I also put up a netting fence secured with poles/posts & stakes. There are tons of rabbits around here, including some young ones (so cute). The only creature I have had a problem with is a 35 pound white animal who I caught again tonight inside the raised beds (she likes the Tomato Tone). I am going to have to find a new way to secure the bottom; the stakes are not working between the posts sufficiently to keep her out. But I have not had any problem with the rabbits or other animals (knocking on wood...)although I know they're around.

Problem animal (my dog):
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I will tell you what I use....I don't know the exact name but I get them at the nursery and they are used to pin down anything particularly hoses...they are about 5 or 6 inches long and about one inch wide and look like/shaped like a staple....I use them for the plastic mesh and for hoses and for my cloth...they work beautifully and here they sell for 10 cents each...so they are very affordable....I probably have 200 in my garden serving one purpose or another...

Rabbits can and do chew through plastic fencing.

Jon

Rabbits here are terrible. They are "escaped" pets and a couple of the neighbors feed them. It's bizzare to see the lady next door walking with a bowl of bread and over a dozen rabbits following her. What has worked 100% for me is Premier Fencing's critter netting. It's energized by a battery operated fencer. On top of that I trap a few rabbits weekly and my dog chows down one or two more. But still they keep coming. Tom

I use it around my garden. I'd be more concerned that they will dig or push under it than chew through it. I have some hardware cloth buried as a mole barrier, so I use some twine to weave the fence to the hardware cloth. So far, no moles and no rabbits. Maybe you can bury a few inches of the fence in the ground.

I'm sure that a rabbit could easily chew through it, but mine don't seem interested enough to try. It may depend on just how hungry your rabbits are.

We have had pet rabbits for many years and believe you me they will chew through plastic and wood. In January I found a rabbit on FreeCycle; she's the first rabbit we have had that does not chew. I even put some chew sticks in her hutch that my DIL gave us when their rabbit died...she is not the least bit interested. I fill milk jugs with water and freeze for her during hot weather (100's for the last couple of weeks)...she pops the cap off and drinks the cool water but does not chew on the cap or lip of the jug, amazing!! Had to buy pottery feeding bowls in the past because our bunnies chewed up anything plastic.

Good luck...glad I don't have to worry about rabbits eating my plants.

Peggy

Hi! I had a similar problem this year and put up a fence of wire poultry netting... only to find that the mesh was not fine enough to screen out baby rabbits! So I covered the outside of my fence with plastic hardware cloth. That did the trick for over a month, except I had a wonky gate... eventually the rabbit found the gate and I found the rabbit in the garden AGAIN! This time, though, it couldn't find its way out and there was a five minute chase with it fearing for its life while I tried to figure out how the heck to get it out again! It finally burst through the plastic hardware cloth in a corner and I haven't seen it in over a week!

The upshot is that I think your fence will work more or less, but a determined animal might get through. How determined the bunnies will be probably depends on what other kind of forage is available. Also, while I was researching rabbit fences, I noticed that there's a big difference between rabbits in various parts of the country. You probably have eastern cottontails like I do. Lucky us, they are smaller, don't really jump high, and are less prone to eating every darn thing than the jack rabbits out west! Now, if you were to try to use that fencing to protect a small tree or shrub in winter, I think you'd probably find the bunnies going that extra mile to try to chew through it! But let us know what happens- finding out whether or not someone's solution has worked is one of the most helpful parts of gardenweb! Cheers!

Sunni

I had trouble with rabbits a few years ago, I had 6 foot high plastic fencing (mostly aimed at keeping the deer out), but the rabbits bit the fence and got to my sunflowers, beans and watermelons and carrots! The next year I put up an additional metal 1/2" chicken wire fence, and that kept them out.

The rabbits tore a huge hole in the plastic mesh last night so I am off to home depot for some 1" chicken wire.

Live and learn! :)

Make sure to use the 1"! 2" won't even begin to cut it. I've even seen a tiny baby bunny squeeze through 1" once. Only once, though, and it was terrified, putting way more effort into squeezing through than it probably would have if it was calm.

Also, for best results, have the base of the wire a couple inches into the ground. You don't need it deep -- rabbits aren't big diggers -- but a little goes a long way.

Yes, this worked for me last year. I witnessed a pretty confused bunny bounce off the netting, shake it's head cartoon style, try again, then hop away in search of easier pickin's. (I wish I had video, lol) I used a 1/2 mesh staked with the long staples into the ground in a bunch of places so it made a taut tent around the veggies. It was supported by a few tomato cages, so it didn't get tangled in the veggies.

Skagit Goat Man/Tom

How do you go about trapping your rabbits. I've long wanted to do this, but not sure the best method.

I wouldn't mind feeding rabbits to my dog, but the idea of offing a "cute little bunny" doesn't sit well with me. If I could take a bow and arrow or slingshot (something impersonal), I might have a little more success. I do eat meat, even rabbit, but most of my meat comes prepackaged from the farmers market.

As for keeping rabbits out of my shade garden, I use wire mesh fence. It's a nice shade of green so it blends in well with the surroundings. It even keeps chipmunks out.

Also, if you have rabbits digging under your fence lay down some chicken wire on the ground outside your fence butted up to your fence. Just lay it down on the ground and your grass will grow up and cover it. That will help keep the rabbits from digging under you fence.

Rabbits do chew but they are more than likely not to spend time chewing at your fence. I have the occasional one that gets in but it's in a spot where the fencing isn't secure. Rabbits who chew are usually caged rabbits that are bored. I have a huge fence and it is covered in the plastic mesh to keep deer heads to rabbits or squirrels and it works darn good. There are a gazillion rabbits around here and I see them plenty on the other side of the fence munching away....so it is working for me....