways to deter foxes like using scent and keeping the garden lit but this product is definitely something gardeners everywhere would love.”

If you don’t yet have a Furbinator 3000 here are Gardening Express’s tips to deter foxes

1. Keep the garden lit

Foxes prefer to roam around in the dark and won’t enter a bright, well lit space so consider investing in some garden lights. You could invest in some solar lights or even a motion sensor light. This will brighten up the garden if a fox attempts to enter which will immediately deter them away.

2. Use scent to deter them

Foxes have a good sense of smell, so it’s worth using this against them to save your garden. They tend to dislike the smell of vinegar so it’s worth pouring vinegar in small plates and spreading them around your garden.

3. Block entrances

Foxes are likely to enter your garden over the fence so one way to keep them out along with other animals is to put spikes on your fences. This won’t harm animals but it will be uncomfortable for them, which will prevent them from being able to enter your garden.

4. Lay down prickle strips

Prickle strips are to be embedded into the soil and the aim is that it simply makes the grass a little uncomfortable to walk on for animals. You could put this underneath the soil that is near your plants but be sure to wear shoes whenever you go near it. They will also stop foxes from trying to dig up holes in your garden.

5. Buy an automatic water repellant system

This method will startle the fox and other animals causing them to leave the garden. It’s essentially an automatic sprinkler that will spray water when a fox is near after the sensors pick up motion. Again this won’t harm the fox, but it will be enough for them to want to make a quick escape from your garden, leaving your plants safe and undamaged.

6. Fox Deterrent Products

There are a number of fox deterrent solutions that can be spread around garden borders and will not harm plants or wildlife. These products discourage foxes by confusing their sense of taste and smell.