RABBIT CONTROL

   This article is about RABBIT control.
It will explain why they are a pest and what
needs to be done for controlling infestations.
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   This article will detail RABBIT control.
You will learn a brief biology of this animal,
how and why it is a nuisance around the home
and how to control it. Any place a product
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   Rabbits have been adored and loved by people
for centuries. They are found throughout the
world and have a place in children's books,
TV and toys. The Easter Bunny is probably the
most famous of all and Bugs Bunny may be a 
close second. Could an animal which is so
widely loved ever cause a problem? It most
certainly can!!!
   The cottontail and snowshoe or varying
hare are distributed throughout the United
States. In general, they are able to live
in rural as well as urban environments. They
are able to reproduce quickly and will fill 
the landscape with as many rabbits that are
able to survive. As their numbers increase,
so do predatory animal populations. Fox, cats,
dogs, people and coyote are just some of the
animals that like to eat rabbit. In the wild,
these predatory animals are able to help keep
rabbit populations in check.  Problems arise
in urban areas where no predators exist. In
addition to the native rabbit species, there
has been a recent explosion of rabbits which
have been released by people who were not
prepared for the reproduction capabilities of
their pets. These domestic rabbits are being
released in the wild on a regular basis. Pet
owners are not willing to let their one or
two rabbits become 10 or 20 so litters are
released in the wild. Unfortunately, the "wild"
areas are many times all too close to residential
landscape and gardens. Domestic rabbits which
are released to fend for themselves are not
prepared or designed to "live off the land". 
They much prefer processed food and when unable
to find any will quickly feed in gardens and flower
beds. Rabbits are nocturnal and will feed
on just about any plant they are able to 
reach. Succulent pansies, just about any garden
vegetable or fruit and several ground cover
species of shrub are all targets for hungry
grazing rabbits. Since they strike at night,
rabbits may go unnoticed for weeks. Eventually,
the gardener may notice plants are simply
disappearing or dying. A sure sign is when
you find their droppings which are round and
small - much like a "cocoa puff" - in the
flower bed. Other sure signs rabbits are the
guilty animal is the damage they do. Rabbits
will eat randomly. Instead of ingesting the
entire plant, they may only chew the flower
or half the plant before moving to the next.
This behavior tends to maximize the damage 
they do and can be frustrating to the gardener.
   There are limited approaches to controlling
local rabbit populations. Although they may
appear cute when they first appear in your
yard, rest assured they are looking for
something to eat. Once eating patterns are
established, it can be difficult to change.
Traditional approaches including wire fences,
scarecrow like dolls or predatory animals
will not work. Domestic rabbits which have
been released in the wild are used to such
devices and are not afraid of them. More
importantly, these rabbits are large. The
average adult is the size of a large cat.
Because they are so big, cats will shy away
from killing them. And because they are living
in true metro and city environments, it is
not likely that other predators will be
able to help in controlling populations. This
means you will have to take action if
you want to stop them from destroying your
plants and landscape.
   The first approach is a passive attempt
to get them to forage elsewhere. This can
be accomplished by the use of two products.
If you are not sure what they are eating but
have seen them active in certain areas of 
your yard, RID-A-CRITTER will keep them
away. It is a granule that smells bad and
rabbits will simply avoid treated areas.
Apply it to gardens, flower beds, mulch
islands or turf on which the rabbits are
seen. Generally, they will move away from
where you have applied it. You can also
place it where along the trail or side of
your property you know they are coming from.
Simply sprinkle it to form a barrier over
which they will not cross. Rid-A-Critter is
formulated to withstand rain and sun and
will last 2-3 months depending on the nature
of the climate. Use it to stop rabbits
from hanging around which in turn will 
prevent them from establishing feeding
patterns in your yard. 
   Another repellent you can try is COYOTE URINE.
This has long been believed to naturally repel
several small animals since coyote will feed
on just about anything they can find. Rats, mice,
squirrel, chipmunks and rabbits all seem to be
afraid of coyote and coyote urine is a sure
sign some are in the area. Apply it along property
lines to keep rabbits out of your yard. It is
best to use some in several areas effectively
establishing a round zone or barrier through
which rabbits will not be able to enter.
   If you want to get longer residual from 
the Coyote Urine or the Rid-A-Critter, install some 
some GRANULE/LIQUID GUARDS. These hold the granules/liquid
and protects them from the rain and sun. Intall
them along pathways, in flower beds and other
areas where rabbits are active. You should
still sprinkle some on the ground where the
rabbits are most active but once they are
gone you can use the Guards exclusively.
This will let you get the longest residual
from Rid-A-Critter or Urine. Keep in mind
that the use of either of these repellents
works best if your problem rabbit is coming
around your property and not actually living
there. Repellents work best for such problems.
Also, either repellent is a good place to
start but the use of both is always going
to be the best option. The more repellents
put in place the better.
   Once you know the what the rabbits like
to eat in and around your yard, you 
can  spray  it  with  a  product called 
ROPEL LIQUID.   This  spray  tastes
terrible and will stop them from eating
any flower or shrub which has been treated.
Ropel will not hurt anything. It has been
formulated for use on plants and inanimate
objects which nuisance animals want to chew.
Under normal weather conditions, even trace
amounts will repel the most stubborn rabbit.
This is because the Ropel will last through
rain and continue to be active. The effect
it has on the rabbit is to force it elsewhere
to find food. For larger areas, get the
DEER AWAY. It's concentrated and must be mixed. 
Gallons will make 5 finished gallons of spray. 
Coverage is about 2000 sq/ft per finished gallon 
which means you'll get 10,000 sq/ft of
protection from 1 gallon of concentrate. And
don't let the name mislead you; as you can see
in the picture we posted, it will work on Rabbits
just as good as it will work on any deer. The 
big advantage of the Deer Away concentrate is that it
will last a lot longer. Unlike the Ropel that
can last 2-4 weeks, the Deer Away will last
2-3 months. That means you won't have to spray
nearly as much. Since you are changing the
habit of the rabbit, once it finds another
location to feed it will forget about
yours. Expect to have grazing stop immediately
following treatment. In some cases, the
rabbit may choose another plant on your
property to eat. If this happens, simply
treat the new food supply. Do this as 
often as needed. Generally, the rabbit
will move after one encounter with Ropel,
but in some cases a few treatments may be
necessary.  Use both Ropel and either 
Rid-A-Critter or Urine to obtain the best 
and quickest results.
   If the rabbit is still persisting in hanging
around and you don't want to risk it damaging
any of your plants, install some ANIMAL NETTING.
This mesh like plastic is easy to install and 
will protect flowers, vegetables, shrubs and
just about anything a rabbit might target as
food. Just cut it to size, place around the 
plant you want to protect and either tie it
on with something like fishing line or some
light twine. This product will deter even the
most stubborn of rabbits and once installed,
can either be left on the plant for the time
you want to protect it or removed when not
not needed and the rabbits have moved away.
Since the mesh is light, it will move with the
growth of the plant it is protecting. Furthermore,
it will not take away any water, nutrients or
sun light so the protected plant will be able
to grow naturally. 
   If the passive repellents are not working,
you will need to get one of the more aggressive
repellents we have. This device can be set
out in the yard, around the garden or at
entry points. It works by spraying the rabbits
with water which comes from your garden hose.
Our MOTION ACTIVATED SPRAYING DEVICE will
protect your yard 24 hours a day; 7 days a
week. It has several features which makes it
an ideal addition to any yard. This device
uses a motion detector to sense any movement
in it's "zone". The "zone" is adjustable and
can be set for distances up to 35 feet. Though
it can "see" further, it will loose accuracy
due to the distance it will have to spray. Once
the "zone" is set, the unit is left alone to
do it's job. It has a field of view over 45
degrees and once it sees movement, it will
zero in on the target and spray it with a
three second blast of water. It then resets
within 10 seconds and is ready to spray
again. It runs off a 9 volt battery, has
a water port pass through to allow several
hooked up in series and can used on just
about any nuisance animal. Setting some
of these out in your garden area will not
hurt anything and they will work around
the clock without needing any rest or
maintenance.
   If local food is not available or the
population of rabbits around your property
is big, it may take more than the use of
repellents.  Trapping nuisance animals may
be your only option. Use a LT111230
to catch rabbits quickly and effectively.
The best bait to use in the trap is that
which the rabbit is eating. Take cuttings
from the plant or flower it has been 
feeding on and place a trail leading into
the trap. Place the trap where you are
experiencing the activity and you will
be able to live catch the pest. If you are
not having success using these items as bait,
use our TRAPPERS CHOICE RABBIT LURE. This
special paste combines several food items
rabbits love and has a strong odor rabbits
can't resist.  It will help catch any rabbit
which is a plant eater.  You may catch it
quicker by placing some short fencing
around the desired plant at night when 
you first set the trap. Though such 
fencing may be unsightly, you will only
need to keep it in place for  few days.
The fence will force the rabbit to enter
the trap all the more quicker since it won't
have access to it's regular food combined
with the attractive smell in the trap. If
the area where the rabbit is browsing is
large, you should employ some of the special
TRAILING SCENT. This highly concentrated 
lure is used outside the traps entrance and
will effectively increase the area being
reached by the scent of the trap. Use 1-2
drops applied on the ground at the entrance
to the trap. Next, place 1-2 drops out from
the trap every 1-2 feet in a couple of directions.
By having the scent placed out over a large
area, foraging rabbits will undoubtedly smell
it even if they miss the trap by a wide margin.
Remember, they don't have great eyes and rely
mostly on their sense of smell. By using
the Trailing Scent you will be able to lead
them in the traps direction. This could be
vital for successful trapping since the average
rabbit is "smart" enough or curious enough
to enter cages in search of food. Unlike raccoon
or squirrels, which have a natural curiosity to
seek food aggressively and are quite easy to
trap, rabbits will many times need a lot of help.
Once trapped, you will need to relocate
the rabbit at least 5 miles away to insure
it will not return. Rabbits don't migrate
well and will take residence at the first
place they are able to find a good food
supply. Be sure to locate the animal where
you know there will be a food supply so
that it won't return to your property.
   One other trap design which can be utilized
when conditions are right is the BODYGRIP 220.
This is a true kill trap. It can be used when
you have a known path on which the nuisance
rabbits are traveling. The best place to set
one up is on one side of a hole through a fence
or thick vegetation. Since rabbits will use
their trails over and over again, natural
funnels with small entrances will work. Set
the trap up with a BODYGRIP STAND. The stake
design is best suited for these applications.
Just drive the Stand into the ground making 
sure it is anchored well. Next, set the 220
and then fit it over the Stand. Since the
springs on these traps can be hard to set, you
may need to get some SETTERS.  When the target
rabbit comes walking through this area and tries
to pass through the trap, it will get crushed.
The two springs are quite strong and will probably
break your hand should you get accidently caught.
This trap works quickly and humanely. Remember, it
will hurt cats, dogs or other small animals 
that pass through it so be careful when using
it in residential areas. However, the need for
quick and thorough removal of local populations
can warrant the use of Bodygrip Traps and it
can be a very effective tool when the conditions
are right.

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