Witnessing a wild fox is not necessarily a cause for alarm, nor are all foxes rabid or dangerous, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

However, residents should not approach, touch or disturb foxes or their dens. In most cases, people should do nothing when seeing a fox. But if a fox has become habituated to people and is causing a problem, make noise by yelling, banging pots and pans and setting off legal fireworks to chase foxes from yards and neighborhoods. It is necessary to be aggressive and repeat these actions if foxes do not leave.

To prevent problems with any type of wildlife: don’t feed wild animals, clean up pet food, secure trash and barbeque grills, establish protective barriers to keep wildlife from entering basements and crawl spaces where they might build nests or dens, keep pets secured or indoors, clear overhanging tree limbs that wildlife could use to enter a structure, clear fallen fruit from around trees and inspect property annually.

For more information, visit ncwildlife.org and click on “Nuisance Wildlife” or download “Coexisting with Foxes.”