More about the rabbits

Thanks for all the suggestions.  From reading you thoughts on how to catch
rabbits, I thought that a bit of an explanation was in order.

I live on an acreage just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba. We often see wildlife
in and near our yard including deer, foxes, song birds, hawks, and skunks.
(More on the skunks later.)

The rabbits moved in late last summer.  At the time, I wasn't concerned
even though they were using my garden as a salad bar.  We were expecting a
La Nina winter, so I just protected everything as best as I could and hoped
that Mother Nature would do the rest.  I used CIL Animal Repellent on my
roses, clematis, lilacs, and cotoneaster. (I've tried several different
brands of animal repelent in the past to deter deer, voles, mice, and
rabbits and had the best results with the CIL product.) Unfortunately this
product isn't suitable for fruit so I couldn't protect my grapes. Once
again, I wasn't worried because, in an average year, the grapes are covered
by a four foot snow bank.

Unfortunately La Nina didn't show up in southern Manitoba. We had a warm
winter with very little snow. The rabbits didn't touch the lilacs or
cotoneaster but I don't think that they like to eat either of those. On the
other hand, my roses have been eaten down to the mounds of soil I placed
around them in the fall and my clematis are down to the ground.  The grapes
are about 5 or 6 inches high. (I think the old growth is two tough for them.)

When it became apparent in late February that the rabbits weren't going to
freeze, starve, or be eaten by foxes, we reluctantly decided to take
matters into our own hands. We set a live trap on one of their paths but so
far all we've caught are skunks.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but
it's not what I had in mind.

I agree that it is better to use deterents to condition animals to stay
away.  In this case, it's not working. These rabbits aren't overly afraid
of humans and I don't believe they'll move on until the available food is
gone. (I didn't mention that in the fall and winter they were on the deck
eating the leftovers out of my container garden. Yes, I saw them--more than
once.) Also, in my area rabbits are considered to be a serious pest, in the
same category as skunks, rats, and ground hogs (may have a different name
depending on your area).  The current boom in the rabbit population is
because we've had two consecutive mild winters.   One or two tough winters
will take care of the problem.  Until then...

I don't mean to offend anyone by saying that I intend to catch and destroy
these two (or maybe three--who knows) but if I don't do it now, the farmers
who farm the properites on either side of me will do it.  What's worse is
that they'll probably use poison--something that I will NEVER do.  

Once again, thanks for the help. 

Leslie

p.s. I guess I'll have to rent "Fatal Attraction" this weekend.

 



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