Stupid Rabbits

[Gowers Choice]

Woke up this morning, got a cup of coffee, looked out into the back yard to see a rabbit chewing on the grape vines i planted last weekend. Any suggestions besides lead poisoning from my .22 ?

 

[Deezil]

Depending on the amount of vines you have, could surround them with a fencing... Can bend it around each plant, if you only have a few.. Or surround the whole block, if you have a bunch..

 

[jmyers63]

Sprinkle bloodmeal as a barrier around your vines and they won't cross it. But, you do have to reapply regularly as it gets absorbed into the ground.

Or, try a beagle; they're bred to hunt rabbits!

 

[jswordy]

Happy Easter? Did they leave any eggs behind?

Fence is best. If you have some around, you cn use 4" PVC pipe tubes about a foot high (if your plants are higher than the grow tube) to get them started.

 

[GerardVineyard]

Lead poisoning or a dog are the easiest...

 

[Turock]

Things I have done that work well are putting coffee cans around young plants, and then when the plant gets taller, go get a roll of rabbit(ironic) or chicken fencing and make some wire cages for the plants. Put two stakes on the inside of the coffee can or the fence so it doesn't blow off.

I have 6 acres here and when I was even planting pine seedlings, had to protect them from the rabbits because baby rabbits go around taste testing everything. They'd top the pine trees right off, find it disgusting, and move on. Problem is--they destroyed the tree and I'd have to replant. The coffee cans solved the problem.

I no longer even SEE a rabbit in the last 3 years because of the foxes. And there's another idea--a pet fox! You'll never see a rabbit again.

 

[bg7mm]

rabbit stew with red wine, ummmmmmmm

 

[flyguy958]

Blue tubes work well. Rabbits multiply like well rabbits so lead poisoning from a 22 will give you a lot of target practice.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

If you have just a few vines, I find that chicken wire works wonders. It's cheap and effective.

 

[shoebiedoo]

I've found the blocks of rat poison work well also.

I stake them down so they don't get carried away, and you can monitor them. I can break or cut them into two or three chunks, run a stiff wire through (sometimes I predrill a hole for that depending on the brand of poison)

Haven't seen a rabbit all year - and the tulips survived.

We had them eating all our landscaping.


Not sure of the overall legality of this where you are though.

My luck the neighbor's cat would eat it all, then I would have some "Splaining" to do

 

[jswordy]

I've found the blocks of rat poison work well also.

I stake them down so they don't get carried away, and you can monitor them. I can break or cut them into two or three chunks, run a stiff wire through (sometimes I predrill a hole for that depending on the brand of poison)

Haven't seen a rabbit all year - and the tulips survived.

We had them eating all our landscaping.


Not sure of the overall legality of this where you are though.

The decision is yours, but rat poison persists in the food chain awhile. The rabbit dies, then the vulture or hawk or fox or housecat or other scavenger that eats it dies, etc. The poison makes the rabbit slower before it dies, so it can be seen as easy prey. Or after it dies, it is cleaned up as carrion.

I can tell by your coons and possums post that we have a different view of wildlife.

 

[Neviawen]

Last year for some reason, we had an over abundance of rabbits in our neighborhood. I guess when there are alot of bunnies there isn't enough bunny food to go around. They ate everything- even the stuff that is supposed to be rabbit/deer resistant. I've tried everything I could to prevent them from eating my plants. I've tried moth balls, human hair clippings, coating with cayenne pepper and even all the sprays that were supposed to contain wolf urine, blood, etc. Truth is, when a rabbit is hungry it will eat anything. I only have about a 1/2 acre yard and on any given night I could open up my back door and see 8-10 rabbits looking at me. It was ridiculous. Best bet I think would be to do a combination of what a few of the other guys did, get that fencing stuff to wrap around your plants. I would also consider getting some clover seeds (rabbits LOVE clover) and planting it away from your vines to attract them to a different area. You can buy clover seed sold specifically for attracting rabbits on amazon.com for around $15 for a few pounds. Rabbit hunters sometimes plant clover in areas that they want to attract rabbits so they can shoot them! Good luck!