Rabbits

MacTheKnife1

Help please. I have planted a 500 metre line/hedge of small trees and they are being savaged by rabbits. I shot those I would see (sorry animal lovers). Now they are coming along in the dark and eating the trees down to the ground. I can see rabbit droppings all over the place. They gnaw thru the bark right down at the base of the little trees basically completely destroying the tree.

Can someone recommend a quick solution please?

Sonnenblumen

Natural order better get use to it! Plant at rate x 3 requirements and hope 1/3survives.

Did you not use rabbit guards?

MacTheKnife1

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Natural order better get use to it! Plant at rate x 3 requirements and hope 1/3survives.

Did you not use rabbit guards?

Rabbit guards? There are thousands of trees and they are very small so putting a rabbit guard on is difficult.

I have nothing against rabbits, they would be most welcome normally, I just need to get rid of them for 2 years til the trunk of the small trees is too wide for them to gnaw thru! If you saw the damage you would realise that 1/3 survival is not possible.

FarmerBrown

This product works but need to be applied fairly regularly to protect new growth and washes off quiet easily in heavy bouts of rain

bmaxi

Jack Russell is one option. The only other reliable option is wire mesh fencing, erect it in an "L" shape to stop them from burrowing underneath, the bottom part of the "L" would need to be buried a few inches but the fence part wouldn't need to be too high, maybe 18 ins. A bit of work I know but worth it.

MacTheKnife1

bmaxi wrote: »

Jack Russell is one option. The only other reliable option is wire mesh fencing, erect it in an "L" shape to stop them from burrowing underneath, the bottom part of the "L" would need to be buried a few inches but the fence part wouldn't need to be too high, maybe 18 ins. A bit of work I know but worth it.

I hate to be blunt about this - but all of the suggestions so far involve a lot of expense and hard work. I have tried a lot of things. I even set up a tent wand sat inside and waited until they showed up and I shot some of them.

But I am fed up. Its time for the old WMD.

Anyone ever use Pied Piper poison for rabbits??

rliston

Paint the base of each tree with household paint.

I planted 1000 whitethorn trees last january and coated the lower 3 inches with some left over paint we had in the shed. Almost a year later and there's no rabbit damage even though there's loads of them in the fields around. The paint is starting to flake off now so I'll be painting them all again in the next few days. Might get funny looks from the neighbours when you've a line of pink and blue trees though.

MacTheKnife1

rliston wrote: »

Paint the base of each tree with household paint.

I planted 1000 whitethorn trees last january and coated the lower 3 inches with some left over paint we had in the shed. Almost a year later and there's no rabbit damage even though there's loads of them in the fields around. The paint is starting to flake off now so I'll be painting them all again in the next few days. Might get funny looks from the neighbours when you've a line of pink and blue trees though.

Great idea! What sort of paint? Was it an oil based or emulsion?

rliston

MacTheKnife1 wrote: »

Great idea! What sort of paint? Was it an oil based or emulsion?

Emulsion

FarmerBrown

MacTheKnife1 wrote: »

I hate to be blunt about this - but all of the suggestions so far involve a lot of expense and hard work. I have tried a lot of things. I even set up a tent wand sat inside and waited until they showed up and I shot some of them.

But I am fed up. Its time for the old WMD.

Anyone ever use Pied Piper poison for rabbits??

Pied Piper only works in the depths of the winter when there is no other nice green vegatation around to eat. When Spring comes they'll walk across it to get to the nice young hedge shoots.

CJhaughey

You think things are bad now? wait till next year when the young are out looking for food as well.
Seriously it sounds as though they are getting out of control and immediate remedial action is necessary.

MacTheKnife1

CJhaughey wrote: »

You think things are bad now? wait till next year when the young are out looking for food as well.
Seriously it sounds as though they are getting out of control and immediate remedial action is necessary.

Thanks CJ - totally agree. I need to terminate them now before breeding season begins in a couple of months. Terminate with extreme prejudice..... the question is HOW. I can no longer shoot them, they know I have a telescopic sight and I have terminated many of their ancestors. So they sneak out at night now and, undercover of the night, they destroy tree after tree........

Octopus

Buy a lamp and shoot them at night?

MacTheKnife1

Octopus wrote: »

Buy a lamp and shoot them at night?

True but the neighbours will think I am mad going about with a gun and lamp at night?

CJhaughey

Apply to your superintendent for a moderator and use subsonic ammo.
So quiet your neighbours won't hear a thing, as all the pests are dispatched.

arse..biscuits

Whats the deal with the trees? What are they for? Could you plant something else that they prefare to eat?

CJhaughey

arse..biscuits wrote: »

Whats the deal with the trees? What are they for? Could you plant something else that they prefare to eat?

Lettuce doesn't work quite as well as trees in the garden

The Sweeper

I think arse biscuits may have been referring to the idea of a sacrificial crop... Though if there are that many rabbits, that might just act as hors d'oeuvres.

MacTheKnife1

arse..biscuits wrote: »

Whats the deal with the trees? What are they for? Could you plant something else that they prefare to eat?

The trees are for shelter/fuel/hedge/food,. It is a mixed species of hedge If the rabbits just nibbled the branches I would be hapy but they crop the trees right down to the ground!!!

I think if I planted lettuce for them I think they would eat all of it and still gnaw at the trees, the need some chemical in the bark of trees.... or so i am told.

MacTheKnife1

CJhaughey wrote: »

Apply to your superintendent for a moderator and use subsonic ammo.
So quiet your neighbours won't hear a thing, as all the pests are dispatched.

I hate using serious weapons. I have a small air rifle that I use. Quite powerful and it has been effective. The problem now is that I no longer see any rabbits. BUT I do see the fresh damage they inflict and I see burrows being freshly dug. So sub sonic stuff is great but if they only come out at night then I am not going to get them!

CJhaughey

MacTheKnife1 wrote: »

I hate using serious weapons. I have a small air rifle that I use. Quite powerful and it has been effective. The problem now is that I no longer see any rabbits. BUT I do see the fresh damage they inflict and I see burrows being freshly dug. So sub sonic stuff is great but if they only come out at night then I am not going to get them!

If you are going to shoot something then IMO you should use a sufficiently powerful firearm to do the job.
I would not consider a .22lr with subsonic ammo and a mod a serious weapon, merely a tool that allows you to control vermin in a humane manner.

MacTheKnife1

CJhaughey wrote: »

If you are going to shoot something then IMO you should use a sufficiently powerful firearm to do the job.
I would not consider a .22lr with subsonic ammo and a mod a serious weapon, merely a tool that allows you to control vermin in a humane manner.

My air rifle drops a rabbit no problem, but I agree the .22 is the best weapon. I might try and get one. Mind you getting a licence in this country takes months!!!

Sonnenblumen

CJhaughey wrote: »

If you are going to shoot something then IMO you should use a sufficiently powerful firearm to do the job.
I would not consider a .22lr with subsonic ammo and a mod a serious weapon, merely a tool that allows you to control vermin in a humane manner.

There are more important issues in life than shooting rabbits to protect a few trees. Will you be intending to shoot Heron if they approach your pond?

Chances are you'll be refused a permit ?

MacTheKnife1

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

There are more important issues in life than shooting rabbits to protect a few trees.

There are hundreds of trees. The rabbit meat is used afterwards - delicious. Did you have a roast of beef today? I am not a hunter - I am simply protecting the trees until they reach a height after which the rabbit damage will be minimal. Trust me, if you saw the damage they do you would understand. Once the trees get beyond the stage they are now the rabbits will be most welcome. So too will herons if I ever put in a pond.

MacTheKnife1

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Chances are you'll be refused a permit ?

I have a permit for my air rifle. I explained to the gardai exactly what it was for and they totally agrred with me and issued me a licence. You still have to wait a few months to get one though.

The Sweeper

Folks, let's not make this a pro/anti hunting argument.

MacTheKnife1, have you tried painting your trees yet?

CJhaughey

Mac I have sent a PM.

MacTheKnife1

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

Folks, let's not make this a pro/anti hunting argument.

MacTheKnife1, have you tried painting your trees yet?

I have had the flu for the past week and have nothing done. But it will be put in place soon. I will report back to the board.

MacTheKnife1

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

MacTheKnife1, have you tried painting your trees yet?

Will emulsion set properly in this weather?? I will need a day ro two of dry weather I assume to paint the trees.

Minder

Other solutions to consider - fungicides containing thiram are repellant to rabbits, also capsaicin is a good deterrent. Have you considered an electric fence with the wires set low enough so the bunnies can't get under it or through it. Not sure if you can hire the equipment. How about using ferrets to hunt them out of their warren. You might find a ferret owner willing to help for a few quid. Block most of the burrows then net the others before letting the ferrets in - you can either trap them to release somewhere else or kill them for the meat.

MacTheKnife1

Minder wrote: »

Have you considered an electric fence with the wires set low enough so the bunnies can't get under it or through it.

I did use the electric fence but it is only possible in some places where the ground is flat. It works very very well actually. But in other places the ground is anything but flat and getting a fence low to the ground without actually touching the ground is very difficult - pretty much impossible actually.

arse..biscuits

All this talk of rabbits, I went to the butchers today to get one for a stew but he has none:(

CJhaughey

arse..biscuits wrote: »

All this talk of rabbits, I went to the butchers today to get one for a stew but he has none:(

Why don't you go and visit Mac? I hear he has a few.