Friday, July 31, 2009

Rabbit proof fence

We have a rabbit in our garden. I've spotted him several times now. Sometimes when I'm out working in the garden I'll spy him hopping from row to row. I'll be weeding the carrots and he'll be hiding in the beans. I'll inspect the pumpkins and he'll be cowering in the cucumbers.

We have a fence around the garden but the rabbit is able to slip in and out because he's just a baby. He's so cute and fluffy, I just don't have the heart to really try to scare him away.

Plus, he doesn't really seem to be eating anything. The only thing in the garden I've found that looks nibbled on are some weeds. So maybe this is some kind of breed of rabbit that I never knew exsisted. Like a helper rabbit.

What I worry about is that someday this rabbit will grow up and have babies and that the babies won't be so good about not eating my veggies. So I think I have to do away with the rabbit.

I don't know how to kill a rabbit though. Especially not a helper rabbit. Maybe I can just trap it and take it somewhere else. I don't even know how to do that. What do you bait a trap with when you're trying to attract a rabbit that doesn't seem to eat?

Or is the smart thing to do just wait until the rabbit has eaten so much that he can't fit out of the fence and then have myself some rabbit stew?

One
year ago Jesse had some karma coming his way.
Four years ago I was very excited about fish.

3 comments:

Emily said...

Don't kill the rabbit! It is his way of life, don't disrupt it. This is me pleading to you.
I was always sad when people would get mad at rabbits for being in their gardens.
I realize I am alone in this rabbit sympathy, but I must state my side, regardless.

Esther said...

Ok, I'm being entirely serious here. Go to the local hairdresser. Collect the hair from the floor. Take said hair and sprinkle it around the perimeter of your garden. Rabbit will (hopefully) smell humans on the hair, and not enter. Now when it rains, you have to repeat the process. Do you have a cat? A dog? Their hair works too!

cathy said...

There is no point in trapping or killing the bunny, since another one (or more) would just move in. Hair might work for a little while but bunny would probably learn to ignore it. I have an actual dog, not just hair, and the bunnies don't run until he is within two feet of them. There are garden plants that rabbits won't eat, like cucumbers and tomatoes (the foliage anyway), and weeds that they love (dandelions). I'm surprised they haven't eaten your beans - I had to put chicken wire around mine.