Pesky Rabbits

Rabbits are sooooooo cute aren't they? And certainly they deserve an 'A' for their ability to destroy a garden!

I am thankful that I don't have an overwhelming problem with those oh so cute furry creatures. I often see one or two very early in the morning or in the evening hopping towards the woods; I'm sure these sightings are when they are heading home after munching on my hostas. I don't plant a vegetable garden and that may be why my problem with rabbits is not worse.

I realized last year just how trying a rabbit colony can be when I went to a subdivision rummage sale and noticed that every flower bed had a fence of chicken wire around it. This new kind of "garden art" did not compliment the beautiful landscaping. Several of the homeowners assured me that it was the only solution to protect their plantings from total destruction.

I have heard a few suggestions-touted as 'remedies' for rabbits on various garden shows. I have also read some in Jerry Baker's book, "Garden Secrets". The suggestions from the professionals are few but I hope the following list may be helpful to you if you have 'pesky rabbits' to contend with.

• Rabbits often eat tomatoes and vegetables containing a lot of water because they are thirsty. Keep dishes of water in your vegetable garden.
  
  
• Rabbits (moles and gophers too) will retreat at the smell of human or animal hair. Go to your local hair salon and/or pet groomer and ask for a garbage bag of hair and spread over your garden and in your compose pile. You'll need about two bushels of hair for every 100 square feet of garden area. To note: hair is a good source of protein to enrich your garden soil.
  
  
• Rabbits and mice eat the bark on new trees. Wrap the bark with tree wrap right down to the soil and place medium sized stones around the base of the tree. Sometimes a chicken wire collar around the tree wrap is necessary. Rabbits especially like to eat tree bark in winter…and they love the bark on azaleas too.
  

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