Rabbits...
 

I'm looking for suggestions as to how to get rid of the rapidly growing
rabbit population in my yard or find a way to discourage them from
eating the hostas to the ground. Last year, I baited two rabbit boxes
for about four months and only managed to get possums (caged possums
are not a good thing.) My dog can only chase one at a time so it seems
they put their fastest runner on the driveway, the dog chases that one
and the others just proceed over to the hosta buffet for lunch, dinner
and midnight snacks. Any ideas?

On 2005-06-16, fernvalley wrote:
I'm looking for suggestions as to how to get rid of the rapidly growing
rabbit population in my yard or find a way to discourage them from
eating the hostas to the ground. Last year, I baited two rabbit boxes
for about four months and only managed to get possums (caged possums
are not a good thing.) My dog can only chase one at a time so it seems
they put their fastest runner on the driveway, the dog chases that one
and the others just proceed over to the hosta buffet for lunch, dinner
and midnight snacks. Any ideas?


I think the commercial repellants work but you have to continually
replentish. You could try planting additional hosta in the woods and
hope they munch on those. Mechanically separating the rabbits and the
hosta with a fence works also. But chicken wire is not pleasing in the
front yard.

I have never heard of people successfully trapping rabbits in the
summer. Anyway that would be like trying to bail out the Atlantic
ocean. Shooting is an option but you will need a CO2 rifle or a 22
caliber. A pump up pellet gun is no good unless you get an eye or ear
hit. Their fur is just too tough. Of course if you have close
neighbors then shooting is out as well.

--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

is a garbage address.

The rabbit population has just been noticeable and aggravating for the
past two years (and I've lived here for 13 years). We have lots of
woods but I think whatever might have been the natural predators for
the rabbits has vanished. The hostas are pretty much "in the woods" but
right at the edge of the driveway. Anyway, these rabbits only seem to
like the "special hostas," they don't much on the plain old green ones!

The neighbors are all for joining in on the target practice sessions!
We're not close enough for it to bother anyone and they are having
similar problems. Of course, if you have two rabbits, it's not long
until you have a whole lotta rabbits!

On 16 Jun 2005 12:46:12 -0700 in .com fernvalley wrote:

I wonder if a snare trap wouldn't be more effective than the box
traps.


--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

I don't know whether we're just lucky but we have several rabits that
regularly graze around our house, yet they leave our hostas untouched.

They zero in instead on our liriope and chew it down to the ground. Our
house came with several liriope plants and I've never seen one grow
normally.

This seems odd to me because the Liriope is a tough looking grass, and
the Hosta is a succulent.

-dreq

On 2005-06-16, ? wrote:
On 16 Jun 2005 12:46:12 -0700 in .com fernvalley wrote:

I wonder if a snare trap wouldn't be more effective than the box
traps.



A snare would work for animals that tend to follow a path, but I think
Rabbits follow a more random path. A dead fall might work but it would
be as rough on the hosta as on the rabbit. Unless you had a great big
stone with a hole in the center.....???????

--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

is a garbage address.

On 2005-06-17, Derek Mark Edding wrote:

I don't know whether we're just lucky but we have several rabits that
regularly graze around our house, yet they leave our hostas untouched.

They zero in instead on our liriope and chew it down to the ground. Our
house came with several liriope plants and I've never seen one grow
normally.

This seems odd to me because the Liriope is a tough looking grass, and
the Hosta is a succulent.

-dreq

I have seen them be selective with what appears to be identical Lirope.
The will over a time period devour the 2nd clump, then the 5th one
no set order at all.


--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

is a garbage address.

On 2005-06-16, fernvalley wrote:
The rabbit population has just been noticeable and aggravating for the
past two years (and I've lived here for 13 years). We have lots of
woods but I think whatever might have been the natural predators for
the rabbits has vanished. The hostas are pretty much "in the woods" but
right at the edge of the driveway. Anyway, these rabbits only seem to
like the "special hostas," they don't much on the plain old green ones!

The neighbors are all for joining in on the target practice sessions!
We're not close enough for it to bother anyone and they are having
similar problems. Of course, if you have two rabbits, it's not long
until you have a whole lotta rabbits!


And you could then have lots of rabbit salad. Just pick a chicken salad
recipe and substitute cooked rabbit! Shooting them certainly will
interrupt the breeding cycle.

--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

is a garbage address.

I recall from Heinlein's _Farnham's_Freehold_ that there is a disease
condition rabbits can have that is communicable to humans....
Wish I could remember its name....

Tuleremia?

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=HQ01391

Sounds pretty bad:

http://hopkins-id.edu/bioterror/bioterr_10.html

Oh, if they would eat liriope...we have about a 1/2 acre of it,
compliments of the previous owners who must have thought it wonderful.
Of course, if the rabbits ate it, I wouldn't notice since there's so
much of it...I do notice my few hostas losing leaves!

Let me know if you need more liriope...all you have to do is come and
dig! Of course, you more than welcome to take some rabbits with you

Rabbits do not seem to bother my hostas but the slugs sure enjoy them. If
you still have a rabbit population come end of Sept, I would be happy to
decrease the population.

--
Baine


"fernvalley" wrote in message
oups.com...
Oh, if they would eat liriope...we have about a 1/2 acre of it,
compliments of the previous owners who must have thought it wonderful.
Of course, if the rabbits ate it, I wouldn't notice since there's so
much of it...I do notice my few hostas losing leaves!

Let me know if you need more liriope...all you have to do is come and
dig! Of course, you more than welcome to take some rabbits with you