Rabbit deterring?

[Natch]

Does anyone have any experience or ideas for deterring rabbits?

I'm not against shooting/gassing/whatever the little darlings, we have tried allsorts but they are just taking the P out of me in one particular area - the menage.

They seem to have a massive burrow/warren right at C, and everytime we block a hole in they just dig around it.

Wouldn't mind so much but they've got the whole of the bloomin' forest not 50 yards away, but oh no, smack bang in our flipping menage it has to be. (its grass surface by the way)

So... We filled it in properly the other day and I'd quite like it to stay that way... and I was wondering if there is anything that I could do to deter them. I was wondering maybe a couple of bottles of neat essential oil poured into the soil, so it smelt too strongly for them to want to dig there again, but hopefully wouldn't affect the land in a negative way.

Any ideas?

 

[siani1989]

you can get chemical repellents from hardware store which has a very strong smell that they do not like and do not harm any other animals and only about £10 for large tub of the stuff ,

 

[AmyMay]

Move the menage

(running swiftly away......)

 

[Silverspring]

Buy a jack russel or similar visicous terrier and shove it down any hole sthat appear? If one or two of them get eaten then maybe they will reconsider their accomodation?! The YO keeps ferrets for this sort of thing but I find dogs are more cuddley and last longer

 

[Natch]

Eugh you've just reminded me, Frankie found half a squashed ferret in the field yesterday. Took great delight in pawing it out from underneath a clod of grass and was nuzzling it and being nasty to any of the other horses who came over to investigate

I'm sure he thought it was food, little darling

I think when we topped the field we also topped our chances of the wild ferrets controlling the population

Amymay that is NOT a popular opinion

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Amymay that is NOT a popular opinion


[/ QUOTE ]
Hence my sprint out of the forum!

 

[YorksG]

This is no more helpful than AmyMay, but I have found that the bunnies have left the field since it has been so wet. So can I suggest that you turn your manege into a swimming pool, that should get rid of them

 

[Rainbowrider]

Someone told me in the pub the other night that if you shoot them and take them to your local butcher, you get £1 each for them.....

 

[jellyshake]

gonna have to get brutal and either get a terrier man or ferret man to come wipe them out

shame you're the wrong end of the country otherwise i'd know a few chaps who would love to come and slaughter some fluffy bunnies lol

 

[Natch]

PMSL well there's my answer then. I need to move the menage, turn the existing one into a swimming pool, buy a handful of terriers & ferrets and a gun, and get rich quick with my local butcher!!

 

[Sprout]

I have the same problem, we seem to have hundreds of rabbits here, eating all my precious grass, digging huge holes in the menage etc.
They dont seem to be bothered at all by my dogs, the family of foxes, the buzzards etc.

However, this week I have found three dead in the fields with Myxie, so maybe that will wipe a few out, other than that, I am afraid I might have to find a man with a gun....

 

[girla]

It's a shame you have filled it in, if you put ferrets down hole/warren this will deter them as the ferret can usually get in deep and leave the sent, plus if it does find any it will kill them straight off.

People who own working ferretts are usually only too pleased to come and put them down to work, plus winters coming and theres nothing quiet like a tasty rabbit stew.

 

[girla]

Jellyshakel

Where are you as i know a few terrier and ferrett men who would only be too pleased to come and work there lot.

They are based in London but would travel if it's not too far