Tag Archives: rabbits eat garden

Rabbit Problems

Rabbit
Rabbit eating precious plants from your garden.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

I’m new at gardening, and I’m working hard and learning a lot about it, but the one thing I’m learning for sure is that I have rabbit problems.  In this economy, and with the prices of vegetables going up, I decided to invest in my own backyard garden.  I spent the winter months carefully planning it out, researching, testing the soil and waiting for winter to end.  I got my little seed starters and had tomato and pepper sprouts within a couple of weeks.  I was like a little kid with cabin fever, desperately ready to run outside the moment it warmed up, and when it did, I spent all day in the backyard tilling up grass, raking in the mulch and preparing the yard.  It cost me more than I thought it would to start a brand new garden, but I’m hoping it pays off within a year or two.

As soon as it looked like there wouldn’t be any more frost, I was outside, excitedly planting my little seedlings in perfect little rows.  I dreamt of the day when I could harvest green beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon and spinach.  I was sure I’d save money, lose weight with all my gardening and eating vegetables, and I’d be a hit with my neighbors as I shared my crops with them.

As soon as I got home from work each day, I was out in the garden, pulling weeds, checking for plant growth and making sure the bean trellises were set up correctly.  When I saw little tomato buds on the plant, I was so excited!  The calluses on my hands were hardening, I was getting a great tan.  Some of the neighborhood kids even came over to help me, and ask me questions about plants.  I even let some of them have their own tiny little plots so they could plant anything they wanted.

And then, one Saturday I walked out into my yard to a horrific scene.  I had rabbit problems.  My beautiful herb plants were gnawed down to nothing but nubs.  There were perfect little clip marks on the tiny little tomato plants.  They’d left the squash alone, but devastated the peas.  I just stood there in shock, looking over the damage done to my first vegetable garden ever.  Finally, I decided it was too much and just went inside, called up a friend and went out for the day, just to get my mind off of it.

Of course, she told me I should have done this and I should have done that.  She told me that I should have expected it and planned for the attack, but none of that made me feel any better.  I finally decided the best way to take care of my rabbit problem is just to call in a professional.  Let someone else fight the rabbits while I protect and tend to my garden.  And of course, I have to explain to the kids why their plants won’t grow this year.

Get Rid of Rabbits

get rid of rabbits   
            For some reason, I assumed that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting rid of rabbits from my new garden.  I realized it probably happened to some people, but that cartoons and children’s books made it seem like a bigger problem than it actually was.  I had visions of shotgun toting bald men chasing cartoon rabbits out of their garden.  It didn’t happen in real life, did it?

            As you can tell, I was new to gardening.

            I had decided I would see how self-reliant I could be.  A couple neighbors had lost their jobs, and, while it didn’t seem like it could happen to me, I thought it was a wake-up call.  I cut back on my frivolous spending, shopped with coupons, and decided a garden would help me be self-reliant and save money. 

            I spent a few days planning out my garden, deciding what I would plant, where I would plant everything, if I would use a water drip system or hose it down by hand, how I would handle weed control.  I stayed up late into the night researching gardening tips online.  Not once did I think about how to keep rabbits out of the garden, or how to get rid of rabbits that might come uninvited. 

            I tilled a large portion of my grassy yard, and turned it into a garden plot.  I got a truckload of good soil and blistered my hands hoeing it into the dirt.  I spent the money on a good drip water system and worked two entire Saturdays figuring out how to put it together and lay it out correctly. 

            I purchased the seeds.  Carefully and excitedly, I planted each one to the depth marked on the seed packet.  Day after day, I went out and pulled weeds, after making sure I wasn’t pulling up the vegetables and herbs I’d planted.  My water system worked perfectly and within a month, I cheered as I started seeing little bits of green sprouting up in the dirt. 

            Within 3 months, I was happily eating spinach salads and steamed green beans, all fresh out of my garden.  It was official.  I was a gardener!

            Then, one day, I walked out to see disaster.  My beautiful spinach bunches had been nibbled almost to the ground.  My tomato plants that had just started showing buds of tomatoes were gone.  I wouldn’t be eating cucumbers from my garden anymore.  Even my water system had been destroyed in places.  I was devastated.  I thought of all the time I’d devoted to this garden, and all the money I thought I’d save. 

            You can bet that I got rid of those rabbits that year, and the following spring, I spent plenty of time figuring how I would keep rabbits out of my precious garden.  Cartoon rabbits might be funny, but the damage real rabbits cause is no joke to a gardener.

Rabbit Removal

rabbit removal  
          Here at Animal Caregivers and Lovers United, we try to get all sides of a story before taking any kind of action, which is why we have stepped in to interview both the homeowner and the rabbits before the homeowner proceeds with rabbit removal.  The following is a transcript of the interview:

Moderator:  Mr. Homeowner, can you explain exactly why you are so anxious for rabbit removal?

Homeowner:  See here, now it’s like this.  I work real hard each day, and then I come home and spend my nights and weekends trying to spruce up the place.  I like a pretty patio and a nice backyard.  Then, I come out one day and these darn rabbits have been eating up my plants!

Moderator:  Mr. Rabbit, do you have a reply?

Rabbit:  Mfff, hungry.  Juicy, green plants just sitting there.  Must eat.

Moderator:  You each seem to have reasonable points.  Mr. Homeowner, what is the extent of the destruction to your property, and what has been the cost to you?

Homeowner:  Hard to say exactly how much it’s cost me.  You gotta consider how much the ornamental plants cost.  Plus, they’ve ransacked my garden – eaten my vegetables up almost overnight.  We were using our garden for fresh food and then we were going to can some of it and keep it for the winter.  Now, we’ve got nuthin.  Plus, you gotta take in how much time I spent planting everything . . .

Rabbit:  Mmmm, spinach and carrots.  You did good job.  Still hungry . . .

Moderator:  Mr. Rabbit, do you have any way to compensate Mr. Homeowner for the damage you’ve done to his yard and garden?

Rabbit:  Compensate? 

Moderator:  Yes, pay him back.

Rabbit:  I’m a rabbit.

Moderator:  Uh, yes, I suppose it wasn’t a fair question . . .

Homeowner:  See here, I’m ready for some serious rabbit removal.  Rabbits live around 8 years, so if I don’t do something with you now, I’m in for a long time of losing MY plants.  Then, you’ll breed, and your babies’ll grow up and be around for a long time . . . I just can’t have it, see?

Moderator:  Mr. Rabbit, any reply?

Rabbit:  Must eat.  Must have babies.  Love to sleep in your yard junk pile or under the big bush.

Homeowner:  That’s it!  I’ll just get rid of the junk pile and the bush.  Then you’ll have to leave, right?  That’ll solve my rabbit removal problem??

Rabbit:  I am too cute to remove.  My babies cute too.  You want to keep me.

Homeowner:  That just ain’t good enough!  I want cute, I can git a puppy.  Any way I look at it, you’ve just gotta go!

Moderator:  I want to thank you both for your time and offering your opinions.  Let us …

Rabbit:  Lettuce???

Moderator:  Um, no, I meant “let us” all work towards a greater understanding.

Rabbit:  Lettuce???

Moderator:  I think we’re done here . . .