All out attack on rabbits

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

After the snow has melted, and I have walked around the yard, I see that the rabbits have nearly eaten the bark off two apple trees. One may not make it. It is (was) a Zestar that I planted 3 years ago. The Honeycrisp may be okay, but it also got a lot of damage.

The BB gun and the traps are coming out. No more mister nice guy.

[logan115 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close logan115]

Sorry to hear that. I foresee a picture of Yosemite Sam ending up as your avatar in the near future......

Chris

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

I think Elmer Fudd would be more applicable. I’m going wabbit hunting.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Please come git my squirrels when you're done.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

I have a dog who hates rabbits and squirrels. She's already gotten several of them. The squirrels actually sit in the neighbors tree and torment the poor dog because they seem to know she can't climb - though she can jumb quite high!

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

Catch also works

We used to have rabbits in our yard and I found out that at night you can shine a flashlight in their eyes and freeze them. I used to do this to catch them.
Bart

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

They come and they go here. I know when you see rabbits here regularly that the fox population is low- a year or two later there are some fox sightings but seeing a rabbit gets rare. I've had a dog and a cat that also reduced the rabbit population.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

When I was a grade schooler in Richfield in the early 1960s, there either was no leash law or it wasn't enforced. The squirrel and rabbit populations were under control.

After leash law enforcement started, the populations started to skyrocket.

My mom had a lovely large garden in the backyard. (Richfield got its name because of the productive loamy soils.) She covered the vegetables with nets, weighted down with bricks, to keep the squirrels and rabbits out.

Occasionally we would come out and see two squirrels working together on pulling off the net.

[Fern Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fern]

Living at the end of the developed area here, we have coyotes. They take care of (some of the) rabbit problems. Unfortunately they like small dogs, kitties, etc.

Fern

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Trade you some bunnies for a few cheeky and very fat groundhogs.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

I feel just the opposite. I have a brush pile behind my shed just so the bunnies can have a home. We seem to have so few rabbits around here and I love to see them.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

Trade you some bunnies for a few cheeky and very fat groundhogs.

I had groundhogs two houses (and three lifetimes) ago. I am still willing to send the bunnies, did you want them hopping or ready for the oven?

The cute little bunnies were girdling the tree trunk 2-1/2 feet up. If the trees live, I will wrap the trunk for next winter. That is the problem with the high snow depth this year, the rabbits can get over the trunk protection to an area where there is good fresh tree to eat. Two apple trees and a peach tree may all die this year from rabbit damage.

Steffi does a great job of chasing the bunnies, but they go through the fence, so Steffi can’t get them.

[jaym Member Find all posts View Profile Close jaym]

I grew up near the city, moved out to my neck of MA woods over 20 yrs. ago and for the first time encountered various varmints. We've had damage from insatiable groundhogs, pesky rabbits, grub-hunting skunks, metal-thumping woodpeckers....and more. Been living and learning ever since...
I've trapped some, but mostly tried "solutions" including lavender and cayenne flakes (natural), granules, spray solutions (chem.) and even stringing reflective stuff (freak at their reflections) across garden beds, such as old CDs, aluminum, mylar balloons (vs. woodpeckers). I even read about a gardener that used recordings of hawk calls to scare away these pests!
All have some level of effectiveness, even if just temporarily. I can say that it seems, at least to me, a hungry animal will tolerate most deterrents, but they may very well seek the path of least resistance. Like my neighbor's landscaping.
I think the most effective method is to eliminate (kill) the creatures but part of me feels it's wrong as they're acting out of survival not malice. Besides, really, they were they before I got there and will be there after I'm gone.
Best of luck with your fruit trees, hope they make it....
J-

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

I would rather have rabbits than some of the other smaller critters. For many years we had rabbits living under our shed. They would have babies and we'd watch the babies grow. After a few years, the groundhogs took over. they dug everywhere and made quite a mess. Then we got skunks. Our dogs got sprayed several times in their chance encounter with the skunks. Our local animal control officer wouldn't do anything unless the skunks was rabid. Apparently the skunk had made a home under several of the sheds in the neighborhood. One of our neighbors finally got tired of the smell and "took care" of the matter with the help of his trusty rifle. No exactly legal, but it took care of the problem. When we replaced our shed, we made sure we put several inches of gravel down first so no animal could dig and make a home underneath.

[logan115 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close logan115]

We have a opposum that we see passing through our yard so frequently that we've actually named it Pete. Why Pete, no idea other one night I just said there's Pete the Opposum. We should've changed the name to Petra or something female as we had multiple smaller opposum sightings last summer in addition to Pete !

Luckily the critters haven't destroyed anything, but they do occasionally give us a good scare when they sneak up on you...........

Chris