Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ? Is there a
certain plant or flower you can plant around the outside ?
Or any other good way ? If not what do you all use on the leaves to keep
them away ?
Thanks,
Iowa883

I've had domesticated rabbits as pets. They love gardens. Anything you try
and keep them out of they will find a way to get into.
To keep them away from roses I had to put chicken wire around it. If I ever
tried to use cheap plastic instead of chicken wire he chewed right through
it.


"Iowa883" wrote in message
...
Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ? Is there
a
certain plant or flower you can plant around the outside ?
Or any other good way ? If not what do you all use on the leaves to keep
them away ?
Thanks,
Iowa883

Iowa883 said:

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden?
Dog. Preferably a large one. Preferably also a non-digging sort of dog.

--
Bob
Kanyak's Doghouse
http://kanyak.com

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ? Is there
a
certain plant or flower you can plant around the outside ?
Or any other good way ? If not what do you all use on the leaves to keep
them away ?

Not really -- they're tiny little buggers.

Some things you can try....

1) Chicken wire around the garden area. Be sure to anchor it to the ground
all the way around though, they will go under it otherwise. Note that chain
link will not work -- they're really good at going through it.

2) Plant a second garden where they can eat -- they may still nibble on
yours, but if they're full they're less likely to do so.

3) Plant clover in your lawn -- they like it bunches.

You can also try some of those water-on-movement devices such as those that
help control deer but you may have to get creative. Also, a dog will do
wonders for keeping the critters at bay, but that may introduce other
problems.

James

On Sun, 4 May 2003 22:18:39 -0500, "Iowa883"
wrote:

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ? Is there a
certain plant or flower you can plant around the outside ?
Or any other good way ? If not what do you all use on the leaves to keep
them away ?
Thanks,
Iowa883


Most dogs will kill a rabbit, if given the chance. Rodents don't like
mint.

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ?

The only sure way is with a fence.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

In article ,
(Iris Cohen) wrote:

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ?

The only sure way is with a fence.
Iris,

Dogs are pretty good for 'em too.

I'd like to hear some folks' reports of SPECIFIC harm rabbits have done to
rec.gardens gardeners' gardens. I know they can do a great deal of damage,
but it would be interesting to hear some typical examples, as I'm
wondering how often they might actually be tolerable (if not numerous) as
cute visitors with whom humans should be more willing to share at least
SOME of the garden. I'd be happy to share with wee bunnies up to a point,
& be tickled to have them visiting; but I'd have my limits no doubt.

When I had a fawn Flemish giant as a kid, Sandy ran loose in the yard &
even went with us to public parks & loped about without a leash, he was
such a cool rabbit who knew to hop in & out of the car. He never even
slightly harmed gardens as he preferred to crop grass, but then, he was
fed rabbit pellets mostly so wasn't in a great harvesting mood while
running about. Still, he was maybe five times the size of a wild bunny,
yet by himself couldn't possibly cause much garden damage even had he ever
tried.

Sandy's last name inevitably was McGregor. When he eventually died, an
Evil Guardian had him skinned & tanned & used him to wrap expensive
silverware kept in a drawer. That really creeped me out. But when no one
was around to see me, I'd open the drawer & pet the silverware wrapping &
hope Sandy could feel me petting him.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

On Sun, 4 May 2003 22:18:39 -0500, "Iowa883"
wrote:

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ? Is there a
certain plant or flower you can plant around the outside ?
Or any other good way ? If not what do you all use on the leaves to keep
them away ?

How "natural" is a wire fence? That's about the only sure rabbit
preventive.

On Mon, 05 May 2003 10:14:03 -0700,
(paghat) wrote:

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ?


I'd like to hear some folks' reports of SPECIFIC harm rabbits have done to
rec.gardens gardeners' gardens. I know they can do a great deal of damage,
but it would be interesting to hear some typical examples, as I'm
wondering how often they might actually be tolerable (if not numerous) as
cute visitors with whom humans should be more willing to share at least
SOME of the garden. I'd be happy to share with wee bunnies up to a point,
& be tickled to have them visiting; but I'd have my limits no doubt.

Beans. Rabbits waited 'til the beans were up and had 1 or 2 pair of
healthy real leaves, then ate every single sprout. If the beans
persisted and sent out new leaves, the rabbits persisted more.This
happened to me and about 10 others in a community garden. Of course,
they nibbled on other things, too. I sat in the garden weeding and
watched a "wee bunny" chewing up a tomato plant 15' away (not mine).

The trouble with "cute" wildlife is that you can rarely usher it to a
"shared" portion of your garden. They just don't understand, "you can
have 5 bean plants and the rest are for me." Few would mind if
squirrels ate a dozen pecans from a prolific tree, but they don't.
They bite into and ruin hundreds, and leave them to spoil.

Wild European rabbits are Australia's worst animal pest, causing
hundreds of million$ of damage, both to crops and the natural
environment, as well as spreading disease.

The message
from "Opinicus" contains these words:

Iowa883 said:

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden?
Dog. Preferably a large one. Preferably also a non-digging sort of dog.

Rabbits feed and scrape at dawn and dusk, when most active dogs are
fast asleep.

Fence the garden, including gates,with a small-mesh wire fence (not a
hard DIY job) and keep the gates shut. It's an investment that will save
you years of lost plants and frustration.

Janet.

How "natural" is a wire fence? That's about the only sure rabbit
preventive.

But,,, make sure the openings in the mesh part are very small. I thought I had
my rabbit problem solved until I noticed a large amount of dill stalks laying
on the ground, and many of my green beans chewed on. It was 2 baby rabbits,
just small enough to fit through the holes. It didn't take very long, though,
for them to grow too large to fit through the fence, on a feast of dill and
green beans.
Sue in Mi. (zone 5)

In article ,
(Frogleg) wrote:

On Mon, 05 May 2003 10:14:03 -0700,
(paghat) wrote:

Anyone know of a natural way to keep rabbits out of the garden ?


I'd like to hear some folks' reports of SPECIFIC harm rabbits have done to
rec.gardens gardeners' gardens. I know they can do a great deal of damage,
but it would be interesting to hear some typical examples, as I'm
wondering how often they might actually be tolerable (if not numerous) as
cute visitors with whom humans should be more willing to share at least
SOME of the garden. I'd be happy to share with wee bunnies up to a point,
& be tickled to have them visiting; but I'd have my limits no doubt.

Beans. Rabbits waited 'til the beans were up and had 1 or 2 pair of
healthy real leaves, then ate every single sprout. If the beans
persisted and sent out new leaves, the rabbits persisted more.This
happened to me and about 10 others in a community garden. Of course,
they nibbled on other things, too. I sat in the garden weeding and
watched a "wee bunny" chewing up a tomato plant 15' away (not mine).

The trouble with "cute" wildlife is that you can rarely usher it to a
"shared" portion of your garden. They just don't understand, "you can
have 5 bean plants and the rest are for me." Few would mind if
squirrels ate a dozen pecans from a prolific tree, but they don't.
They bite into and ruin hundreds, and leave them to spoil.

Good points all. I am enamored of wild life &would probably adjust my
gardening around whatever limitations they impose, meaning no beans for
me.

Wild European rabbits are Australia's worst animal pest, causing
hundreds of million$ of damage, both to crops and the natural
environment, as well as spreading disease.

Australia is a little different as it's an example of what happens when
alien species are introduced into a new landscape where they never
belonged. Whether that's marine toads in Hawaii or rabbits in Australia.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

"SAS567" wrote in message
...

But,,, make sure the openings in the mesh part are very small. I thought I
had
my rabbit problem solved until I noticed a large amount of dill stalks
laying
on the ground, and many of my green beans chewed on. It was 2 baby
rabbits,
just small enough to fit through the holes. It didn't take very long,
though,
for them to grow too large to fit through the fence, on a feast of dill
and
green beans.
Sue in Mi. (zone 5)

I have a fence around my garden to keep out the deer, but a small rabbit
decided that garden salad made an excellent menu. The beans, corn, and
lettuce all disappeared in short order (pun intended) G as well as the
hollyhocks in the flower bed.. On numerous occasions I tried to catch him,
but he always slipped through the fence. Finally the good diet was his
undoing. He couldn't make it through the fence, and I caught him in a
corner. I hope he liked the grass menu that he found in the cow pasture
where I released him, but I have a feeling that a hawk or fox had him on
their menu.

John

Wild European rabbits are Australia's worst animal pest, causing
hundreds of million$ of damage, both to crops and the natural
environment, as well as spreading disease.

Australia is a little different as it's an example of what happens
when
alien species are introduced into a new landscape where they never
belonged. Whether that's marine toads in Hawaii or rabbits in
Australia.

-paghat the ratgirl


I take that USA does not have myxomatosis or the calici virus? The
latter seems to be working quite well in Oz (so far) to the point that
in some districts the reduction of feral rabbits is having side effects
on native populations like raptors that have become dependent on them
over the years.

David

On 06 May 2003 00:13:43 GMT, (SAS567) wrote:

How "natural" is a wire fence? That's about the only sure rabbit
preventive.

But,,, make sure the openings in the mesh part are very small. I thought I had
my rabbit problem solved until I noticed a large amount of dill stalks laying
on the ground, and many of my green beans chewed on. It was 2 baby rabbits,
just small enough to fit through the holes. It didn't take very long, though,
for them to grow too large to fit through the fence, on a feast of dill and
green beans.

Literal LOL. :-) Yes, the mesh must be small AND metal. As a novice,
I tried plastic. It was as if they had tiny scissors handy in little
rabbit pockets. No barrier at all.