Damn Pesky Rabbits

[patbhoy]

Hi All, Does anyone out there know a way of deterring rabbits from eating my plants with the exception of shooting them.
I am fed up spending money on plants only to get up the next morning and they have all been eaten.

Cheers
Pat

[divegirl]

Move into a high rise flat?

[Clanad]

Here in the U.S., we've had reasonably good results from a product called Liquid Fence. It's designe d to deter deer, rabbits and some other rodents, including squirrels. It comes in a spray bottle of about a quart and is made, apparently, from common Capsacin found in peppers. It's sprayed on any plants, including vegetables (with the caveat of not spraying within three days prior to harvest). One has to keep at it. The rabbits learn to avoid the areas sprayed. It will last through a couple of rains, but should be refreshed weekly for best results. There is probably a similar product in Britain... (I still prefer shooting, but Mrs. C is tender hearted).

[divegirl]

How strange! Clanad, I have always found your answers to be extremely informative and concise....but deep down you really are just another American!!! Just shoot it!!! For eating it's natural food? Mmmmmm......

[Clanad]

divegirl, I live in the western U.S. and have hunted/fished most of my life... learned it from Dad and Grandfather. We raise beef cattle with myriads of predators... so usually I shoot anything edible, including pronghorn antelope, mule deer, elk, moose, bear, and of course squirrels, rabbits and the occasional wood chuck. Shoot game birds in season and fish for trout in all the streams. Having said that, I have no compunction about dispatching coyotes, nor would you, I suppose, after seeing one or a group eat the rear end out of a calf while it's still alive. I don't think I've ever wasted anything I've killed, other than the rare rabid skunk. So, if that makes me "just another American"... so be it.
I'm one of the best shots around and never, since age 12, has any animal suffered at my hands. On the other hand (no pun intended) I've seen literally hundreds of game animals die in harsh winters after starving for several weeks or months. I guess I'd rather see the animal dispatched with a 30-30 Winchester, cleaned expertly and eaten (hide makes beautifully soft gloves, by the way) than see them in March huddled together in the trees down by the river giving birth to fawns that will starve to death since their mothers have no milk...I suppose that would be much more humane, no?

[divegirl]

Fair enough, but what has that ^^^^^^^^ got to do with killing a rabbit for eating plants? That in itself was all I found extreme!

[Clanad]

Perhaps I didn't clearly state that, if I killed the rabbit, I certainly expected to make a great fricass�e,... first you skin the rabbit... Oh!, I think we've discussed this aspect before. Fear not, the rabbit(s) would have been put to good use...

[wolf63]

Clanad....how do you cook the bear?

Patbhoy - sorry, I can't help. My friend has the same problem in the graveyard at her church. She buys flowers for her husband's grave and the rabbits eat them. She is pretty philosophical about it.

Get yourself a cat - maybe Clanad can do you a good deal on a Coyote.

[lankeela]

Get yourself a Lancashire Heeler. Not only will they scare them away if they see them on the garden, but they will sit and wait where they are coming through and get them on the way in!