Kitchen Garden Forum

Last year rabbits ate most of my allotment brassicas. I'm growing everything under enviromesh this year.So far, so good. My garden ,which is 2 miles away, on an estate, has ben invaded by rabbits that have munched most of my nursery bed of winter brassicas and are brazenly sitting grazing on my lawn, sometimes as many as 5 at a time, feasting day and night. They have even polished off my first attempt at a flower/shrub border. I can't really cover the garden with mesh, and am too squeamish to kill them off with traps or poison. Useless spaniel hardly seems to notice them, and too slow to catch them anyway.Can you suggest an effective way to deter them or encourage them to go elsewhere? Husband offered to shoot them, but I don't think that is a good idea as my greenhouse is likely to get hit , or even the neighbours. I'm having murderous and paranoid thoughts about these "cuddly bunnies"!

I am vegetarian, and very anti animal cruelty, but I still want to shoot the buggers, as they eat everything on my plot, unless it is barricaded in. They aren't even scared of us anymore. The blighters! Sorry not much help for you, but much sympathy.

Hi Doctor Deb

I had a very similar problem with rabbits on the allotments a couple of years ago but the sorted it self out when Mr & Mrs Fox took up residence on our site since then no rabbits not a one which is good news for me but I am sorry that it is not much help to you but as Retropants say's much sympathy

Good Luck

Kevin

I've got exactly the same problem. If I were you, I'd let your husband shoot them!
I've had an allotment for eight years and since day one have had to net everything to keep rabbits off. This year there have been fewer signs of their presence, and I have just found out that this is because someone has been shooting them.
Unfortunately, my garden has gone the other way. I usually just get a few babies breaking in , but this year there has been a full-scale invasion, and nothing is safe. Like you, I've got reservations about letting someone loose with a gun, but needs must, and I've arranged for someone to call round tonight to try and reduce their numbers. But the rabbits seem to have got wind of this and gone into hiding. Sod's law!
If you really don't want yours shot, you will have to hope that disease kills them instead. I've seen a few ill-looking ones around (one even dropped dead in the garden yesterday), and with so many of them around and the present poor weather conditions, I guess (hope!!!) any disease will spread rapidly.

We had terrible rabbit problems when we first took on our allotment about 20 years ago, because it's well out of the village and surrounded by fields. Potatoes seemed to be the only thing they didn't touch. We then surrounded the entire allotment with 3 foot high 1-inch wire netting and made sure that there were no gaps under it (nor under the gate!!). We still had occasional visits by rabbits which climbed over (no kidding, I saw one climbing over and jumping down on the other side). So we hung old wire netting lengthways over the top of the upright netting and since then - no more bunnies. In addition we surround the brassicas and peans and broad beans with wire netting, topped by soft netting, but that is to protect against pheasants, partridges, pigeons, rooks and jackdaws, but that's another story!

this year we watched our newly planted asparagus come up and within days the family of rabbits near us had eaten all the growing shoots Three clean shots later and the asparagus have sent up new spears ! So, I guess an air rifle is what you need !