Dam rabbits

[96720]

I have a foxy lady palm that was struggling and one day I went out and rabbits had destroyed it.

[Harry’s Palms]

That is a bummer. I had a gopher eat the roots out from under my Bismarkia and I was very upset . Harry

[Chester B]

I can’t even tell you how many problems I had with rabbits on a typical suburban lot. Name the plant toxic or not and they ate it. Probably my most hated animal. 

[JohnAndSancho]

Have you tried using this as bait? I saw on TV that rabbits love it. 

[96720]

I don’t want to attract them I think a gun would be better!!!

[PalmatierMeg]

Bummer. You'll have to cage them out of any palm they target - at least till it trunks.

[sonoranfans]

Lots of rabbits here, but not in my yard.  Those pesky squirrels have also pulled out of town the last couple years 

 

[96720]

I also have squirrels but the rabbits get the blame!! Our dog isn’t that size and we have a lot of coyotes so we don’t leave her out unless we are out!! Maybe I should get 2 large outdoor dogs!!!

[Chester B]

My garden was too dense, the rabbits make a B Line for the vegetation and my two big dogs don't stand a chance.  They were able to catch them when I lived on acreage and had wide open spaces.

A friend of mine had a Zero lawn garden with little trails that you could barely see your feet due to the vegetation.  He had two mini Dachshunds and they have no problems finding the rabbits in, around and under everything.

[96720]

And probably great food for the coyotes!!!

[peachy]

Most people around here complain about the brush tail Possums eating everything but although there are some here they never cause any problems. My major menace are grasshoppers and various grubs that turn up. Grubs I can throw on the lawn for the kookaburras to eat but the grasshoppers feel so rough and icky I can't bear to touch them.

Peachy

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

This little cottontail practically lives in my backyard. I see it often. It loves feeding off fallen palm fruit and the seeds within. I don’t notice damage to anything except Squirel’s Foot ferns that I don’t really care about anyway.

[96720]

They seem to chew off the old fronds and leave them laying and then eat the heart!!! 

[happypalms]

On 3/10/2024 at 10:19 AM, 96720 said:

I have a foxy lady palm that was struggling and one day I went out and rabbits had destroyed it.

Not a good outcome for your foxy lady you need Elmer fudd wabbit season hunter 

[sonoranfans]

Rabbits here used to cruise through my backyard and nibble, squirrels were much worse.  They destroyed an ecu wiring harness on the car $1500 with labor, and became aggressive territorially chattering angrily standing their ground when approached.  Squirrels dug up my garden beds and a few potted palms as well, and were nesting in my taller palms.  There were so many, they fought and sometimes would knock each other out of neighboring oak trees up to 30'+ height.  They were warring on each other with pairs attacking any interloper in their territory.  There are hundreds of acres of woods within 1/4 mile so its not like they had no where to go.  My first step was to clear out low mid height branches(to 15 feet) on trees on the wooded land adjacent to my yard where the squirrels were coming from.  This brought in the owls and hawks who like to hunt the woods but they were so overgrown that there were few flyways in that tangled mess.  Second I tried cayenne and then squirrel traps, which were sometimes successful but they learned them and I got tired of buying cayenne.  The squirrels do not learn the dog who has serious hunting instincts and is very aggressive chasing them, no training necessary.  I added a fence in the back so the dog can just hang back there and so I don't worry about the local bobcat he flushed out of the brush at dawn 3 months ago.  That was a BIG cat, ~ 3' long from head to base of its small bobtail, and almost the same shoulder height as my dog.  And yeah I am from up north, seen bobcats before but never that close as it flushed at 15' away. as the dog froze for 10-15 seconds.  The cat stopped after about 50 yards of retreat and sat there looking at me for what seemed like 10 seconds while I dropped my phone trying to get to the camera ap.  That cat could destroy any dog, the speed and athleticism it jumped out of the brush with just stunned me with 15-20' leaps up to to eye height going away.  The fence also deters the rare but possible alligator from using the yard as a path to his next lake over night.   Gators are known to attack large dogs here, but ususally dont kill them unless they are able to drown them.  I also have to worry about eagles, they did attack a neighbors lab 4 years ago but they generally hang in a tall tree near the wide open spaces, not a crowded palmy yard.  Now that the dog has pushed the squirrels out, the songbirds I used to see during migration are back and lots of them.  I knew I would need a fence because the dog would chase any animal past the yard boundaries.  I do feel better sitting out at night in the moonlight, knowing the gators cant get in and that the dog will be on watch. 

[96720]

My yard is fully fenced the squirrels use it for a freeway I don’t see them in the yard very often but I’m not always out!!! We do have owls, and lots of coyotes I think the coyotes are too lazy to catch the rabbits there are lots of rabbits they think my yard is a smorgasbord!!!!

[sonoranfans]

16 minutes ago, 96720 said:

My yard is fully fenced the squirrels use it for a freeway I don’t see them in the yard very often but I’m not always out!!! We do have owls, and lots of coyotes I think the coyotes are too lazy to catch the rabbits there are lots of rabbits they think my yard is a smorgasbord!!!!

No coyotes inside the fence though en?

[96720]

Coyotes leap over the fence like it wasn’t even there they think they own my yard walk right by the house!!!

[Jim in Los Altos]

Hawk routinely capture and eat squirrels and other rodents in my yard. I captured this video this morning. The hawk eventually flew away with its prey, a California Black squirrel. 
 

 

 

[sonoranfans]

6 hours ago, 96720 said:

Coyotes leap over the fence like it wasn’t even there they think they own my yard walk right by the house!!!

How tall is that fence?  Dang!  I think they grow some big coyotes out there, I lived there 10 years.   I never left my doors open due to scorpions snakes etc. and my fence was a concrete wall 7' tall.  You must be in open country.

[happypalms]

17 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

Rabbits here used to cruise through my backyard and nibble, squirrels were much worse.  They destroyed an ecu wiring harness on the car $1500 with labor, and became aggressive territorially chattering angrily standing their ground when approached.  Squirrels dug up my garden beds and a few potted palms as well, and were nesting in my taller palms.  There were so many, they fought and sometimes would knock each other out of neighboring oak trees up to 30'+ height.  They were warring on each other with pairs attacking any interloper in their territory.  There are hundreds of acres of woods within 1/4 mile so its not like they had no where to go.  My first step was to clear out low mid height branches(to 15 feet) on trees on the wooded land adjacent to my yard where the squirrels were coming from.  This brought in the owls and hawks who like to hunt the woods but they were so overgrown that there were few flyways in that tangled mess.  Second I tried cayenne and then squirrel traps, which were sometimes successful but they learned them and I got tired of buying cayenne.  The squirrels do not learn the dog who has serious hunting instincts and is very aggressive chasing them, no training necessary.  I added a fence in the back so the dog can just hang back there and so I don't worry about the local bobcat he flushed out of the brush at dawn 3 months ago.  That was a BIG cat, ~ 3' long from head to base of its small bobtail, and almost the same shoulder height as my dog.  And yeah I am from up north, seen bobcats before but never that close as it flushed at 15' away. as the dog froze for 10-15 seconds.  The cat stopped after about 50 yards of retreat and sat there looking at me for what seemed like 10 seconds while I dropped my phone trying to get to the camera ap.  That cat could destroy any dog, the speed and athleticism it jumped out of the brush with just stunned me with 15-20' leaps up to to eye height going away.  The fence also deters the rare but possible alligator from using the yard as a path to his next lake over night.   Gators are known to attack large dogs here, but ususally dont kill them unless they are able to drown them.  I also have to worry about eagles, they did attack a neighbors lab 4 years ago but they generally hang in a tall tree near the wide open spaces, not a crowded palmy yard.  Now that the dog has pushed the squirrels out, the songbirds I used to see during migration are back and lots of them.  I knew I would need a fence because the dog would chase any animal past the yard boundaries.  I do feel better sitting out at night in the moonlight, knowing the gators cant get in and that the dog will be on watch. 

Man I thought the brown snakes along with the brush turkeys rats kangaroos possums not to mention the odd black snake you can have the squirrels and rabbits let alone alligators and bobcats I will stick with the Aussie bush  animals any time in my garden destroying it oh and I forgot to mention the ticks that can kill any dog  let alone put a grown person in hospital Australia had a very nasty history with the rabbits in plague proportions but they fed many Australian in the war and depression times 

[Chester B]

I actually know someone who had their dogs tangle with a bobcat. The one dog grabbed the cat and the cat latched on belly to belly and was clawing the dog.  Their other dog who was a Great Dane came running grabbed the cat and literally threw it into the bush. First dog had real bad lacerations. Not an animal you ever want your dogs approaching. Fortunately they’re pretty shy. 
 

My old dog went after a skunk at 3 am and then my wife brought her in the house. Good times!

[Thinkentt]

Rabbits can be such pests sometimes. I had a similar issue with my garden.

[Las Palmas Norte]

Dam or damn? I didn't think rabbits would behave like beavers. 😆

[Thinkentt]

On 7/10/2024 at 1:17 PM, Thinkentt said:

Rabbits can be such pests sometimes. I had a similar issue with my garden.

One thing that helped me was checking out cheerfulbunny.com for tips on keeping rabbits away without hurting them, though. They have some great advice on natural repellents and barriers that you might find useful. You could try setting up some fencing or using plants that rabbits don't like. Combining a few different methods usually works best.