THE McMahon family were surprised enough when an unexpected visitor popped in at a family dinner, but they weren't expecting it to take up permanent residency.
Trish McMahon of Blakehurst said the family was settling in to a barbecue on the outside deck when a red fox popped its head up, apparently salivating at the smell of the cooking sausages and steaks.
The fox has found a cosy home for itself under the deck, and Mrs McMahon has found a number of unfamiliar chewed-up shoes since the barbecue six weeks ago.
"She is as bold as anything,'' Mrs McMahon said.
"We've seen her regularly playing in the back yard, and we can hear her walking around every night.''
Mrs McMahon rang a Kogarah Council officer who advised her to "shoo it away''.
The RSPCA, WIRES, and Taronga Zoo also could not help because foxes are a classified ``pest''.
St George animal controller Wayne Asplett has provided the family with a trap and strategy to catch the animal.
This includes: Step one, bury chicken in yard. Repeat over two nights. Step two, put chicken at the entrance of the trap on the third night. Step three, put the chicken inside the trap. If the trap is properly set the fox will be sitting in it the next morning.
The McMahons are currently at step three.
A Department of Environment and Climate Change spokeswoman said it was not possible to determine the number of foxes living in Carss Park and Royal National Park.
She said foxes were excellent scavengers, and people should not leave food scraps or pet food in backyards.
"Foxes are difficult to remove from the natural environment, completely due to their ability to relocate between parks and take over the old territories of displaced foxes,'' the spokeswoman said.
Foxes caused significant environmental damage and prey on native birds, small mammals and reptiles.
Have you seen foxes or other interesting animals around your house?