dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
1114

sk1939
Premium Member
join:2010-10-23
Frederick, MD

sk1939

Premium Member

[Landscaping] Rabbits

I had one rabbit earlier in the season. Then I saw two rabbits, which mean I'll see four rabbits soon. What's the easiest way to discourage them from digging up my yard?

Bubba
GIT-R-DONE
MVM
join:2002-08-19
St. Andrews

1 recommendation

Bubba

MVM

12 ga

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
·Charter

1 recommendation

nunya

MVM

I'd suggest not using a 12 ga shotgun. A lot of 12 ga game shot will just make a mess you have to clean up if you are too close. If you have a 20 ga shotgun, you'd be good if you use a game load with #6 steel.
I'd use a .22 pistol. The rabbits in my yard will let me get within 3-4 feet (think fish in a barrel). If you are in the city, a pellet air rifle.
Hellrazor
Bah Humbug
join:2002-02-02
Abyss, PA

Hellrazor to sk1939

Member

to sk1939
My dog likes catching rabbits. So I don't have that munch of a problem with them. She catches the moles, etc too.

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

dandelion to sk1939

MVM

to sk1939
Safer alternative is a BB gun then if they are only stunned.. a garbage can of water to finish drowning. My dad used this method on the excessive squirrel population in the city and had all his neighbors borrowing the gun.

sk1939
Premium Member
join:2010-10-23
Frederick, MD

sk1939 to nunya

Premium Member

to nunya
Pellet is probably best.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt to sk1939

Member

to sk1939
said by sk1939:

What's the easiest way to discourage them from digging up my yard?

I always call Elmer Fudd.

Shrike
@108.97.69.x

2 recommendations

Shrike to sk1939

Anon

to sk1939
Wow, drown them? The way I deal with them is to enjoy watching them in my yard. I see very little evidence of them, such as messed up grass or flowers. I have 3 or 4 in my yard every summer and their numbers never seem to increase.

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO

1 recommendation

nunya

MVM

They do eat a lot of clover. My youngest has given them all names. In essence, I guess they've received a reprieve from the princess this year.
Next Spring if my yard starts looking like "Watership Down", it may be time to "thin the herd" again.
rody_44
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA

rody_44 to sk1939

Premium Member

to sk1939
They play hell with a garden but most people dont mind them in the yard. Keep in mind most states have a hunting season for them. The fine can be steep for shooting out of season.
kherr
Premium Member
join:2000-09-04
Collinsville, IL

1 recommendation

kherr to sk1939

Premium Member

to sk1939
on the good side though, they are quite tasty ......

grobinette
Southeast of disorder
MVM,
join:2001-01-27
22152-1106
·Verizon FiOS

1 recommendation

grobinette to sk1939

MVM,

to sk1939
He can't shoot them because discharging any type of firearm, including BB and pellet guns is illegal here in FFX county unless he lives on a 20 acre parcel and has appropriate signs posted that firearms are in use.

Personally, I'd let them enjoy munching on the lawn until some of the neighborhood foxes or coyotes come along and take them out.

sk1939
Premium Member
join:2010-10-23
Frederick, MD
ARRIS SB8200
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Juniper SRX320

sk1939

Premium Member

said by grobinette:

He can't shoot them because discharging any type of firearm, including BB and pellet guns is illegal here in FFX county unless he lives on a 20 acre parcel and has appropriate signs posted that firearms are in use.

Personally, I'd let them enjoy munching on the lawn until some of the neighborhood foxes or coyotes come along and take them out.

Sadly, I was just reading about that. No real good alternatives other than to leave them alone.

Jack in VA
Premium Member
join:2014-07-07
North, VA

Jack in VA to sk1939

Premium Member

to sk1939
Click for full size
Rabbits have a hard enough time as it is. They don't need us to make it worse for them.

jrs8084
Premium Member
join:2002-03-02
Statesville, NC

jrs8084 to sk1939

Premium Member

to sk1939
My rabbits must have come down from WVa-they all sit around the garden munching clover. They don't mess with anything in the garden. I guess they don't know better.

Now, the deer must be local as they treat my garden like the fat folks at the golden corral.

I gave up on my sweet taters-they keep getting chomped down.
wth
Premium Member
join:2002-02-20
Iowa City,IA

wth to sk1939

Premium Member

to sk1939
Pellet rifle. Actually had a neighbor 2 houses up that took out 107 in 16 months. Most shots done early in am from open windows within home. Over 90% were kill shots. He picked them all up and they ended up in dumpsters.

ArgMeMatey
join:2001-08-09
Milwaukee, WI

ArgMeMatey to rody_44

Member

to rody_44
said by rody_44:

They play hell with a garden but most people dont mind them in the yard.

We have only flower gardens. In the summer the rabbits just seem to eat clover and dandelions; no damage to the flowers. However in the winter the rabbits do a lot of damage. They will eat the perennial vines as well as the roses - almost any vegetation that sticks up above the snowbanks. (And they take full advantage of the snowbanks as ladders to reach things they couldn't reach earlier in the season.)

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO

nunya to wth

MVM

to wth
I do my squirrel control from inside also. Only one neighbor can see, and he "takes care" of his squirrel issues in the same fashion.
lutful
... of ideas
Premium Member
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON

lutful to sk1939

Premium Member

to sk1939
said by sk1939:

I had one rabbit earlier in the season. Then I saw two rabbits, which mean I'll see four rabbits soon.

We have had rabbits living under the deck since we bought our home in 1996. I never saw more than 2 young rabbits in the backyard. The adults squeeze through the gate (making a clang each time) a few times during the night, but I don't see them during the day.
said by sk1939:

What's the easiest way to discourage them from digging up my yard?

They did not dig up our yard in all these years. I don't know what they did under the deck.

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
·Charter

nunya

MVM

said by lutful:

I don't know what they did under the deck.

Made more rabbits.
lutful
... of ideas
Premium Member
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON

lutful to sk1939

Premium Member

to sk1939
Click for full size
Here is my son confronting one brave young rabbit in May of 2008. I did not de-thatch before grass started sprouting.

My point is that we have never seen the proverbial multiplying rabbit brood since 1996. The maximum number of distinct individuals we counted was 4 in any year. It is possible the young move out to other homes each year.

The occasional yard damage was actually done by some voles during winters with lots of snow. Voles lived under the snow, but the rabbits always hopped on the snow leaving trail of footprints leading back to the deck.

Jack in VA
Premium Member
join:2014-07-07
North, VA

Jack in VA

Premium Member

It's good you son has wildlife to interact with. So many children do not as the wildlife is killed off.

davidg
Good Bye My Friend
MVM
join:2002-06-15
00000

davidg to sk1939

MVM

to sk1939
get rid of brush and tall grass cover and they will move on.

I don't kill any around my house only because they are just starting to make a comeback. Coyotes nearly wiped out the rabbits in my area years ago, prior to that we would limit out when hunting. since then you are lucky to get 2-3 on a hunting trip. Good news is I now have at least 50 near my house, bad thing about that is the coyotes are starting to ease near again as well.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

CylonRed to ArgMeMatey

MVM

to ArgMeMatey
I wish ours would eat dandelions, we have plenty. They did take out a cucumber plant or 2 (at least tried). Put covers over them and they grew. They have never touched any of our vegetation in winter, even the lone rose plant we have...

Jack in VA
Premium Member
join:2014-07-07
North, VA

Jack in VA to davidg

Premium Member

to davidg
said by davidg:

get rid of brush and tall grass cover and they will move on.

I don't kill any around my house only because they are just starting to make a comeback. Coyotes nearly wiped out the rabbits in my area years ago, prior to that we would limit out when hunting. since then you are lucky to get 2-3 on a hunting trip. Good news is I now have at least 50 near my house, bad thing about that is the coyotes are starting to ease near again as well.

I try to kill the Coyotes and Fox and leave the Rabbits alone

Boooost
@151.190.40.x

1 recommendation

Boooost to sk1939

Anon

to sk1939
Why not just leave them alone? We have rabbits around. They don't cause any problems, and we're not up to our elbows in them. They're also food for hawks and owls. Why do you want to deprive these other animals of their food source? Kill the rabbits, owls die out, then you're overrun with mice!

davidg
Good Bye My Friend
MVM
join:2002-06-15
00000

davidg to Jack in VA

MVM

to Jack in VA
I get them when I can, problem is usually they are in a direct line with one of my neighbors' homes or too far out in the fields for a good shot.
intok (banned)
join:2012-03-15

intok (banned) to Jack in VA

Member

to Jack in VA
said by Jack in VA:

said by davidg:

get rid of brush and tall grass cover and they will move on.

I don't kill any around my house only because they are just starting to make a comeback. Coyotes nearly wiped out the rabbits in my area years ago, prior to that we would limit out when hunting. since then you are lucky to get 2-3 on a hunting trip. Good news is I now have at least 50 near my house, bad thing about that is the coyotes are starting to ease near again as well.

I try to kill the Coyotes and Fox and leave the Rabbits alone

Lack of predators = over population of prey species = rampant diseases, parasites and starvation.

diablo18926
R.I.P. Donald Lee Wise
join:2011-04-21
Friendly, WV

diablo18926 to sk1939

Member

to sk1939
I live next door to two police officers so shooting off rounds of a gun would lead to trouble.

BB gun is barely legal for my area especially with the fuzz next door and trapping is also illegal here that is if the trap is not tagged.

quitaccount
DSLR sucks cocks
Premium Member
join:2000-11-13

quitaccount to Bubba

Premium Member

to Bubba
said by Bubba:

12 ga

that would be my second choice. my beeman R1 does the trick quite nicely.