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The rabbit is a cute animal; however, it can be a very troublesome neighbor that you don’t want in your garden or anywhere near it. Every farmer knows that the rabbit is a dangerous animal in your garden, most especially when you grow the kind of vegetation the rabbits find appealing, which is a very long list of vegetables and berries.
Most people find the rabbit a fluffy cute companion suitable for a pet; however, the story is not the same for anybody that tills the ground or takes delight in keeping a garden. The major reason you don’t want this rodent in your garden is their voracious appetite in consuming a large amount of vegetation over a short period, also the fact that the list of vegetables on the menu of the rabbit is ridiculously long that it feels as if they eat almost any vegetable one grows.
The rabbit is an animal with very high reproductive potentials, which means it can multiply in huge numbers over a short period. A single rabbit in your garden is bad enough; however, once it starts multiplying, this rodent can overrun your whole garden in no time, making it of paramount importance for farmers to try as much as possible to keep them out of their gardens. Most rabbit species have an average gestation period of 30 days.
They can have up to three litters of six babies on average in a single year, which means when not properly checked; you can have a full blown rabbit infestation in your garden within the space of four months. This article focuses on giving useful tips that help prevent the rabbit from getting into your garden and recognize when you have one in your garden before you have a full blown rabbit infestation on your hands.
How to Identify Whether a Rabbit is Disturbing your Garden
As a result of their high reproductive capabilities, the rabbit is found in abundance in field edges, backyards, and a host of other places with abundant vegetation they can munch on.
The rabbit has a whole lot of adorable nicknames, which makes some people think the rodents are not capable of doing any harm; however, if one has had an experience of the destructive capabilities these rodents possess in a garden, you will find out that it is best to keep this rodent out of your garden at all cost.
This segment focuses on how you can easily identify if a rabbit is on the loose in your garden. The first thing you will notice is the clean-cut damage the leave on your plants; most times, the leaves and the stem of your plants bear the aftermath of the teeth of the rabbit; check the stem and leaves of your plant when checking for the presence of rabbit in your garden. Insects leave rough patches on the leaves of damaged plants; however, in the case of rabbits, you find the stem cleanly cut through; the reason for this is that the rabbit prefers young plant shoot, and you will find them munching on the yummy young shoot of your pants once they find their way into your garden.
The rabbit loves munching on the young plant, which makes your plant vulnerable to attack during the seedling stage; however, most vegetation the rabbit find appealing are also on the top favorite menu for some other rodents, so before you decide you have a rabbit on the loose in your garden you have to check around in your garden for burrows because bunnies love living very close to their source of food, so when you find a clean cut of tender shoots of a plant in your garden checking around for burrows should be the first line of action to certify if it’s a rabbit or not. You should also check for the paw print of the rabbit; like most animals, the rabbit prefers coming out of their burrows in the early morning hours and evening, which means the soil will still be moist and soft at this time of the day. It will most likely retain the paw prints of the rabbit.
10 Ways of keeping Rabbit out of the Garden
Keeping rabbits out of your garden is the best way to protect your garden from the damages that come with rabbit infestation; preventing them from entering your garden will ultimately protect your crops from the damages. The following tips should help keep rabbits out of your garden.
- Rabbit nose is always twitching, which is a clear indication of a sensitive and working nose; the rabbit sniffs a lot. The sprinkling of dry Sulphur on your plants and around your garden will deter the rabbits from coming close.
- Rabbits hate the smell of onions, so when you plant onions around your garden, it will help prevent the rabbit from creeping into your garden.
- As a result of their sensitive nose, sprinkling powdered pepper will further deter the furry creatures from coming near your garden.
- Make a mixture of hot pepper, garlic, and onions ground together and leave overnight. When it starts emitting a pungent odor, add water and spray your plants with it. This process should be repeated after every rainfall to help keep the rabbits in your garden.
- Some people protect their plants by putting a net mesh around the plant until each plant grows to a less vulnerable size. Rabbits prefer young shoot to adult plants, making it less likely for them to interfere when you have full-grown plants.
- Deer odor repellants are also found out to be effective against rabbits. Deer repellants that contain a mixture of dried bovine blood, garlic, and sulfured eggs are found to be effective at deterring rabbits.
- Humane traps are also solutions to rabbits in your garden. You can buy a trap or build one yourself, place the trap at the spot you’ve seen the rabbit and lure it with food that the rabbit can’t resist, Check trap daily and release captured bunnies far away from your garden.
- Having a wire fence around your garden is another way you can keep bunnies out of your garden fence should be four feet high so bunnies can’t jump over it, and the fence should be six feet deep to prevent them from burrowing holes into your garden.
- Rabbits stay in their shelter for the greater percentage of the day and only come out during the early hours of the morning and late evening, so reducing possible shelter for rabbits in your garden can also help prevent them from staying in your garden.
- Plant vegetation that rabbits don’t find appealing around your garden to deter the rabbits away.