Near Munich here, it's gotten really bad since last year. The foxes are tearing up the flower beds and leaving their scent marks everywhere. My neighbor even has a compost heap that they keep digging up. What can you do about it without hurting the animals?
Foxes are coming to your garden because they're finding food - probably insects, worms, and larvae in your beds, or they're picking up the scent of your compost. It gets particularly bad if people are throwing food scraps around in the area. They're active at night because there's less disturbance then and it's cooler. The problem is: once a fox figures out it's worth coming back, he'll keep returning again and again.
The most effective thing is to remove everything that attracts them. Your compost heap absolutely needs to be fenced in or covered - a sturdy lid or wire mesh fence around the whole thing works well. Don't leave food, cat litter, or organic waste lying around openly. Get rid of bird seed and fallen fruit too - that attracts animals from everywhere. Seal up garden furniture and hiding spots so foxes can't get comfortable and settle in.
Then on the practical side: motion sensors with lights or sprinklers can be disruptive, but foxes get used to them pretty quickly. Fences should be at least a meter high and go down tight into the soil at the bottom, since foxes dig. If your neighbors have the same problem, it's better if you all respond together - otherwise the animals just move on to the next garden. In Munich there are definitely environmental advisory services that can help too.
Your neighbor really needs to cover the compost with a sturdy fence or mesh - that's the most effective solution because foxes won't even start digging then. For the garden beds, often it helps to cover them at night with fine-mesh wire or make the soil more compact so the animals can't get in as easily. At the same time: if you have food scraps or cat food lying around outside, get rid of that - it attracts them like crazy.
What really helped for us out here in the Munich area: leave the outdoor lights on at night or install a motion-sensor lamp - foxes absolutely hate light and avoid lit areas. Sounds simple, but we've had way fewer visitors since then. Plus you shouldn't leave out open food scraps or cat food outside if you're doing that - it's like an invitation for the critters.
A big problem too is that foxes develop their "favorite spots" once they've successfully found food there. That means the longer you do nothing about it, the more regularly they come back - it basically becomes routine for them. In your garden, they're probably digging for grubs, mole crickets, or other larvae buried in loose soil. Your beds are basically an all-you-can-eat buffet for foxes.
What the others already mentioned is definitely useful (cover your compost, use lighting). But here's something else that's important: make sure you don't leave food scraps, cat food, or anything like that lying around outside - even if it's half-buried in the soil. Foxes have a seriously good sense of smell and really do find everything. And if you can, reinforce your beds with fine mesh or wire just below the surface - that makes digging way more annoying for them. It's less about injuring them and more about showing them: "It's not worth the effort here."
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