Imaging that you have spent a whole weekend, breaking your back digging over the vegetable garden and preparing the soil for your seeds and transplants, and looking forward to the day the first signs of life sprouts upwards?
(If you are a non gardener, I cannot begin to explain the feelings a gardener gets when a new shoot emerges from the soil and starts to develop.)
Day after day, whilst continuing with general maintenance and perhaps sowing further varieties through the season, you watch with pride and awe as the leaves begins to unfurl and develop.
Then, one night, whilst you sleep, proud and full of expectation of the harvest to come, disaster!.
Rabbits, or even just a single rabbit decimates all of your efforts and feasts on the tender shoots. There will be many a tale of distress amongst you but it is such a common problem.
Jane Perrone is one gardener who is faced with a rabbit problem - Jane is not alone.
I have been involved with pest control, mainly rabbits and pigeons since I was a boy (although not since I have lived in France) so I left Jane a comment but I thought I would tackle the subject here too.
Gardeners are sensitive breed by nature and the last thing that many of you want to do is kill a living creature in the pursuit of their own pleasure.
However, this is the law of the jungle and as rabbits continue to remain at epidemic levels in some rural areas, we have a duty to control the population. There are several methods of control rabbits, some more successful that others.
Using a repellent. The old favourites, although they are minimally effective, used to be creosote soaked rags place strategically around the perimeter of the plot or on the boundary fence. Creosote (now banned) certainly created a stink and I think tended to deter the gardener from going into the garden more than a rabbit, and was pretty ineffectual after a day or two.
Human hair - tied up in grannies old stockings, a ball of human hair was said to ward of the evil bunny but really was pretty fruitless.
Garlic or garlic extract has been found to deter the little critters but again, long term, does not do the job.
In just one night, one rabbit can destroy weeks of careful planning and nurturing.
Fencing is probably the most effective barrier that you can have. However, this is a seriously expensive solution, especially if you have obstacles or perhaps and existing hedge.
The only way that a rabbit mesh fence is going to keep rabbits out is if it is 100% dug into the soil all around the plot at a minimum depth of 30cm. The bigger the plot and the bigger the job and of course, the higher the cost.
Engaging the services of a keen amateur pest controller is probably one of the best solutions. There are professionals but you will have to pay for their time. This cost has to be weighed up against production and you and only you can decide if the pleasure and relaxation you derive from producing the vegetables is worth it.
There are a number of methods of culling rabbits.
Ferreting - this is an old favourite because it is quiet and inoffensive to anyone in the vicinity and it also means that you can access areas deep under sheds, compost heaps or hedge rows.
The ferreter will net up all of the holes using a purse net - a net, about a metre long, with a draw string threaded through the outer mesh and pulled through a metal ring either end. When the rabbit hits the centre, the net is pulled and the draw string, which is attached to a peg pushed into the soil, tightens around the rabbit.
Once a rabbit has bolted, another net is quickly replaced over the exit hole, whilst the ferret(s) continue to search the underground burrows. A rabbit is despatched, either with a swift blow using a cosh or a clenched fist at the back of the rabbits head or by stretching the rabbit with one hand holding the back legs and the other with two fingers around the back of the head, a quick twist and the rabbit is killed painlessly.
High powered air rifles are a good way too. A skilled marksman can take out a rabbit at 35 - 50 metres whilst remaining hidden from view inside a shed (or on top) or camouflaged in a hedge etc.
It is even possible to leave the rabbits where they fall and continue to shoot (although at times, other rabbits can be spooked by the presence of the bodies).
Similarly, a .22 rimfire rifle is extremely effective in the right hands. The range is considerably increased and a good shot can take out a rabbit in excess of 75 metres. However, it is the marksman who has the duty of care and is legally responsible for the shot. When setting up his position for the shoot, the shooter has to evaluate the landscape and assess the probabilities of any missed or ricochets bullets continuing.
A downward trajectory is preferred but a retaining bank is also an asset.
The shooter must also be in possession of an open license or have the land assessed by the local constabulary in order to carry out the practise.
The definition of an open license is that the shooter is trusted with the call on the safety of the shot. Thealternative is that the police will assess the safety aspects of the area and if deemed appropriate, the land shall be named on the licence.
Using a shotgun, especially from the back of a moving four by four vehicle at night is effective too but the rabbit will have a considerable amount of shot peppered into the skin and must be cleaned up before eating.
Rabbits can literally freeze in the beam of a high powered light and good success can be achieved with this method. A fresh, breezy, night with no moon and little light drizzle is perfect. If you have never been out in the country at night with a high powered light and seen just how many rabbits there really are, then you will be amazed.
Gassing the burrows is effective using wax covered pellets called Phostoxin. The pellets are put into openings of the borrows and the face of the hole is sealed. Moisture wears through the light wax layer of the pellet and reacts to create Phosphine gas - ironically, the gas is said to have an odour similar to garlic - the Phosphine gas permeates around the burrows, putting to sleep the rabbits below.
Phostoxin can be used on Rats and is also extremely successful in the control of Moles too (another gardeners favourite).
Before Phostoxin, as a fifteen year old, I had less than fond memories of togging up in respirator and suit to administer Cymag (cyanide and magnesium) to rabbit burrows. Cymag, which is a powerful and dangerous gas, was banned from use on the 31st December 2004.
If you have a problem with rabbits, contact The British Association of Shooting and Conservation - BASC and they will provide a list of pest controllers who are experienced in rabbit control.
All BASC members have to be covered by insurance so make sure you ask to see evidence. Most BASC members, as I did, would carry their certificate in the wallet with their firearms certificate.
Further reading: Rabbit control - Pests Act 1954
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