No Dig Vegetable Gardening Blog – No Dig Vegetable Gardening Methods For The Urban Gardener

How To Keep Rabbits Away From The Veggies: Anyone involved in growing vegetables or flowers in urban or country areas, is more than likely involved with the on-going problem of Rabbit predation. How to keep rabbits out of the garden or the raised bed vegetable plot there-fore is of the highest priority. Having suffered the devastating damage caused by rabbits in the vegetable patch, I am well aware and acquainted with the problem of keeping rabbits out of the garden. The damage these critters can cause to certain crops is horrendous, and so the effort to keep out the rabbits or destroy their habitat is well worth while. There are 3 main ways to keep rabbits out of the garden. You can scare them with noise. Stop them with fencing, or deter them with scents and smells. Rabbit fencing: This is probably the only sure way to keep the rabbits out of the garden, and perhaps the most laborious and costly. However once it is done then you can guarantee that your vegetable plot will be rabbit free; and one more pest does not have to be worried over – unless you leave the gate open :) Making a rabbit proof enclosure: The simple-if not the only-way to keep rabbits out of the garden , is to enclose the whole plot with a rabbit proof fence. This is constructed with posts and 1” (25mm) wire mesh. Do not make the mesh any larger than this – even though it is much cheaper – the large mesh will keep out the adults, but the young ones will get through and drive you crazy ! I know this from the bitter experience of chasing young rabbits up and down the vegetable plot after they had pushed through the 2” mesh. A bunny is not so cute when its devastating your veggie patch! A post and wire rabbit fence is easy to construct, and does not have to be very high if you are just concerned with keeping rabbits out. Anything over 30 inches high is quite sufficient. Keeping the fence posts about 6ft apart you can string a wire top and middle upon which to hang your wire mesh. The mesh itself, can be tied onto the straining wire with little twists of tie-wire. The reason you do not have to include a bottom straining wire, is that the mesh itself is dug into a trench in the ground; this will hold it in place without the need of a straining wire. How deep do you make the trench ? Informed wisdom decrees that in order for a rabbit fence to be truly effective, then it has to be designed in such a way that the wire netting is dropped at least 12 inches into the ground. However I have found that even just a few inches will stop all but the most determined rabbits from getting in. How to keep rabbits out of the garden - Sonic devices: Technology can be a great thing, although us oldies can be more than a bit suspicious of it at times! On the subject of keeping rabbits out of the garden, then the sonic deterrent is often brought up. This is basically a small device that lets out a constant pulse that our ears cannot pick up, but that drives rabbits crazy – in theory. I have tried the sonic rabbit deterrent quite a few times, and have to be honest and say that I have not had much success with it. However its cheap enough, and may just be worth a try. Rabbit deterrent – chilli pepper spray: A typical rabbit burrow found in garden When I’m asked how to keep rabbits out of the garden without fences or sonic devices, then my answer is usually “chilli pepper spray”. This can be quite effective against all sorts of rodents, including mice and rats. You can make your own with a mixture of chillies and water or cheap vegetable oil to control pests of all kinds. Failing this then it is just as cheap (and cleaner) to get a large bottle of Tabasco sauce from your local supplier, mix it with a little water and fill up a hand-help sprayer. Spray the mixture around the plants that they are feeding on, also around the areas they frequent. This I have found to be quite effective at keeping the rabbits and other pests at bay – they hate tabasco sauce ! The downside is that you will have to repeat this treatment quite frequently, especially in wet or damp conditions. Rabbit deterrant - Human Hair: Cuttings from human hair is also said to be quite effective, though I must admit I have not tried this rabbit deterrent out myself. Maybe you can try it and post your results on this blog? Predator scents: A popular way how to keep rabbits out of the garden, is also the use of predator scents. By this I mean that rabbits will always shy away from something that is going to have them for lunch – quite natural I suppose :) Having your dog, cat or ferret mark around the borders of your territory can sometimes be quite effective in this respect. Of course if you are fortunate enough to have a local predator in the form of a Stoat as in this article , then rabbits soon cease to be a problem ! Summary: You may have noticed, that I have not mentioned shooting or trapping the rabbits? This is of course an option, but one that I would take only as a last resort. Rabbits although a complete pest, can actually make for some delicious food dishes, and so perverseley, can become an asset instead of a pest. If someone asks me how to keep rabbits out of the garden or vegetable plot, I would advise trying some or all of the above and seeing what works best for you. My favourite way though, of how to keep rabbits out of the garden, has to be the fence - it just takes all the guesswork out of it. You might also be interested in - Home-made Plant Food

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