From Repellers to Roommates: How We Accidentally Adopted Freda and her on-off boyfriend, Fred
Living next to the woods, we expected to feel closer to nature, but we didn’t expect to make friends with it. We thought we would spend our mornings listening to the birds and admiring the trees. Instead, we find ourselves checking that Freda the fox, our uninvited but much-loved garden guest has returned safely from her nightly wandering!
When we moved home in January to Hadleigh, we imagined lazy mornings, fresh air and maybe the odd squirrel. What we didn’t picture was forming a daily routine around a fox. It all started with a sensible bit of shopping, fox repellers from Amazon and ended with a wild visitor named 'Freda' and when the mood takes her 'Fred' who now treat our back garden like their own personal spa. Somewhere along the way, we went from trying to keep the wildlife out to checking every morning that she’s home safe and sound after her nocturnal escapades.
Back to those fox repellers from Amazon, the fancy kind that promise to use sound waves to keep them away. We were determined to protect our freshly mown lawn from muddy pawprints and late-night bin raids.
That plan didn’t last long.
The first morning we spotted her, she was sprawled across the grass, completely out cold. A flash of red fur, a twitching ear, and the sort of confidence that said, “Yes, this is my garden now.” We stood there with our coffees, debating whether to chase her off or just admire her cheek. She looked far too comfortable to disturb. That was Freda.
At first, we tried being firm. We clapped, opened the back door with unnecessary force, and even attempted a stern word or two. Freda would glance up, give us a look that could only be described as unimpressed, and then go straight back to sleep. After a while, we gave up. It was clearly her garden and we were just the ones paying the mortgage.
Now, one of our first jobs in the morning is checking whether Freda has made it home after her nightly adventures in West Wood. She’s usually there, curled up in her usual spot, looking perfectly content. There’s something oddly reassuring about seeing her stretched out on the lawn, like a small, furry barometer confirming that all is right with the world.
We made a deliberate choice early on not to feed her. Tempting as it was to leave out leftovers, we wanted her to stay wild, to keep hunting and foraging and doing all the fox things that make her who she is. The last thing we wanted was a fox ringing the metaphorical doorbell every night expecting snacks. She manages perfectly well without our help, and it’s nice knowing she chooses to rest here rather than rely on us.
It’s funny how things change. We started out researching the best ways to repel foxes, and now we’re basically running a fox-friendly bed and breakfast. We’ve stopped worrying about pawprints on the lawn. They’re part of the story now. Freda’s taught us that sharing space with nature doesn’t mean trying to control it. Sometimes it just means letting things be and enjoying the small privilege of a wild neighbour who trusts your patch enough to take a nap there.
We still haven’t figured out whether those fox repellers ever worked, but judging by Freda’s snoring, we’d say not. So if you happen to spot a fox while you’re out looking for a new home, take it as a sign, sometimes the best neighbours are the ones who arrive uninvited. Register your property search by clicking: https://amosestates.web.lifesycle.co.uk/properties/register