Kitchen Garden Forum

I caught a young rabbit in veg. netting this summer and was just about to 'do for him/her' against the side of the raised bed, when my grandson came trotting up the garden - 'What are you doing, Nanny?' I couldn't in front of him. It took 4 releases before it got free of the netting.
Since then rabbits have had a real go at my winter brassicas despite my barricades.
My husband has failed with his air rifle.
The local lamping boys got 28 rabbits - but missed 2 opposite my garden.
I have now asked my neighbour's lad to try with his ferret.
Any more ideas?
There's plenty for them to eat outside my garden, so I've declared war!

Hi Jane. We had a severe rabbit problem when we first got our allotment seven years ago....nothing was sacred, they ate everything in sight! We couldn't afford to fence off the whole plot at once, so we made cloches of plastic coated chicken wire.

A 3' wide roll was cut to the length of the row, then folded in half length wise from the centre, making a /\ shape. This was then placed over the row of plants and pegged down, folding the ends down....we did this on every row. This worked very well indeed, no more nibbled plants. When we've finished with them, they are just rolled up and stored. Eventually, we managed to fence off the whole plot but we sill used the wire cloches as they also kept the pigeons off.

The rabbit problem was solved by the floods of 2007....we get very few rabbits now but still use the wire cloches to keep the pigeons off.

Hope this helps.
Cheers.

That's a very good tip because it would also work on parts of the flower beds,
We've had a horrendous summer with rabbits. They nibbled parts of our sheep pasture down to bare earth. Then suddenly not a rabbit to be seen. We suspect myxomatosis. But then they started attacking from the road side of the garden and I lost so many brassica plants in one night. But I haven't seen one or evidence of one for a few days now. It's very odd.

Locals warned us about rabbits here but I think our cats sort them out as no damage done. I know something comes in as it took apples that were within reach and there is a track but all the plants are safe so maybe a badger.

only other invaders were four large cattle who ignored the electric fence to devour my runner beans..

Once lived on a small island where there were no predators and the rabbit population was unbelievable. I once picked a lettuce from an improvised cage and must have not closed it properly as when I looked through the kitchen window, a rabbit was in already; must have been watching..

After that, because of them and also my peacocks, I put a proper fruit cage up and dug wire netting well under the earth.

Locals got 60 p per tail bounty on them; dreadful that few ate them and they were just left out there for the sea birds.

Not seen a rabbit again today so think they have taken my threats seriously.
Our old cat used to hunt baby rabbits and occasionally an adult one. We've had the population explosion since she died. We eat rabbit when I have time to skin them. Otherwise the neighbour's ferret gets them.

I have now asked my neighbour's lad to try with his ferret.
Any more ideas?

Foxes