You said it Dobiedogs!!! EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF. Its a dog eat dog world out there! :)

Nettie

I have problems with rabbits eating my hot peppers (jalape~os, anchos, cayennes) so I don't ever try hot pepper spray. One of my neighbours used to use mothballs and ivory soap for rabbit and deer repellant respectively. Always used to look funny because she'd have little mothballs on the tops of sticks around her garden and would have bars of soap hanging from their apple trees. She claimed it worked though.

Dog hair is quite useless. I always brush my dog outside and leave the hair--the birds use it for nests! But the rabbits are still all over the place. And mothballs are poisonous. You should not use them. I tried hot papper once but it also seemed useless. I still say that nothing can beat leaving messy tall grass for critters to eat and tangled vines for them to get lost in. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I came across your post about the rabbits.I hope they have moved on this year but incase they have not you may want to think about getting a beagle.I live in a farm community and everyone keeps them just for that reason they have some really small ones and some larger ones but they will naturaly run rabbits.And they make pretty good pets also.It was just an idea : )

Russ

I too came across this post a year after the fact. I would get a couple of female cats (they won't spray like males), have them SPAYED. Mine don't eat the bunnies, (that I know of) they chase them. So far it's worked. I have enough plants & flowers to keep them from using the flower beds as toilets. When they were using my patio containers as bathrooms I placed toothpicks in it. One stab in the rear they stopped!

I've had good luck sprinkling used cat litter around my gardens. Don't put too much on your garden if you use clay-based litter since you don't want to put too much in your soil. The smell will not bother you after the first day, but it seems to keep the rabbits away. They ate most of my hostas, but they never ate the new ones after I put used litter around them. I only replace about once a month, but have to remember to start early in the spring before the bulbs come up as I can go out in the yard after dark and it looks like a state convention of rabbits gathered in my yard.

I love Rabbits!
I have heard of sprinkling Cayenne pepper also :)
Heidi S~

yes pepper works...but the best this is get a dog :)

froggy

you could always sell "101 rabbit garden manure" at your local farmer's market?

how about a little-bitty dog that doesn't have a mouth large enough to really take much of a bite outta a rabbit, but still "pretends" to be a great hunter. My Mom's fearless extra-small terrior comes to mind - that dog thought it was a great dane.

Best Regards,
Celeste

My very best new clematis was munched today down to a stick so I am trying a repellent called Ro-pel along with blood meal. Ro-pel is sprayed on your plants and apparently has a very bitter taste and is harmless to deer, rabbits, etc.
I am interested to see if that will work.
Annie

A dusting with garlic powder does it for me. I sprinkle lightly on and around any plants that I know are vulnerable (or that I see signs of rabbit munching on) especially when the plants are small and tender. Re-apply after rain. After one or two sprinklings the rabbits here get the message and stay away, and I don't have to sprinkle any more during that season. Also, like someone else said, once the plants get bigger and tougher they are less desirable to rabbits. The garlic smell must not appeal to the bunnies. I buy a big container at a warehouse store such as BJ's or Sam's, so the cost is minimal. One container lasts me two seasons, but then I have only a 1/4 acre suburban yard.

Regarding squirrels, the garlic powder deters them also, at least here. A mulch of rocks or pine nuggets will also help deter the squirrels from digging. Bare soil seems to draw them, even if it hasn't been turned recently.

My 14 year old cat who has about 3 teeth and no front claws does a fierce number on a bunny nest. And he doesn't just chase them....I have found innumerable headless bunnies on my front porch. (sorry to offend the bunny huggers, but that's the reality of it.) So I'd say...get a cat!

Try drawing them away from the flower garden by giving them something they like better. Plant lots and lots of white and red clovers in some unmowed areas of the yard. I started clovers in large rectangular planters by the side of my house.

Let's stop advocating loose cats, please? That's a whole 'nother issue that these forums have seen PLENTY of times already.

A word to the wise. I sprinkled the cayenne pepper ON my hollyhocks. I burned the leaves! The bunnies still ate the bottom leaves. My garden is picket-fenced. How do they get in? They also have eaten pinks or dianthus foliage, but hollyhock is their piece de resistance!

I love bunnies as much if not more than hollyhocks and find this a big problem.

I agree that rabbits are cyclable to a certain amount and we have coyote's around here to help out. We grow white clover in our lawn and they love it. Rabbits keep busy eating from my bird feeder. I have trouble with their girdling in the winter and must use chicken wire to protect valuale bushes or saplings. I really get upset with using roaming cats since they kill other wildlife and see them hunting for birds etc frequently.

Regarding Nature:

Humans upset the balance of Nature wherever we go. It's up to us to restore the balance. Shoot the rabbits. Balance restored.

Remember what happened when some idiot imported rabbits to Australia? Hordes of rabbits eating everything, causing erosion, moving in herds like Buffalo, leaving wasteland behind.

There was no natural predator for rabbits in Australia, as I heard the story. Importing predators is cleaner than using poison.

I went to war against woodchucks years ago. They were casual destroyers.

I shot six one year. I shot three the next. Still losing plants. I saw one climbing up the 2 foot high chickenwire fence I had built around the lettuce raised bed, which was 2 foot off the ground already !!! And the critter was nearly to the top !

I finally burned down the old chicken coop they were burrowing under, I regret doing that now.

The year after that I shot just one woodchuck.

None in years now, other than that raccoon ! No sweet corn that year either.

Restore the balance. Kill 'em.

Well, it appears as though some bunny hugger put a curse on me !

After my posting last night, I was thinking that perhaps my cat had had something to do with keeping the rodents in check. She died this Spring.
And now I've realized that something is jumping up into my 8ft. wide Cattle Tank, that I've filled with dirt and planted. The chives were attacked first. Today I realized that the chocolate mint, the pineapple mint, etc were nibbled down to the dirt !

So much for rabbits NOT liking Mint ! The only plant they left alone was the Oregano. Maybe they were saving it for Pizza Night.

So, I spent an hour after work this evening building a fence around the rim of the cattle tank. It's chickenwire, only a foot high, but any rabbit trying to hop into the tank is going to get a faceful of wire mesh !

That, and the HaveAHeart trap nearby should help. I guess I need to adopt a cat ASAP.

Here's a natural way you can try. I believe you live in MO, call the department of natural resources and ask them for a contact with the Mo Falconers Association. Ask the contact person from the falconry association if there is anyone in the area practicing the art of Falconry that would like to come over and reduce your rabbit population for you. Odds are, you will have several people willing to help out. I am a licensed falconer and have very few rabbits around any my fields, the bird hunts them in the fall and winter and pretty much keeps the population non-existant or very small. Its about as natural of a way to get rid of them as there is. Without the top of the food chain present, the rabbits will take advantage of the opportunity for free food with no worries. A falconer friend of mine in Seattle has a contract with a golf course to keep the rabbit population under control and the people like watching the bird do what it does naturally.

My two cents,

Steve

My 2 cats keep my garden looking great. Even when the bunnies venture into our space, they don't stay long and never seem to eat my flowers! The cats eat plenty of rabbits though! Molly

We have coyotes that eat cats, so we still have a few bunnies around.

Okay, I agree what I'm about to write is very, very weird, but it supposedly works and I read about this in a very old farming book, so it should work, right??? Ok, here it is. They tell you to buy liver at the grocery store, and put it in water somewhere in your yard to make it go "bad". After it goes, put this putrid mess in your blender (arrgghh!) to make a puree. Drain the puree in a coffee filter, saving the "liquid". Spray the liquid on the plants that you want to save. (You must respray after a rain.) Supposedly the rabbits won't go anywhere near it--but I bet YOU WON'T EITHER!!!!

Rabbits are not a problem of mine, but I might at least try it to see if it works......

I'm trying this for now:bunnies ate tops off my godetia seedlings so yesterday I cut dead thorny rose-bush canes (New Dawn) and surrounded the seedlings. Maybe the thorns will deter their tender little bunny feet.

I just found this forum while searching the web for info on how to battle 2 young bunnies who have been living inside my perrenial garden (triangle shape, about 30' long on each side, 2 of which are bordered by a privacy fence, its the corner of my yard) for at least a month. They are mowing away!
English Gardens (store) recommends a product called Critter Ritter, the #1 selling product in Canada which is supposed to be new to the US.
I just sprinkled it on the ground this afternoon. As of this evening they are still there and still mowing!

The gal there said human hair (get clippings from a barber shop if you want to try this) does not work.
She said if you use blood meal it must be reapplied after it rains.

I believe the rabbits were born in a burrow inside my perrenial garden. Talked to a different garden center and they said in that case, they think I will have to trap them, but it could take a while (a week) to get them to get in the trap, since they have such a terrific smorgasborg in my garden of eaten.

Help!

Well..I looked at the date and I may be a few years late but...the best and simpliest way to get rid of rabbits..I work at a Nursey..buy "Rabbit No More" $19.99 in a bag. Our customers swear by it. It is organically safe and they hate it. We run out of it daily..not only rabbits but chipmunks and moles. Check it out!

I don't have any rabbits at all here. Lots of coyotes. Racoons. A coupla feral cats. I have never seen a rabbit here. I guess I'm lucky! I'm always amazed at dopes who say "shoot 'em" in populated areas, LOL! I have had enough of the paranoid, testosterone fueled no-brainers shooting in my sub-division. It's enough that the neighbors encourage their little crotch-fruit to maim the feral cats with pellet guns. I end up taking them in, and paying the vet bills, to boot.

The thing about plants is....They're PLANTS, okay? A plant isn't worth a sentient being in my world. I.E., A rabbit has a higher value than a plant, if only because it has feelings, feels pain, etc. If a person is silly enough to pay $30 for a perennial...then you deserve what may happen.

I realise that I can say this because I don't have a problem with rabbits. Now, let's talk deer..........

I just bought fox urine and put 4 little bottles with 2 airholes cut out the sides and a cottonball saturated with the urine around my garden. It stinks pretty bad. Has anyone had any luck with the urine method??

I saw 3 young bunnies today in the garden. The Critter Ritter did absolutely nada.

After calling quite a few trapper services yesterday, I think I have a den of up to 9 bunnies living in my perrenial garden. Most of the trappers felt there services would be futile as I probably have so many. The garden center said I have a unique situation that they haven't had many customers share.

Does anybody know what to do about relocating them? I think I will call the Humane Society next.

I feel that since rabbits will eat grass, it is not fair of them to consume 11 years of my hard work. The time and emotion I have invested in my garden alone are worth fighting this battle.

Just seeing this forum for the first time. A couple things I'd like to add to all the discussion... first, I live in central Iowa, and have had about $2000.00 worth of destruction happen over the last winter alone. Not just my new bushes and perennials, but completely girdled trees. I am talking about $300.00 Birches and Maples - destroyed. I can (and do) fence everything off as well as I can, but when the snow piles up 2' high, they get on their tippy toes and go to work on all they can reach.

Granted, I live on the edge of town, with a cornfield and alfalfa field bordering my backyard. Absolutely no "magic potion" works, at any time of the year. These bunnies have Alfalfa, clover, tall bluegrass and my yard to eat. I even feed the buggers on the other end of the field to try and give them a more inviting place to go. They still destroy my plantings for the spite and fun of it. All year round.
Can't let the dog run free in town, and I'm not all that keen on cats (even spayed females) running around due to the frequency of seeing them flattened down the road for my daughter to see.

ONE THING ALONE HAS HELPED ME PUT A DENT IN THE PROBLEM, AND IT INCLUDES A BEEMAN PELLET GUN AND A SKILLED TRIGGER FINGER. I am sorry if this offends those of you that are against this idea, but my bushes and trees are too expensive to be rabbit food. The food value is nill, compared to the unlimited supply of more traditional food they have under their feet 24hrs a day.

I did not think I could actually make difference in the population, especially after seeing a single file line of solid rabbits prancing down the fence row towards my defenseless property on a moonlit night in the middle of January. I routinely dispatch of 10-15 rabbits a night (I don't do this every night) in the winter, and 4-5 in the spring and summer. Yip, in the spring they are often the half-pint sized juveniles that will never have a chance to breed. I love that part.

I see in the threads that some of you are battling just a couple, or maybe 6-10 rabbits. Just be done with it. No daisy bb guns. you need the $150 - $200 PELLET guns with 800-1000 feet per second ratings. At up to 60-70 feet, and single shot in the vitals will take out the lungs or heart and it is done. SAFETY IS OF COURSE PRIORITY #1. PRIORITY #2 IS THE LIFE OF THE PLANTS.

I love animals, and hate to cause them harm or pain, but tit for tat. If they needed to knock me off to get to my Weigela, believe me, they would.

By the way, I take these little vandals as they are eating, or trying to eat, my plants. I leave them alone if they leave me alone. I can say with absolute authority that the problem is beginning to diminish. My predatory practices, at least in my little world here, are making a difference.

Anyone with deer problems? Got that one licked out on the farm which is 10 minutes down the road. They were absolutely destroying everything, including the windbreak which had been replanted 3 times due to deer damage. They will muscle in almost any fence around a tree or bush.

We had to put up an electric fence around the entire perimeter. One wire, 3 feet high, that's all. Put aluminum foil on the strand every 6 foot or so, with a tab hanging down about 6 inches. slap some peanut butter on the tab. Do all this when you know the night will be clear with a full moon, and watch out the window of the car or your house. Sit on something solid, 'cause you will be laughing so hard when they get the hit, you will fall off the chair. Problem was absolutely solved, 100%, and forever as long as you keep the wire up. does not even need to be electrified anymore except for a while in the summer and fall as the yearlings who don't know any better give it a go.

Never met a plant that had more value than a sentient being...but thats just me, and I have plenty of endangered species of plants.

There's a b*tthole who lives down the street from me who thinks it's cool fun to plug the feral cats with his pellet gun. I have a few of his victims, and the vet bills. I got no use for gun freaks. Believe me...if I ever catch him in the act.... he's going to jail, and I will press charges, and his kids better never show up in my yard. I have a wrist rocket, and damn....that hurts!

I think we were talking about rabbits in this thread. I am sure you aren't endorsing shooting a child with your wrist rocket.

Catch the guy shooting cats in the act and have him strung up by his little toes...fine by me. In this context of discussion, the cats would do us all a favor in controlling the rabbit population, but the end result would be the same...dead bunnies.

We, the sentient human beings, have created the problem of overpopulation in the rabbit world. Not enough natural predators, etc. We, the sentient human beings need to do what it takes to correct the problem as effectively as possible in our own little sphere of influence.

I would also add that the cute little sheep had to give up their blood for the "magic potion" in one of the above threads. The peaceful cow gave it all for your leather gloves and shoes you wear while gardening. Talk about sentient...I swear a couple of my cows understand english, and have a sense of humor.

I am sure you are one of those organic types, but I'll bet if grubs decided to destroy your lawn, you would at least consider a little imadicloprid to end that problem. They are sentient, too, in the strict sense. Who says a grub can't be as cute and cuddly as something with big eyes and floppy ears.

By the way, those feral cats are second only to skunks in carrying rabies, and they love to pound the heck out of little tiny baby things. Kind of like you and those kids.

I am not a gun nut b*tthole. I volunteer at the animal shelter. I feed the little birdies. I do not own a wrist rocket, nor do I condone the maiming of children...

BUT I SAY "GO ELMER FUDD" AND TAKE YOUR GARDEN BACK!

I'm not an "organic type." My yard is organic yes. But I also have leather shoes, etc. Since I'm trying to get rid of most of the lawn, the grubs are welcome to eat all of it they like. It's real easy to pull up after they're done with it. I don't use grub-icides because I like fireflies. As far as I know, fireflies start life as grubs.

The gun-nut neighbor's kids aren't "little tiny baby things." They're in their early teens, and old enough to be taught by their father to shoot at cats, or birds or cars or each other or anything else that moves, but still too stupid to realise that it's wrong. They're kind of the neighborhood terrors. We've seen them shooting birds...we USED to have a pair of catbirds that nested in the hedge-row every year. Unfortunately, they're very good shots, and lots of birds sit on the telephone wires behind our houses.

You shoot someone in the butt with a ripe grape tomato that has been shot from a wrist rocket...all it is going to do is sting. Getting hit by a paint-ball pellet hurts much worse. I don't have the strength or desire to pull back the band far enough to hurt anyone/anything with the projectile.

Don't worry...toddlers or little kids are in no danger in my yard. Bratty bird shooting teens are. In fact, the neighbor's little kids come over and pick flowers for their parents all the time. I got all kinds of good parent bouquet stuff, not to mention the standard dandelions and clover.

Believe it or not...english sparrows are just as murderous to some other types of birds as cats are. Just ask the bluebird trail monitors.

We still got no rabbits because we also have coyotes and raccoons.

The main vector for rabies around here is raccoons. The skunks have all but disapppeared for some reason, which is too bad because I like skunks AND they are grub eaters extraordinaire.

I'm glad you find grubs cute and cuddly. To each their own. I can't take my garden back because I never lost it, but I do feel bad for people who are having trouble with varmints. It's really frustrating. I can relate...this has been a good year for earwigs and japanese beetles. When I did live in a place that had varmint problems, blood meal worked well.

My apologies to all for the previous ranting which advocates the quick death of the carrot munchers. While I still intend to do this with vigor in defense of my plants, it was not intended to offend.

Well, I guess it kind of was intended to do that, but sorry. My frustration with these beasts has reached a level that I can find no other alternative.

I wish some of these other alternatives would have worked for me...believe me I tried almost all of them that were practical. I never thought I would wish for more coyotes, but bring 'em on.

I like the grape tomato idea. One thing I have even more desire to dispatch of is the teenage male, and I have one of my own! They just love to do things they know pisses us off. Try taking a marker made for glass and writing "you got me pregnant" on their car window at 3:00 am. that will keep them busy for about a week, and maybe even sent away to a military school. Parents hate that stuff.

more power to you on your gardening. I do respect your desire to live in harmony with all around you. Maybe it's me that has the distorted view of things. Prozac may be my answer.

No, I don't think your view is distorted. I respect people who do differently than me...they have their reasons, and I have mine, and who am I to question them? I do like a well reasoned debate, however.

Sorry about the writing on the auto glass, BTW! What a pain! Been there, LOL!

I think if a person has too many rabbits....the rabbits need to be thinned. By any means necessary, but in a humane way. But if seeing 1 rabbit bothers someone...then they need to go into a less frustrating line of pleasure.

I feel that, as a gardener, I should foster harmony with the environment. And that means balance. And, in my mind, that means getting along with moles and voles and squirrels and the occasional feral cat. If you've got an over-abundance of squirrels, moles, voles and bunnies, then something must be done, because it isn't balanced. That's JUST ME, so don't the rest of you go feeling insulted.

For ME...that means no pesticides, and no inorganic fertilsers. It means planting trap crops to try and lure away the bugs. It means raking out the vole/molehills. That's just ME and I'm NOT saying it's better than what you do, or right. I'm fortunate to not have bunnies, because I do have gardening friends who have rabbit problems, and they are driven quite mad by them. For instance, I have given this one friend tons of plants...and they have all been eaten by bunnies. I understand the frustration!(DON'T even ask me about earwigs or japanese beetles, LOL!~)

But they haven't tried the blood meal or coyote urine yet, either. God knows I don't EVEN want to know how they obtain coyote urine..........April

April:

You have to put two and two together--"Unfortunately, they're very good shots..." coupled with "I'm fortunate to not have bunnies"--those terrors are probably doing you a favor!

I have gone the pellet gun route--very effective. We have coyotes, fox, stray cats, hawks, owls, etc. They aren't cutting it.

Nah, I think the cats, owls and coyotes have done a job on the bunnies...I've NEVER seen rabbits here, and I've been out here for about 7 years now!

well, i have the same problem with the bunnies here on my property. the only thing different is i have 9 wolves (though they are penned) the bunnies wont go near their pen yet know exactly how far to the flowers they CAN come...so..i am gonna try spreading wolf hair (tis the shedding season) around the new flowers and see if this will deter those bunnies...i love all animals and would not want the life of a bunny over the life of a plant...though, i think all eco life is very important...let u know how this works out...good luck to you...and me...*fingers crossed!

we have 1 local coyote that seems to keep the bunnies in check. Which i hate seeing -- but in know it "keeps the balance"

they are preparing to "nest" and i just noticed a nice hole in my front yard of all places. I don't mind them nesting in my flower beds... but not in the middle of the yard.

Hopefully they wont do too much damage to my flowers this year.... i'm extending into their territory with my gardening this year.

I have heard you can get that "urnine" at nurseries.

Put crushed red pepper (cayenne)on for 2 or 3 nights after dark after you plant your plants they will take a nibble but will leave them alone. you have to do this everytime you plant something new because they want to taste everything at least once

Okay, I'm not an expert but I have been gardening for 30 years, first in Oklahoma, and now in Texas. I have to agree that fragrant flowers keep out rabbits. It doesn't matter if they are bulbuous or not. When it comes to gardening, any variety of marigold still deters pests: squirrels, rabbits, spiders, mites, etc. Follow with an interior border of vinca and you are in great shape.

I am not a fan of English Ivy, but do have it mixed in with Virginia Creeper so I can grow daylillies, Chinese ornamental lillies, foxglove, etc. Rabbits don't like ivy shaped leafing plants. There is something in the roots and leaves that deters them.

The first thing I planted in my yard when I moved into this fenceless home was Irish moss, rosemary and caladiums on the north side of the fruitless mulberry tree 30 feet from my master bedroom window. None of it has been touched by birds, squirrels or rabbits. There are at least four young squirrels, two rabbits, and all sorts of birds that visit my backyard everyday. The rabbits seem more content eating the weeds in my yard which is fine with me. I have more grass than weeds anyway, and still mow them on a regular basis.

Most sage variety of plants aren't touched either by rabbits. Today you can check the internet for all sorts of sites, but the best place to get answers is from your local horticulture department at any college or university.

My other tried and true methods of keeping critters out of gardens or just away from plants are lye, bonemeal, bloodmeal (but that tends to keep me away, too), coffee and tea grounds, ground black pepper or any hot pepper dried and ground up. Just sprinkle it as a border around the plant, not on it. Oddly enough, you can just put up a six to eight inch border of limbs and twigs around what you are growing and they won't bother hopping over unless they are really starving. Rabbits only hop high when they are being chased by predaters.

Another all purpose deterrant, but test an area first, will keep any - and I do many any - pest away is ammonia. Got rid of all my ants without the high price of pesiticies. The rabbits have stayed away from those areas. For those of you who don't know much about rabbits, you need to read up about them. They will burrow down twenty feet into the ground just to make a den. Their escape holes have been known to be up to 100 feet away. They are crafty little varmits.

If you don't want to go through any of the previous tedums to get rid of them the put out a bird house to attract a blue jay (my next step tomorrow), or any territorial bird you wouldn't mind having in your yard. Become a member of a wildlife organization and get all sorts of help. Pest control can also relocate them if they are that much of a nuisance.

Human feces sprinkled lightly in the vegetable garden will repel them everytime.

Rabbits regularly come into my chain link fenced yard. Every single time I let the dog out I have to patrol the yard to chase any rabbits or the dog will chase and eat them. Then I have to clean up the mess and hope the rabbit did not have rabies and, at times, the dog regurgitates the mess on my carpet. Can bloodmeal or Plantskydd be shaken onto the lawn or will the "death smell" terrify my dog?

I have about 5 bunnies out on my lawn daily, they don't seem to mess with my garden. I live out in Jamul California and growing grass on granite is quite difficult, I had a nice lawn but now is dying off. I was told that the droppings of the bunnies were killing my lawn! I find this absurd but need to know if any others have had the same experience. I love the bunny's and consider them my friends, I feel that they only help mow my yard and there droppings add fertilizer... Am I wrong?

I've had rabbits for a while. So far the damage toll isn't really extensive. One ate my painted daisy (Robinson Rose) I think the foliage resembles a carrot. Anyway,I believe trapping and releasing is harmless. I'm no engineer but how about something simple? Simple is good.
I'm thinking rigid container with an open lid rigged with bait stick fish line attached to prop to release the box down from an angle when he grabs the bait. I want him in the box to my car to rural ditch. My way bunnie-- Nobody gets hurt!!

We live in the northern county of San Diego in an area adjacent to chaparral. I've seen coyotes, squirrels, bunnies, hawks, gopher (yes, I actually saw the gopher - but my husband took care of that - RIP), and I understand there are owl boxes courtesy of our HOA. The bunnies are eating my husband's lawn (and sometimes my plants). The squirrels come in to eat too. The hills are dry this time of year, but we have kept our lawn and plants watered, making them yummy meals for the critters. We finished putting up some kind of fencing we were told is used to keep bunnies out. Ironically, the bunnies chewed through the fence where the back gate goes out to the wildlands - or from the wildlands into our backyard. A perfectly sized hole with nice little bits of fence scattered around the wrought iron gate. Although I did have to chuckle about it, we did work hard putting up that fence in the hottest part of the year. The rabbits were probably laughing too (rightly so - what a couple of dingdongs we are).

Now my husband wants to shoot those bunnies with a pellet gun (he'd rather use something bigger, but I don't think that's legal - I'm not sure killing rabbits is legal in our area). I can understand his frustration, but I'm glad to see all the postings - you have my sincere appreciation - and will ask him to help me out with the bloodmeal and/or ammonia. I'll let you know whether it works for us or not. If those things don't work and I can't convince my husband to replace that fencing with something more sturdy, I'm afraid the rabbits will be meeting the gopher's demise. By the way, we did try other methods to deter the gopher (hair in the tunnel, plugging the tunnel) - then I read several posts and determined there was only one way to take care of the gopher; it was not the way I wanted, but the last resort.

Best to all and your yards/gardens.

We have so many you could rename our street, Bunny Lane. I had to post because I too am looking to figure out how to deter rabbits from our yard. But DON'T TELL ME TO GET A DOG! We have 5!!!!!!! It isn't helping one little bit. They are total Elmer Fudds when we let them out they cannot catch them (of course) and look around with a goofy expression while the rabbits calming sit on the other side of the chain link fence probably laughing at them. The rabbits are ruining our bushes by burrowing down inside tem and eating the bark of our burning bushes.

Five dogs are 3 dachshund a Maltese and a Yorki-poo. Our Dachshunds have caught mice and birds but never a rabbit yet. I don't really want them caught just wish we didn't have so many

keep your grass cut and get a cat he'll take care of all your problems maybe.

I have so many rabbits in my yard. They were digging their den right in the middle of my yard. In spite of what I did to stop them, and they always came back. Finally I thought of trying Vick's Vapor Rub in the hole and little globs around it as well. Thankfully, this has worked and she never returned to that area. I would guess this would work around flowers as well. Since the odor is so strong, it would not take much. It is worth a try, and inexpensive as well.

If you live in an area that has cold winters, rabbits are more easily trapped in the winter when food is scarce. I got that info from a professional wildlife pest guy. Put the traps in the are where they were eating in the summer. I intend to try this myself this winter as we are over run with the little devils.

Get a Dachshund. They will not tolerate rabbits in their garden.