[AlaninCarlisle]

Can any of our members recommend a rabbit deterrent? I'm tormented with rabbits digging in one out-of-sight area of our front lawn and am wondering if there's a smell or something that I can put down to persuade them to beggar off.  It seems that as soon as I shoot one, another takes its place in the digging rota

[Dopey113]

I dont see any other way myself apart from culling them, your not aloud to catch them and let them go (as there pests) maybe one, a good fence

[Buddleja]

We have rabbits on our allotment and they're a real pain. I only got my plot last year and so I was really worried when I saw them. Fortunately they didn't touch much of my stuff but they got other people's crops. Someone suggested ferrets to me - no idea what you do with them or if they come back. The main thing people on my site are doing is putting up a very robust fence. Only problem with that is if one does manage to get it it'll feast on everything there. I got lots of interesting idea when I asked about this on the forum here earlier this year.

[Trillium]

Rabbits (and squirrels) are strict herbivores (non movie ones, that is) and detest the smell of blood, so I sprinkle blood meal or blood and bone meal around newly planted spring bulbs and other delicacies they fancy. I sprinkle some directly on the bulbs before filling in with soil, then sprinkle more over the general area so they don't get curious. I seem to have a large resident hare that hasn't done much damage since I started doing this. I've also used it around brassicas and such with good results too.

There is also another product that has a strong stink most 4 footed creatures detest, and one local product is called Skoot. I'm sure your shops carry a similar product under other names that you could try.

[AlaninCarlisle]

Thanks. I'll try blood and bone meal

[Kristen]

My plot is netted against rabbits.  Netting needs to be smaller "hole" size than regular chicken wire (I think tis sold as Rabbit wire, natch!). Bend the bottom 6" outwards and if you can be bothered strip the turf off and bury it (flat, not vertical) so that rabbits that come up to the fence and try to dig down are thwarted, mine was laid with the "skirt" bit just flat on the deck and the grass grew through and solved the problem.

Not cheap, but its a long term solution and pretty much solves the problem (even then I have seen Baby rabbits force their way through the tiny holes ... I just let the dogs in the compound when anything manages to get in.)

[AlaninCarlisle]

My veg gardens are well netted with netting buried as you describe. Problem is with a large ornamental lawn. Going to try blood and bone meal tomorrow to see if that puts em off

[jrko]

See if you can find out where they are coming from.  With the land owners permission get hold of yer local fella that goes rabbiting with ferrets.  They'll be gone after a couple of visits.

[AlaninCarlisle]

Apart from three next door neighbours we have fields on three sides of us and a bit of woodland on the fourth side so effectively we're surrounded by rabbit habitat

[Aled]

I would love to even see a rabbit around my corner of West Wales, i really like the idea of home grown veg, cooked with a rabbit shot by yours truly, i've got a lovely air rifle and nothing to hunt!
Good luck with keeping em off your plot.
Cheers
Aled

[Gardener and Rabbit]

Hi Alan, if you laid a grass protection mesh to reinforce your lawn, rabbits wouldn't be able to burrow through that. Some of these products specifically mention stopping damage by rabbits, as well as other animals. Then they'd just be working for you, keeping the lawn trimmed!

[Thrift]

I find they dislike jeyes fluid so I mix a fairly strong solution in a washing up liquid bottle and squirt it around the perimeter of the area I want to protect.

The only snag is that you have to remember to do it regularly.

[AlaninCarlisle]

Thanks Thrift, I like the thought of that solution. Jeyes is so useful for other purposes in the garden that I always have a stock of it and Armillatox available