Fencing is the standard recommendation and the only thing that seems to consistently work effectively. There have been many discussions here about keeping various varmints - rabbits, gophers, woodchucks, deer, armadillos, squirrels, etc. - out of the garden that the search will pull up for you. They have reports on other efforts like repellants, motion detectors, sprinklers, various types of lights, etc. but it always comes back to a fence for the best results. Dave

The problem with getting rid of rabbits is that nature will simply make more. Remove one and another takes it's place. The only saving grace about rabbits is that they are territorial and tend to establish feeding routes. In other words you may get a gap between getting rid of one that includes your yard on it's menu and the next finding it. This really only applies in areas with fairly low rabbit populations. Anyway, there is only one good way to get rid of rabbits and that is a fence. It allows the rabbits to become somebody else's problem as your plants are safe inside the fence. You can combine a fence with a trap to thin their numbers over time. A Have a Heart trap can be placed *inside* the fence and then the fence cut such that the only entrance to the garden is through the fence and directly into the trap. Placing the trap inside the fence eliminates the need to find a bait for the trap that actually works. I do not recommend the use of poisons if you live in an area where there are dogs/cats/pets or small children around. Too much risk.

About the only way you could put beans out of the reach of bunnies - but within the reach of pre-schoolers - would be to fence in the whole garden. Provided that the problem is rabbits (not deer) a 36" chicken wire fence would keep them out. Be sure that the chicken wire has no gaps at ground level... I hill up the soil about 4" over the bottom wire. For a gate, you don't need anything fancy, unless you feel so inclined... just a removable frame, covered with chicken wire, tied between two posts. I do this on one of my small plots, and secure the gate with a couple pieces of aluminum wire used as twist ties. Rabbits are a big problem in my area too; I've seen 4-5 in my back yard at one time. Because of that, all of my gardens are surrounded by chicken wire (and high fencing to keep out the deer). Without fencing, gardening would be a pointless effort... I'd be feeding the wild life, not my family.

Over here in Wisconsin we run into rabbits all the time and I have had trouble finding a fence that is visually appealing, maintenance free, easy to install, and affordable. A few years ago we decided to create 17 raised beds in our garden, and the original idea was to place chicken wire directly around each raised bed, but based on past experience I knew that having the fencing so close to the garden area makes working in the garden difficult and inefficient. Based on this I decided to enclose the entire garden area with a rabbit fence, leaving a 24â walkway between the beds and the fence allowing for greater mobility when working in the garden. I did some research to try to find a fence that would fit into the visual aesthetic of our garden, and chicken wire was just too unsightly. Picket fences are visually appealing, but I was turned off by the substantial maintenance season after season. I decided to create my own fence that provided the qualities I was looking for: attractive, maintenance free, lightweight, easy to install and affordable. After doing much research I decided to use copper tubing (to avoid rusting and to match other lawn decorations). I also used polypropylene mesh netting that was designed for rabbit fencing. I created 30 panels that were of two different sizes (4âÂÂx2â or 2âÂÂx2âÂÂ). Creating these panels did not take too long and cost much less than what I had anticipated. From there I used rebar poles to easily install the panels around the garden, including the creation of a swing-gate that made accessing the garden easy! Installing the fence took me an afternoon and that included the trial and error of determining the best way to do it. Because the fence has exceeded all my expectations, I want to share it with others! I have decided to make and sell the fence panels. Below is a link to the website I have created, and I would love to answer any questions you may have! Here is a link that might be useful: Preassembled Rabbit Garden Fence