Gardening, Uncategorized

Rabbits are becoming a problem!

| by Derek McKay

Arborvitae (Cedar) bush next to our house. 

This is a post warning for anyone who has wild rabbits in your area, Hungry Rabbits are becoming a problem across Clayton and other communities in the area, and small trees and shrubs are at risk of being killed. if you have newly planted trees or shrubs in your yard, and you know you have wild rabbits around I highly recommend that you cover your new plantings with fencing with holes small enough to where they cannot get though. I was looking out the window this morning and I saw two rabbits eating the bark off of a Plum tree I had planted last spring, unfortunately they have stripped the entire small trunk bare, which means the tree will likely not live. When I was walking around our yard, I noticed that they have been to every bush and tree in our yard. so I immediately fenced off the most important trees most trees only had little branches eaten off. you can tell if you have rabbits by the tracks they make in the snow, they also leave many little “gifts” in the lawn, so if you have seen Rabbits in your area, be very watchful of your new trees and shrubs!

Hemlock fenced during Winter to keep rabbits and our dog away. 

Also while your watching for rabbits don’t forget to keep snow from totally covering your bushes. when young bushes are totally cover by snow it can become heavy and flatten your bush out. ALSO Remember to leave some snow cover the ground next to the plant, snow is an insulator which protects the roots from extreme cold temps. just brush off enough to keep the snow from breaking the branches, When removing snow off Bushes remember to do it carefully, Evergreen bushes become brittle in temps under 28.F and the branches and break very easily. Also watch our for snowplows, that may have pushed snow over plants makes sure to uncover. hope this post was helpful!, in other subject the weather was actually nice today, we had sunshine and temps nearing 30! 

8 Comments

  3. Sorry to hear about the rabbits! The best way to get rid of them would be with a live trap, baited with lettuce or carrot coins.

    http://tinyurl.com/8fh7s5

    All the rabbits I’ve dealt with are the invisible kind, or at least the kind which sneak around only at 2:00a when all humans are fast asleep. I’ve never seen a rabbit in daylight to shoot.

    If you do trap, then you have the option of making hassenpfeffer stew or release the live dust bunnies far, far away.

    At the moment I’m lucky enough to have plenty of predators in the forest, I usually see Fisher tracks in the driveway.

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