Becoming a bunny boiler?

My worst fears have been confirmed.

The holes dug in my raised beds that I'd blithely assumed were the work of one of the small dogs that occasionally roam the plot. But on a recent visit I clocked the poo pellets on the path - the final confirmation of the bad news that rabbits were responsible.

We've never had a bunny infestation before on the site, as far as I know. My plot is right on the edge facing open farmland, so it's a wonder there's not been a problem before now. I have to admit to feeling rather downhearted about it at the moment, and would appreciate any words of advice/encouragement/sympathy from any allotment holders similarly afflicted.

I am already eyeing up recipes for bunny burgers: now I just need to learn how to shoot.

Comments

[Carol, May Dreams Gardens]

I can offer sympathy, as even in my fenced in back yard, I have problems with rabbits. I use row covers on tender young plants and sprinkle cayenne pepper on other plants that can't be covered. This worked for me last year, I hope it works for me again this year.

I also have a live trap, but haven't had much luck with it.

[Woody Wilbury]

I was going to say "I'm sure Hugh F-W will have a recipe for them" only to discover that he does indeed! He did a show in Sheffield a couple of years ago and the following day there wasn't a squirrel to be seen.

If you don't want to shoot them, try a catapult. A few unexpected pebbles round the hindquarters might soon see them off. As it would for most of us.

[patientgardener]

How depressing. We had a problem with rabbits as we live next to a railway but they have been working on the railway and I think they have cleared the burrows as I havent seen one for some time.

I have been led to believe that plastic snakes works for quite a few pests. You need to have very realistic looking ones so I visit to the local zoo or safari park might be needed and you have to move their location on a regular basis. Worth a try

[Simon Sherlock]

Don't forget rabbits are vermin, and that they do compost well :)

[louise]

you could revisit wallace and grommit's curse of the were-rabbit for ideas

[Matron]

Funny, I was going to mention the Wallace & Grommit solution but someone beat me to it. Comiserations, HAVE NO MERCY!

[Philip Voice]

Jane,

It is nice to hear that you are seeking a sensible solution to your rabbit problem.

I like nothing more to see rabbits in the wild but I am also aware of how fast that they breed and how much a single rabbit can eat in 24 hours.

I have been involved in pest control for years and I know that there is no real control method that is 100%.

Shooting, feretting, gassing or even Falconry is effective but you have to be persistent and consistent.

A good, well maintained rabbit mesh will help and it has to be sunk into the solid for at least a foot, more if the digging is easy enough and regular checks to make sure the rabbits have not dug under.

Using a plastic Owl can sometimes work because rabbits do not like aerial predators. However, they will get used to it eventually so the effect may be short lived.

There will be amateur hunters who would be willing to come and help using either a high powered .22 air rifle, a ferret (if you have access to the borrows) or maybe even a .22 rifle (although the shooter has a duty of care for the shot he takes and can only operate under an open license arrangement with the local Police)

If you contact the British Association for Shooting and Conservation http://www.basc.org.uk/content/rabbit_shooting

for details on members who live local to you who may be able to help.

If you are in a fairly rural location, it is possible to shoot at night using high powered lights and this method is very effective.

I hope this helps a little. I will cover this a bit more on Landscape Juice and link across because it is very relevant to gardeners but a subject that is often treated as taboo.

Best

Phil

[kethry]

Ran across this tip from a book on herbs which they reckon would act as a deterrent for rabbits. just be careful about how you spray it - i.e. not into the wind! - and you'd have to reapply a lot, but if you live in an area with asian grocers then this could be quite a cheap way of sorting this out, especially if you use really hot chillis like scotch bonnets. anyway.

use a food blender to blend 20 or so chillis to form a paste. Mix the paste with water to form a tea, then leave it to stand so the pulp can settle. use the strained "tea" as a spray on a clear day onto grass.

I pass that on for what its worth :)

keth
xx

[Stonehead]

We have quite a few rabbits, but they aren't too much of a problem as they conveniently hop past the kitchen window as I'm deciding what to make for dinner. Out comes the air rifle, down goes the rabbit and in comes dinner.

Pigeons, on the other hand, are a real pain. They can strip four beds of brassicas bare in an hour or two. To make matters worse, most of them are racing pigeons. I know, because I've shot and eaten them, too!

[The Constant Gardener]

When you drive into our allotment site the rabbits scatter to right and left (haven't managed to hit one yet but still trying).

We were advised to put up a fence before we did anything - there are deer around us too as we're in the middle of a common.

So... my allotment has a 6ft chicken wire fence, sunk 1ft into the ground, all around it. You don't have to go that high if you only have rabbits - they don't actually jump very high, I'm assured, so about 3ft should do it. There's no other solution that works.

We also put "sills" under the gates - just a length of gravel board sunk into the ground - so they couldn't burrow their way under there either.

And watch out when strimming - I found out the hard way that strimmers cut rabbit-sized holes in chicken wire just at ground level...

[Jess Wassenberg]

My sympathies!

I can't say I have a problem with rabbits, but here in Brisbane we have the curse of the possums. They'll get into anything that's not caged up - although we are hoping to try a few new deterrent methods - including something like the chilli spray mentioned above.

And alas - it's illegal for us to shoot them - as much as my English partner wishes we could!