I moved into a new place in the city (a rental shared with other tenants) in the fall last year. I had some container plants, mostly peppers, and was surprised that they were almost immediately browsed by deer.

Well, a few weeks ago I prepared a garden plot. It's great soil, nice and rich, lots of worms, good sun, etc... It didn't take long for our friendly neighborhood fox to find it though. The fox is making daily visits, digging holes about 3-6 inches deep. I'm assuming that it is probably searching for worms. (and yes, I'm sure its a fox, I've seen it out there twice now, and a neighbor has spotted it several times too)

Now, since I haven't planted anything just yet (I want to plant in the next week or so) it's not that big of an issue. But, it sure would be a pain if it keeps coming back while I'm trying to germinate seedlings.

Should i expect the fox to keep coming even after the seedlings start growing?

So...Given that I haven't taken care of the deer problem either, what would you recommend?

What can I do A) in the meantime to keep the fox from digging up seedlings (if its going to) and B) for the long term. I don't know how long I'll be living here (possibly only this season, possibly next season too), and since it is a rental I'm reluctant to put up 8ft tall metal fencing (also, low cost solutions are best).

Also, I figure having the fox in town probably helps keep things like rabbits down, so it'd be nice if it'd stick around.

Do you think it'd stop visiting the garden if I buried some cheap meat elsewhere on the property? Is it a bad idea to be leaving food out for animals in general?

What do i do!!?

Thanks,
BonMiece