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Rabbits are very cute animals, probably one of the cutest pets we have. For people who aren’t into growing crops, rabbits are cute pets that have super-cute kittens and are great company.
But people who work with their hands see bunnies as more than just cute animals. Being honest, they see rabbits as enemies or, to put it another way, killers.
This animal with long ears eats all kinds of fresh plants, whether they are annuals, biennials, perennials, berries, or woody plants. There are actually so many strange plants that rabbits like that there is almost certainly one in your yard that they don’t like.
You need a long-term way to get rid of these yard-destroying animals because you don’t want them to come back. These are some good ways to get rid of rabbits in your yard that will be talked about in this piece.
Rabbit droppings are small particle about the size of a pea or garbanzo bean. Most of the time, they’re black, dark brown, medium green, or dark green. They come in different colors depending on what the rabbit eats, and you can find them in piles or spread out in the yard.
Cottontail rabbits live in the middle and eastern parts of the United States. They can also be found in southern Canada and South America. Their favorite places to hide are tall grass and bushes. They also like to live in holes or dens in the ground.
There are different kinds of rabbits, like hares and pikas. The U.S. does have some rabbits that will scare people in their gardens, but most of them are cottontail rabbits. They are brown and gray, and the fur around their necks and shoulders is a dark brown color. Their ears are only a few inches long, and they can grow to be 14 to 19 inches long.
Cottontail rabbits like herbs, leaves, and soft grasses. They love peas, beans, berries, and greens, so this makes them the perfect enemy for gardeners.
A cottontail rabbit can have up to 30 litters in its lifetime, with up to 12 bunnies in each litter. They can start having babies at five to six months old, so it doesn’t take long for an invasion to start.
If there are a lot of rabbits in a yard, there are some clear signs. The rabbits’ droppings and fur are all over the yard, and the garden crop is ruined (though one or two rabbits can do a lot of damage by themselves). There are also signs of digging around plants and flower beds.
The most worrying thing about rabbits is their dens, not the plants they eat. In a yard, these holes can get pretty big and are dangerous because people or pets can easily get hurt if they step in them.
Most of the time, rabbits don’t want to get into a house and make it their home. It is important to remember, though, that rabbits can carry diseases that can kill, like tularemia, which is also known as rabbit fever. Because of this, it’s important to keep them outside of the house and under control in the garden.
Keeping bunnies from eating your food is easy if you use a few different methods. These tips will help you beat the bunnies at their own game.
1. Exclude them. In order to avoid rabbit damage, this is the best method. When it comes to rabbit control, fencing is the best option. For best results, use a 1/4- or 1/2-inch mesh at a height of at least two feet.
To trick rabbits that dig, bury the sides six inches and bend the bottom of the fence outward (underground).
Use hardware cloth, zip ties, and PVC pipe to make a crop cage for raised beds. In the winter, put a cylinder of hardware cloth or mesh fence around the stems of woody plants to keep rabbits from chewing on them.
If you want to keep rabbits from getting to stems, put the fence at least two inches away from them. If you live in a place that gets a lot of snow, make your fence bigger so rabbits that are standing on a snowdrift can’t get over to your plants to nibble on them.
2. Limit hiding places. They need places to hide from animals that might hurt them. Think like a bunny and look around your yard. Look for things that rabbits could hide in, like tall grass, a pile of wood or brush, or a shed or deck that doesn’t have anything blocking them from going under it.
3. Scare them. One of the best ways to keep rabbits away is to let your dog run free in your yard. A fake owl, an aluminum pie pan, or flashing lights may scare the rabbits for a while, but once they learn they’re not really dangerous, they stop paying attention to them.
4. Repel them. Rabbit repellents work by either giving off a smell that rabbits don’t like, like garlic or dried blood, or by making plants taste bad, like hot pepper or dried blood sprays. Most of the time, repellents with flavors work better. Just make sure you carefully follow the directions, especially when it comes to putting it on again after it rains. Be careful when you spray veggies; you don’t want to ruin the crop. You might not be able to keep rabbits away when food is scarce because they will eat anything.
5. Go with plants that rabbits can’t eat. Put together an area with plants that rabbits don’t like. Lamb’s ears, herbs, plants in the onion family (allium, leek), cleome, Russian sage, and rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) are on this list.
6. Let weeds grow. Most people work hard to get rid of plants like clover and violets from their fields and flower beds because rabbits love them. There should be a few places for these plants to grow. Rabbits will eat them before they get to your prize petunias.
7. Help predators do their job. Owls, foxes, snakes, and birds are just a few of the animals that naturally eat rabbits. If you take care of your yard so that animals like these feel welcome, they’ll hunt rabbits as a thank you.
Some smells can keep rabbits away. It is clear that they don’t like chives, onions, geraniums, predator pee, sulfur, blood meal, garlic, vinegar, or chili powder.
It’s not possible to keep rabbits out of the yard completely, but there are things that can be done to make it less appealing. To begin, cut the grass short and shape the bushes. You could also use owl decoys, predator pee, and the other things on this list to scare them away.
Rabbits are thought to bring good luck, fertility, creativity, and long life in some countries. Because of this, a lot of people would rather get rid of them in a gentle way.
