Rabbits in the garden

19 years ago

I've just come from setting a Rabbit trap in the back yard--the temperature has fallen here to 0 (C) in the last night or two, for the first time since last Winter. Cold nighttime temperatures seem to signal the Rabbits to begin gnawing fruit-tree bark, and they have done it the last few nights. Generally speaking (here), they only gnaw small-diameter limbs that they can get their mouths around--they began working on water-sprouts (suckers) around the Plum trees, removing quite a bit of bark each night. I pruned these off at the ground (near the main leader) and piled them a few nights ago, and now I notice each morning that they are gnawing the pruned limbs in the pile. I concluded years ago that there's either something they need in this bark; or, they're just drawn to fruit trees because the bark is sweeter. Figs, Apples, Pears, Plums, Peaches--they'll gnaw them all around here--so if your temperatures are falling toward 0 (C), I'd keep my eyes open for signs of gnawed wood. I use a small Hav-a-hart-type trap, so called (here) because it does no damage to the Rabbit, and if one wishes, the Rabbit may be released elsewhere. Some, who like the taste of Rabbit, see that it finds it's way to the oven. Of course, Rabbits are (mostly) nocturnal, so the trap should be put in place before they begin their nightly rounds. There's probably no better bait than a cut apple--cut to release more of the scent. My father always finished off the "set" by cutting a raw onion open, and rubbing the onion juice around the entrance to the trap. He told me when I was a child, that the onion scent mimics the scent of the Rabbits' urine, and they're drawn to it; it seems to be quite an attractant. Also, I use a small trap 15 cm to 20 cm square, open at BOTH ends (both ends have doors that raise). A Rabbit seems to have little fear of a trap it can see completely through--the baited trigger being in the center. I once lost 100 GRAFTED Apple and Pear trees, that I spent a week grafting, in a garden nursery that I thought was secure; but a Rabbit or two gained entry and ruined them all during my absence.

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Comments (10)

marylandmojo
Original Author
19 years ago
Ah-ha! Now I KNOW there's something rabbits (hares) require or (specifically) desire in the bark of fruit tree branches, as when daylight arrived, I went to check my trap set last night. I had placed my trap, baited with half of a very-sweet Fuji apple (and scented with onion juice) among the pruned fruit tree branches where the rabbit has been dining. This morning, branches have been stripped bare of their bark, all about the trap--and the trap (and apple) completely ignored. What to do?!
flora_uk
19 years ago
If you have valuable fruit trees why don't you put rabbit guards around them (supposing your trees are standards)? And if they are eating the suckers they are doing a job for you.
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shrubs_n_bulbs
19 years ago
Yeah, send some over here and they can eat my cherry suckers! My only rabbit problem was when a neighbour's pet escaped and did for my lilies. And no deer come into my garden, so I'm safe from perhaps the two most widely destructive garden pests. I just have to contend with the minor stuff like squirrels, birds, and invertebrates.
brian2cv
19 years ago
I would not wish rabbits on any garden. I have caught 2 over the last year. The first used to feed on the fresh tops of my hardy orchids, when they were in bud, and sit on my alpine sink grazing. Then I found the ground collapse behind the greenhouse, where it had dug a burrow from next door in an arc of ~15' ending at my greenhouse foundation. The thought that it might of got inside is a nightmare. It was only the compacted rubble under the single concrete block dwarf wall that stopped it. I released them, illegally I think, across the other side of the Thames, which is close to my home.
pnbrown
19 years ago
I don't know about rabbits, but squirrels find peanut-butter irresistable - rabbits might too.
hopflower
19 years ago
If you are having trouble wih rabbits, a safe for human and animals product has been developed and is backed by the developer: Deer and Rabbit Scram.

You can call and personally talk to the owner who will advise you for your particular problem and how to use the product. It sounds like it might be worth a try.

Here is a link that might be useful: Deer Scram
deeds1
19 years ago
My neighbour keeps both rabbits and deer under control with two jack russels and a shotgun.
hopflower
19 years ago
Well, the Jack Russell part is appealing.
deeds1
19 years ago
Not from my point of view hopflower,JRs are nasty, yappy little creatures, give me real dog anyday. Retrievers, setters or pointers if you want a working dog.
hopflower
19 years ago
Teehee. They are certainly spirited. There was one who lived down the street from me and he use to "set his legs" stiffer than anything if he did not wish to go with his owner for walkies! I like them. But they are not, as you say, a working dog in the same way as those other breeds you describe. I like Collies and Shelties, myself. Keeshonden are nice, too. All of them work, too.

But I also was comparing a J.R. to a shotgun. I think I would rather have the Jack Russell!

Rabbits in the garden

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marylandmojo
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flora_uk

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Rabbits in the garden

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marylandmojoOriginal Author

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marylandmojo
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