Rabbits and chicken wire

[LadyAndreca]

I watched this one today at work--was my coworker "Lily" who handled this, not me. (I'm tired of using letters for my coworkers, so she gets to be Lily because her name is a different flower.)

A clueless SC came in looking for chicken wire, because he wanted to keep rabbits out of his garden. We pointed him in the right direction, and he came back with 3-foot tall wire.

SC: Rabbits can't jump over three feet, right?
Lily: Right. It won't stop deer, though.
SC: I don't have deer, just rabbits.
Lily: Right. Then you'll need to dig it about a foot into the ground, or they'll just burrow under it.
SC: ...dig?
Lily: Right. Rabbits and groundhogs, they burrow right under. But if you dig a trench and put the wire about a foot underground, it'll stop them.
SC: I'm not digging!
Lily: Then I can't guarantee it'll stop rabbits.
SC: You just said they won't go over.
Lily: But rabbits burrow. You have to put it underground to stop them.
SC: But...I don't want to dig. I'm just going to string it along posts on the ground. What do you think?
Lily: I told you what I thought. You won't stop rabbits like that.
SC: They won't jump over two feet of wire?
Lily: No.

The SC went back to the back and got the 2-foot roll instead of the 3-foot roll, and bought that! Both of us could clearly see he was buying the cheaper roll and had no intention of digging.

SC: So, if it doesn't work, I can return it?
Lily: ...
Lily: Not if it's unrolled, no.

*SC leaves*

Me:
Lily:

[rose_metal_nz]

Don't need a crystal ball to see how this is gonna turn out.....

[Marmalady]

SC: So, when it doesn't work, I can return it?
Lily: ...
Lily: Not if it's unrolled, no.

Because we know it's when, not if, don't we?

[Parrothead]

Just to share. (Bunny show jumping is the new "thing" with pet bunnies in Europe.)

[Zellie Crescent]

What an idiot.

[LadyAndreca]

Just to share. (Bunny show jumping is the new "thing" with pet bunnies in Europe.)

How cute! I didn't know rabbits were vertical jumpers.

18-24" above ground and 6" below is the absolute minimum I was aware of, for rabbits. He -could- get away with the 2' fence, but 18" won't stop a determined rabbit - like when we had that drought last summer and I'm sure the healthiest plants around were in gardens. But it's why we were trying to recommend the 3' fence, for 2' above and 1' below. (1' below is recommended for groundhogs, which we have a bazillion of around here, so that deep will stop both them and rabbits.) But we could tell he just wasn't listening to us and had no intention of digging. Maybe he'll luck out and the rabbits will find an easier food source, maybe not.

My parents used the solution of having a large, hyperactive chocolate lab in the yard. For some reason, rabbits and deer didn't like that.

[LillFilly]

Sigh. Isn't there a repellent he could have sprinkled to keep deer/rabbits away? No digging involved, right?

Ehe, next time just suggest a ring of fire; that will keep ALL the pests out!

[Little Retail Rabbit]

Before she passed away, our rabbit used to "binky"...basically run around like a lunatic, stop in the middle of the lawn, jump straight upwards and turn direction in mid-air and then race off in the opposite direction. Its apparently a sign of happiness, because the bunny is getting all excitable and bouncy around. She was an unusually big bunny (probably about twice as big as our cat) but boy she could jump a good 4 feet up when she binky'd. Maybe a lil more.

[Captain Trips]

Sigh. Isn't there a repellent he could have sprinkled to keep deer/rabbits away? No digging involved, right?

Warning, the following may be found somewhat unpalatable.

I have heard that the urine of omnivores or carnivores makes a good herbivore repellant. So, if you aren't vegetarian, you can try pissing around your garden. (Hopefully, behind a tall fence, or you could be arrested as a sex-offender!)

[Kogarashi]

Warning, the following may be found somewhat unpalatable.

I have heard that the urine of omnivores or carnivores makes a good herbivore repellant. So, if you aren't vegetarian, you can try pissing around your garden. (Hopefully, behind a tall fence, or you could be arrested as a sex-offender!)

Trips, I didn't even finish reading the second paragraph before I thought, "So, pee in your garden?" Thanks for the giggle.

[wheeitsme]

Just bought some stuff that's supposed to deter them. We'll see how it works. We just moved and our yard appears to be bunny central. I thought about wire, but the ground is really rocky. So I'm going to try the repellant and raised beds.

The previous owner tried the chickenwire thing. But he just attached it to the metal fence and only had it 18 innces high and not buried, LOL. When we looked at the house I thought that for an educated man, he didn't do his homework...

[LadyAndreca]

I've heard that urine works, especially if you pour it directly into burrows, and I've heard that scattering cat hair works. But we hardly sell those things at the Orange Apron, now do we?

For deer, a lot of our customers swear by Liquid Fence. I'm told that other brands do not work, but this one does. The packaging says it works on rabbits, but I haven't heard any customer stories about that. I live in an apartment, so I've never tried it myself.

[Kogarashi]

I need a surefire squirrel repellant. They keep digging up our seeds and seedlings in the community garden.

[Mishi]

I need a fool-proof cane toad deterrant, one of my dogs is addicted to them! The other runs the opposite way and hides when she sees one, being treated after chewing one once was enough for her.

[Mystic]

We have a 4' fence around ours but didn't bury it. I wanted to but because of the way we had to rig the fence up and the location, it wouldn't have worked well. Praying the bunnies and groundhogs don't attempt to burrow or I might be having rabbit stew with a side of groundhog jerky for supper some night to go along with my awesome veggies from my organic garden.