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Dissily Mordentroge
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RABBITS AS ‘CRITTERS’?

Myth has it the European rabbit was native to Spain, Portugal and Southern France where native wild animals preyed on them keeping the numbers down. When the English imported them theyregretted soon regretted the plague they’d unleashed. Not having learnt their lesson or maybe being too fond of slow cooked rabbit casserole their descendants imported them into Australia.
Having become immune to the rabbit calcivirus ( due to smartarse farmers unleashing it at the wrong time of year) we are being plagued with the damned things.
Now to my question. These ‘critters’ have taken to eating a wide range of garden plants. Not just leafy greens but surprising things like marigolds, Shasta daisies and oregano - the list could go on. I’ve solved the vegetable problem by using raised beds but haven’t a safe solution to preventing most of the damage. I tried spaying a dilute solution of chilli powder on plants but the little darlings love the stuff.
I’ve used an infra-red/high frequency pest repellant but they soon become immune to it. Does anyone have a non-toxic method of preventing rabbits munching on my plants ?.

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TomatoNut95
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Rabbits are a pain in the cottontail. I've had them destroy pepper plants in the past. But now backyard is fenced in. Invest in chicken wire fencing. Tall enough where rabbits cannot jump over.

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Dissily Mordentroge
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I have the use of my neighour’s raised beds to grow vegi’s in. The rabbits haven’t been able to get up into them.
The thought of having to fence my own garden could be a solution in my old vegi garden but the uggliness of wire fencing over the entirey of my cottage garden (see bellow) fills me with horror. I’m hoping the Agriculture Dep’t here releases a new version of the rabbit calcivirus in autumn, otherwise next year will be a disaster.
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TomatoNut95
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Fencing is usually the best way to go to deter pests if you don't have a gun, dog or even cat to take care of them.

Another thing you could try is a motion activated noise maker (that makes those ultrasonic sounds only animals can hear) problem is, those things aren't always very sensitive to motion and animals could still sneak past them.

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Dissily Mordentroge
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I have several motion/ infra-red sensors that deliver flashing light along with ultrasonic sounds. They worked for about a month then the rabbits became indifferent to them. I have two dogs who really want to hunt and kill rabbits but as they spend most of their nights inside my house the rabbits have learnt when to emerge from their hiding places. I can see myself eventually having to rug up and sit outside with a loaded gun until the destructive little buggers emerge but at my age that prospect doesn’t have the appeal it once did.

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TomatoNut95
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It's very frustrating when pests get wise to your deterents. That's why fencing is the best way to go. Rabbits cannot squeeze through chicken wire. Fencing isn't always pretty, but as long as it serves its purpose effectivly, it's probably the easiest way in the long run to stop stubborn pests.
Another thing you might could try is live trapping. Then shoot, or relocate the rabbits far away.

One more thing you could try is brush your dogs and sprinkle their hair around your garden before dark.

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applestar
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Have you tried moving those sensor alarms around?

I have also heard that two red LED slowblink lights Spread at eye width and at head-height for their predator can help.

“marking” with urine is often mentioned. You can even buy “fox urine” and “zoo urine/Doo” in USA, and of course some people get their own.


...fo my own garden, backyard fencing, and plugging any openings that would admit rabbits and bunnies, as well as knee to hip height “rabbit fencing” — chickenwire hex hole or narrow 1” or less width between wires at lower levels around all the garden bed areas, and planting ONLY rabbit reject crops and plants where they can access. Sometimes individual or tunnel protection only while they are smaller and vulnerable.

...I do make use of bird scares made from aluminum pie and take out pans decorated with BIG eyes made from markers and/or colorful tape. These are hung with string so they flash in the sun and bang together or bang against fence, etc. in the breeze — aren re-positioned around often.

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Dissily Mordentroge
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TomatoNut95 wrote:
Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:38 am
Another thing you might could try is live trapping. Then shoot, or relocate the rabbits far away.

One more thing you could try is brush your dogs and sprinkle their hair around your garden before dark.
I’ve now purchased two traps and will re-locate those I catch on the other side of the wide river a few kms (miles in the US?) from my place. Mind you, this is a very severe rabbit plague this year so I’m not sure how long I’ll last at that game. As to the dog hair hints that would have worked when I had two scots collies but now both my dogs have short hair and hardly moult at all. Maybe I can harvest some dog hair from my neighbours dogs? Maybe not, they think I’m mad enough !

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TomatoNut95
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It's worth a try. I really hope that you can rid yourself of those bad bunnies. Trust me, I know what putting up with stubborn pests is like. It's totally frustrating. I trapped and relocated an armadillo once because the nasty varmint kept digging under my fence and tore up my backyard. I would place bricks in his holes, but he'd push them out of his way. I eventually caught him and dumped him miles away, heh heh!

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applestar
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I have 2 indoor cats — no dogs — but what I do during the summer season is take the kittie outside for supervised outing — they are no good with rabbits but allowed to roam all over inside each of the fenced garden areas, they do leave their scent ...although they are too much of indoor princesses to actually “go” outside. They do rush and pounce at moles and have actually caught a couple of chipmunks. They can serve as deterrent at least, for the smaller animals — here we’re stalking about squirrels, chipmunks, field mice.

Since they do take interest in bunny entry points and sniff at the area or crouch in the shrubbery, they might be giving the bunnies a pause, or 2nd thoughts at least.


Do you walk your dogs around the perimeter of your garden? Are they male or female? Like I said, my girl kitties are too used to indoors — they actually beg to be let inside so they can hurry to their litter boxes ... at least earlier in the season. LOL

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Dissily Mordentroge
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I don’t need to walk my dogs around the perimeter, the do that themselves by instinct drawing my attention to the latest attempts rabbits have made to dig under the wire I’ve sunk well below ground level. They also go hunting with a neighbour’s dog and have caught and killed a few. One lives under the house and refuses to leave. It’s supper smart and has ‘tamed’ the dogs by not moving when they appear. The dogs have decided it’s their ‘friend’ because it doesn’t run away. Problem is I suspect it’s pregnant. I can see myself sitting outside at night with a shot gun. I’m not really a gun person but if I’m forced to I'll go down that track.
I now have an added reason to get rid of them, My dog’s vet tells me local rabbits are carrying a number of diseases they’ve become immune to that can make dog’s seriously ill. Ah, the joys of living in the country.



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