Loads of Rabbits.

[miniboes]

Hi,

So my house has a pretty big garden, and this year we've been seeing a lot of rabbits hopping around in it. They're an extremely cute sight and their running motion with the white tails showing is beautiful. However, they've been breeding like there's no tomorrow. First we had 1 or two, now there's more than 20 at some times. My parents are afraid that if their numbers grow too large they're gonna be a big nuisance and we might have to shoot them. The idea of that is dreadful to me, but I cannot think of any other solution. Perhaps one of you could?

Thanks in advance.

[brimstoneSalad]

Shooting them wouldn't even help much.

Adequate fencing will keep rabbits out, but it's not an easy task to build, since they're good diggers, good jumpers (although not as good as deer), and good at chewing through things and wiggling through small holes.

You'll need to find some kind of galvanized chicken-wire, and sink it a good way into the ground, running it between some very sturdy posts.

How long is your perimeter?

[miniboes]

It's three square kilometers in total. It is outlined with about 1.5 meter high iron poles with chicken wire running between them and barbed wire on top. The rabbits dug little holes under it everywhere. To improve the fences would be quite costly.

[brimstoneSalad]

It's three square kilometers in total.

That tells me very little about the perimeter, unless I know its shape.

To improve the fences would be quite costly.

Yes, it will be. Expect more than $100 per kilometer, and a hefty amount of digging. Once you do it, though, short of a few repairs it will be done, and should exclude most rabbits. Possibly $600 - $800 in your case.

Typical suggested depth for the buried wire fence is at least 6 inches. I would go as deep as you can, to be more certain.

1. Dig the trench around your existing fence.
2. Cut the new wire, one with one inch mesh or smaller. Give it an extra two feet or so of height to overlap the old fence above the ground, and go to the bottom of you trench. So, it should be around 2.5 feet to 3 feet width.
3. Put the new fence extension on, and secure it with wire to the old fence.
4. Fill the trench in and pack the dirt.


After you modify the fence, you can also do a few more things:

Plant a zone of plants which rabbits do not like immediately inside the fence. This could discourage them from trying to get through it.

You could also do something like this (the high-tech solution):

http://boingboing.net/2012/03/26/howto- ... irrel.html

It would be more expensive, but maybe more fun/cool.
You could probably contract some local makers to help you.

[miniboes]

Thanks for the advice! We'll see if the rabbits are actually going to be a big problem.