Rabbits destructive this year

Planted eight cauliflower plants a week ago for a fall crop. The rabbits have sampled the leaves on every plant and have one down to nothing but a bare stem. Sad part is: I just can't fence off every bed in my yard. I plan to sow turnip seeds in this same bed in a couple of weeks. I'm just wondering if the pesky rabbits will destroy them also? Does anyone have a list of veggies that rabbits won't bother? I had plans to use this same bed next season for zucchini and straight neck squash.

Rich from PA

Reply to
EVP MAN
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General rule: If it's leafy and green, you must find a way to protect it from rabbits (I grow my chard in a little fenced yard of chicken wire

- no problems). Outside of leafy and green, I have had no problem from the rabbits, but watch for posts from others on this topic - you may find out a lot. IME, rabbits are the biggest probem with flowers, not vegetables.

Tony M.

Reply to
Tony

Rabbits go good with potatoes, onions and carrots. And a little wine.

Reply to
Wallace

Many years ago an elderly lady told me to fill mason jars half full of water, put on lids and lay on their sides in garden. Seemed to have detered rabbits back then. No rabbits around here now though, Coyotes took care of them up here in northern Michigan

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Reply to
diane

Is it really not be possible to circle your plants or small beds with a ring of chicken wire? 18" tall would suffice.

Turnips, cauliflower: no difference to rabbits. A brassica is a brassica.

As for squash, expect to see large plants with no fruit, as the rabbits will eat the flowers / flower buds.

Last year when the little bunny breached my fence, the kohlrabi and the squash blossoms were the main victims. Rabbits like a nice chunk of apple even better, though, so I was able to trap it. (Trying to chase it out the gate with the assistence of my daughter was an act of farce.) I reinforced the fence where it had managed to squeeze through so no repeats this year.

Reply to
Pat Kiewicz

Yes what happens is that the sun's rays are focussed by the curvature of the jar and reflected off the water, and it zaps the rabbits, sends them away screaming. Works every time. You can use smaller jars, such as glass mustard pots, to get rid of mice. It also does hares in the same way. If you leave in some mustard you get jugged hare. Be sure to wear protective equipment when mowing though in case you forget how many jars you put out.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

In news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3171.bay.webtv.net, EVP MAN spewed forth:

Get a cat, rabbit problem solved

Reply to
ChairMan

I see three different cats prowling around the neighborhood at night and still have plenty of destructive rabbits.

Reply to
EVP MAN

In news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3172.bay.webtv.net, EVP MAN spewed forth:

they must not be hungry or don't like their owners. i have one and he just brought one home last night and brings "something" very very regularly and leaves it on the back patio. Beams with pride for a little while, then eats it. The grankids(boys) thinks it cool

Reply to
ChairMan

Sadly you cannot train a cat that some prey is acceptable and others are not, so they end up killing birds, reptiles and mammals that may warrant preserving. While I quite like cats I will not have them where they can prey on wildlife indiscriminately. OTOH a good dog can be taught to deal with the bunnies and other pests and leave the others alone. And they tend to eat in field which keeps the gore off the patio.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

It's the rare domestic cat that will go after rabbits, and they first need to catch one and that is a near impossibility that a cat can out run a rabbit. The domestic cat preys on mice, moles, frogs, and small birds... they are not about to take on anything larger like crows, geese and such.

Reply to
brooklyn1

Cats do tend to take only smaller animals and birds. In some places domestic and feral cats have contributed to driving such natives towards being endangered or extinct. I haven't owned a cat that hunted rabbits but I have been told of cases where they hunt kits by surprise attack near the burrow rather than running down adults which does seem unlikely.

D
Reply to
David Hare-Scott

I had a regular old domestic shorthair that stalked cottontails in such a manner. She would bring home carcasses several times a week, many of them adults.

Reply to
Amos Nomore

a prism. Slight movement and the light flashes sightly . The effect would sort of mimic the glint of a predatory hawks eye glint. Soft of a home made deterrent that is based on fear.

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From above URL "spinning aluminum pie pans and glass jars of water have been used to frighten rabbits"

Reply to
Bill who putters

I guess they're all different; mine only ever brought me baby bunnies, and he always kept them alive. He also didn't seem to mind my taking his toy away too much.

Vegetables can be effective weapons against rabbits. Had a family friend whose garden was always getting eaten up by them, one day out in the garden he picked up a turnip and knocked one stone dead. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Reply to
Nelly

Where do peeps come up with such claptrap... no way is a human or a cat gonna sneak up on a rabbit... they're one of the few critters that rarely even becomes roadkill. A rabbit can cover ten times the distance and at twice the rate of speed as a cat.

I see rabbits dashing about here nearly every day, those suckers can hear you coming from a long way off and be gone like a flash... just this morning:

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Reply to
brooklyn1

throw of one on any day. We're overrun with them here, you see. They live under a shed 25' away from the back door, under the HVAC unit, they even made a nest in the planter by the front door last year, I went ahead & planted my Coleus in it and have walked right past the nursing mother a couple times. They come up on our patio often and a few times have even stood upright and looked right through the screen door at us. Whenever I mow I'm afraid of running them over because they don't run until I'm almost right on top of them.

How they behave might depend on whether they think you can see them or not. But I agree, without some special circumstances I don't think a cat could catch a rabbit running. They are not immune from projectiles though, especially in the hands of someone experienced with moving targets :-)

Reply to
Nelly

In news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, brooklyn1 spewed forth:

brought 3 adults and countless kids home just this summer.

4 just in one day
Reply to
ChairMan

Your experience is not universal. To accuse somebody of being a liar because they describe something outside your view is rather arrogant. The world is not necessarily like your back yard, although you are far from alone in acting as if it was.

Not all rabbits run under all circumstances and then not always in a useful way. Sometimes they freeze trying to avoid detection. I have walked up to one and got about 4 paces away before it gave up on trying to pretend it was a clump of grass and bolted. Since the dog was right next to me this proved to be a lose-lose situation. I have ridden towards one in the ride-on mower and it only ran when I got about 6m (20ft) away. I have run over rabbits in the car as often as wallabies which are the other common road kill here.

might behave differently. And you pulling faces at them out the window probably contributes to their nervousness.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

...

this spring, we caught four by putting a bucket over them. we didn't even sneak up on them.

they are not the brightest of creatures. they often freeze in place making them quite easy targets. i plinked three of them in a row (to chase them off) and each of them sat there unconcerned as i pumped the air rifle and bonked them as i stood right out in the open about

20ft away. *pump x 3* *pft!* *bonk* *runaway*. laughed good at that one.

if i were seriously intent on doing them in i could have been eating rabbit all season and most of the shots would have been within 10-20yards.

songbird

Reply to
songbird

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