Gardening and Horticulture - garden ate by rabbits!

I'm sure this is a worn out question by now....but..How do you keep rabbits out of the garden?
I have a fence ,probobly not tall enough.( I've figured that one out.)
Well I just checked & all I have left of my beans are about 3 inches of stem. Even about half of my onions are munched on! Peas have their tops chewed off. plus a few other veggies.
I have marigolds all around my whole garden & even in it.
Are any of my veggies salvageable or do I have time to replant? I live in zone 3 . & what can I do? My husband has a fur hat in mind. Thank you, Stephanie

Stephanie,
In many cases we will blame the rabbits because we see them
in the early morn or in the evening. They certainly will do their share of damage, but the true culprit may be deer you don't see at all. Have you seen any deer tracks? And remember, the deer will easily clear a five foot fence. Is your fence secure at the bottom. Rabbits will usually go under as opposed to going over.
The peas and onions can be replanted since they are cool crops anyway. And, in many areas it is time for a second planting of beans. The peas and onions may recover, but the beans are history.
good luck with the next crop,
fred

Glad to hear there is still time to replant. Possitive it isn't deer. I live right in town. I see the rabbits almost everyday ,morning or evening. Even cats. But is there anything that has worked besides a fence to make them steer clear? It would figure seeing as this year my garden was looking real good for once. Thanks again, Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,

Check out this link, especially the homemade sprays. Everyone reports great success with them.

http://community.sierra.com/WebX?14@3.VEpkaYEauMM^1@.ee74adf

Gami

Growing one acre of Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables for profit rabbits cost us time and money. Try at Wal-Mart and pick up some Fox urine in the hunting section. Apply every 10 feet around your 4' tall 1" chicken fence. I've watched them back flip over a four foot fence. Not so cute when they girdle a rare $70.00 Apple treeling. Good luck. Marturo

Hi Marturo,

Thanks for your input. :) We're very lucky, because we live out in the country and don't have a lot of problems with insects or animals. We have 3 cats and that helps with some of the animal and also insect problems. I'm surprised at what cats go after.

So mainly what I know about those problems are what I read or hear. I understand that in order for urine from "predators" to be effective is that particular animal needs to be present in your area. If rabbits (say) don't know what fox urine smells like, they will not be afraid of it.

I would really like a frank discussion on this. We could have fox around here, but I've never seen any. I've heard recommendations of using bobcat urine. I'm POSITIVE we dont' have those either.

I'm here to learn. Good luck in your endeavor! :) I have seen a lot of rabbits near here, so I'm suggesting that our cats are keeping them in check. Dogs also control a lot of animal damage.

Gami

Scanning down thru and at first I thought you said "Garden Ate My Rabbits." Think I've been working too hard. :) I can't really add to anything the others have said. I found a 410 works well but that was when I lived in PA. We don't seem to have rabbits here, in the Netherlands, and what few we have are bigger than my cat. I'm like Gami 3 cats = no rabbits, mice or birds. But the pond still has all it's fish.

I would check into the possiblity of slugs, also. I did find they ate off all my Marigolds and were starting on a few other plants. I got some slug remover at Intratuin and haven't had a slug or snail in a month.

Denise
in the Netherlands.

Hi Gami

I read I think in an old Organic Gardenening and Farming (1970s) that this lady kept her deer a bay by using Lion dung from the local zoo in Ohio. I grow using Organic methods and it does seem to me that fox urine is allways sold advertised as (Red Meat Fed) as if, the eating of meat has something to do with how well it works. I have also read that early man would not consume meat and use herbs internaly for a couple of days before hunting so they could sneek up closer to the prey. It could be that carnivors smell different than prey animals because of what they eat. However as I said before rabbits cost us money so when you must protect your food there is a product that is a hot pepper concentrate $50.00 for a half gallon. I have made hot pepper sprays myself but this one is so concentrated that it only takes one teaspoon per gallon. The rabbit takes one bite of a broccoli leaf and runs off shaking it's head. The hot pepper animal repelent is expensieve but it realy works well. Marturo

Hi Denise,

I thought it said the same thing at first. That would be a sight to see...or...Rabbits strangled by bindweed! :)

Marturo,

Thanks! That's very interesting, and it all makes sense. The first year that the grandkids went hunting with my husband and his sons, one of the boys marked the tree that his Dad had a tree stand in. Oh my! He won't do that again! I'll have to tell them about the herb trick.

Someone else who lives in the country told me HE marks the perimeter of his property. I'll just take his word that it works.

From everything I've read, the hot pepper spray does seems to be the most effective. I had to use it when I lived in SE KS.

I'll do a little more searching on this topic when I have more time. I've heard about folks using lion dung. I understand our zoo has a long waiting list for it.

Gami

All,
You can try a plethera of remedies, a few may work, but MOST will not. I chuckle every time I'm in Lowe's and walk past the snake repellent. In the long run it's alot cheaper to buy a couple packs of bean seeds and replant. And, believe it or not, brocoli plants will continue to grow and produce a crop even after every leaf has been fed to the bunnies.
fred

Hi Fred,

I agree wholeheartedly! Plant more than you need, and let nature takes its course.


Gami