The Easter bunny...
TV cartoon characters...How can they be a problem?
It is a fact. Baby rabbits are born frequently, and if there are only a few or no predators to feed on them, their population explodes. Because they all need to eat and make more baby rabbits, they eat in and on your vegetable garden and many ornamental plants every day.
Rabbits tend to eat at night...and because they taste so good, their numbers introduce other animals that like to dine on them for supper...snakes, fox, dogs, cats, coyotes, and people (hunters).
These are your basic choices to regain control and stop your yard from being the local fast food restaurant by your uninvited guests.
PREVENTIVE ACTION:
- Plants you can try: Rabbits stay away from a couple of plants. Those in the Allium family and Neem cake as well.
- Organic Odor deterrence: Either do it yourself with urine soaked cloth or purchase a commercial product that uses coyote urine or some other nasty smelling ingredient that is applied as a "liquid fence".
- Toxic deterrence: Granules are available from commercially licensed exterminators. Smoke bombs can also deter until the smoke clears. We guess that includes fireworks as well if you want to enjoy the action at the same time.
- Organic Taste deterrence: Hot pepper, some deer repellents and other secret formulas sold that no one will tell us what their made from work as well.
- Visual deterrence: Rabbits seeing scarecrows and fake snakes often take the long way around but they usually figure out they are fake...so move them frequently.
- Noise and water: Motion or time activated cannon sprays are often effective for a while. Again, move them frequently.
- Fencing: Use fence with 1 inch squares, 2 feet high, the bottom buried 4 inches vertically or horizontally, made of plastic or wire mesh, and you have created a barrier to the rabbits dining table. They may chew holes through the plastic if they are really hungry. You can add an electrically charged wire to zap their tender nose and amplify your "stay out" of my garden message.
- Many of these devices and products are available by local purchase, but all can be found on internet pest control web sites.
FINAL ACTION:
- Shoot the rabbits. Hunting seasons let you do it legally, just be sure you know the law and don't endanger your neighbors.
- Commercial traps that kill the rabbits: Be aware that you may find the neighbors kittens in the trap as well.
- Commercial live traps: Rabbits won't go in them the first day you set it out, but hang in there, they always do eventually. Move them miles away but remember scared animals will pee on your floor carpets in the car when in the trap, so plan ahead. As for bait, use pieces of the plants they are eating in your yard or dried apple, carrots, lettuce, corn, or clover.
