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caroliniannjer

Oh-oh... Bunny Attack!

16 years ago

OK, they're really cute and all,

but they've discovered our beans & carrots

I did a search, but didn't find much

I'm sure that eventually we'll need to put up a fence

In the meantime, is there anything effective & relatively innocuous

that we can apply to repel them?

Comments (10)

  • 16 years ago

    Fence.

    Rabbits aren't high jumpers, so it doesn't need to be a really high fence. However a decent size fence keeps the dogs out of the garden.

    If you have deer in the area, they will discover the veggies and you'll need a really tall fence.

    Once the bunnies discover your veggies, they will be back.

    OK, you are a gardener now. You need an attitude adjustment. Repeat after me "Bunnies are not cute."

  • 16 years ago

    I bought this, never used it, but it advertises it can chase bunnies away. You have to apply it to something, not a plant, but you can apply it to seed. I started to spray a bunch of rocks and lay them next to each vegetable, you might try that.

    http://www.amazon.com/ROPEL-ANIMAL-BIRD-REPELLENT-Quart/dp/B001ACTFO4

    Here is a link that might be useful: Ropel

  • 16 years ago

    Attack Back. Buy a gun and learn how to use it. Shoot the rabbits and then add them to your compost. That'll teach 'em.

  • 16 years ago

    Compost?

    I was thinking more along the lines of rabbit stew

  • 16 years ago

    You may want to consider an electric fence vs a standard fence. I finally resorted to one in 2002 because of constantly fighting the raccoons raiding the sweet corn. My original fence charging unit just died last month and had to be replaced. My first unit was a Zareba Red Snap'r model number 33B (new model is 33C). I could not find the same unit nearby. So instead, I replaced it with a Fi-Shock model 525CS which had the same specs; it was available locally. It seems to be performing just fine. Hopefully it will last as long as the other unit.

    One feature of the electric fence option is that you can take up and put down the fence in minutes. Just pound the short poles into the ground so that the wires insulators are at 6 and 12 inches above ground. Use electric cord hand-spool to help take up and put out the fence wire. Different fencing wire lengths on different spools allow you to fence smaller portions of the garden. This is helpful to me when I want to till and work one area while keeping another area protected. The charging unit is attached to the top of a post near the garden and covered by a 5 gallon plastic bucket.

    The only item to watch is that weeds are not contacting the wire. Otherwise, the fence will short to ground. This happened to me once a few years ago. In one night racoons destroyed a couple of dozen ears of sweet corn. Since then I use an A/C volt meter to check the charge on the fence. The fence has also served for to keep out other small animals such as rabbits.

    Home Depot and Lowes probably sell one of the above chargers & supplies as do the local hardware stores and gardening centers. They likely also carry other models. The ones above output a continuous charge. There are other models that have a pulsing charge.

  • 16 years ago

    Nonwoven fabric groundcover can be used to keep rabbits away from vegetable seedlings, until they grow high enough that they are of less interest to the bunnies. This material can be cut to fit the row, and the edges are held down with either dirt or small stones. The seedlings will continue to grow, while they are underneath the groundcover.

  • 16 years ago

    Bird netting available from any garden center is all you need. Bunnies are cute, but not all that smart. No need to resort to fancy, expensive and, need I say, cruel, devices.

  • 16 years ago

    Rabbits were eating my beans down to pitiful little nubs too. So, I re-planted and put floating row covers over them, weighting down the edges with bricks. The plants came up fine, and once they got some size on them, I took off the covers. So far (6 to 8 weeks), so good. I've been picking for about 3 weeks now. It couldn't hurt that I have started walking my dog among my raised beds every night. :)

    Of course, now that I have put this in writing, they'll come back with all their friends....

  • 16 years ago

    Yes!!
    The rabbits are back to eating the weeds in our lawn

    We have raised beds, surrounded by wood chip paths
    The bunnies were hesitant to jump up into the raised beds anyway
    So, we just sprayed liquid fence on the wood chips & the bed boards

    This smells really bad, but it's in the middle of our backyard

    Apparently, this doesn't always work well for those with dogs, however
    Please read the link below for a humorous example of why not

    Here is a link that might be useful: http://croneandbearit.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/the-golden-retriever-giveaway-is-close-at-hand/

  • 16 years ago

    Get a dog, it is good company and you will get exercise walking it also. I see bunnies every day gambolling in the yard across the way but they never come in my yard cos they are afraid of the dog. He does not stay outside all the time but I take him on a daily tour of the garden so the scent wil be there.