the bunny will be reassigned to an undisclosed location

May 25, 2009 10:37 AM

how do I utilize my have-a-heart trap to get the bunnies out of my garden?

Despite applications of rodent spray and hot sauce, the bunny in my yard is chowing down on my lettuce and peas. I have a trap, but so far when I've set it out the little stinker has totally ignored it. I tried celery leaves and carrot tops for bait. Has anyone successfully trapped one of these guys? any advice on trap placement and bait? I promise I won't hurt him/her, I'm just going to implement a Maoist-style relocation program.

posted by genmonster to home & garden (12 comments total)

I'm not sure how to lure him into the trap, but my pet rabbit's favorite food is grapes (green, no seeds) or banana. He absolutely loses his mind for more sugary fruits like that.

Also, are you sure it's just one? I hate to say it, but they tend to travel in groups.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:41 AM on May 25

This might be like trying to tread water wearing weights.... a losing proposition and it'll make you a bit crazy. Where there is one bunny... there are usually many. How big is your yard? You could try to trap and release but my guess is they'll come back.

Is it impossible to set up a fence around the vegetables? I even saw someone do a whole bunch of chopsticks and pieces of wood to make it just enough of an obstacle course that it discouraged them from coming in. Even something that is short enough for you to step over will make it harder for the bunnies to enter -- they could, but why do that when there's lots of other easier stuff?
posted by barnone at 10:47 AM on May 25

I've known apples to work well in live traps for rabbits and squirrels.
posted by limeonaire at 11:06 AM on May 25

havahart traps are hard sell for br'er rabbit. he's naturally suspicious and doesn't want to crawl into any trap-shaped area not of his own contrivance. that said, peanut butter works best, i'm told. i've never tried it myself. mostly because i have a cat.

before the cat came into my life, i'd plant marigolds around the veggie garden. maybe it's superstition, but it seemed to keep the bunnies away. deer, not so much.
posted by stubby phillips at 11:32 AM on May 25

You're not going to put a dent in the rabbit population with a have-a-heart. Either get lethal or fence your garden and bury the fence a foot or so down and angled outwards.

I've never tried electric fence on bunnies but I bet it'd work if you found the right height to put it at.
posted by fshgrl at 11:40 AM on May 25

Havahart suggests spraying the trap with apple cider, to mask the smell of the unfamiliar trap. Apple is a good bait but don't let it get too old, and you can also pre-bait the area to get the rabbits hooked on apple. Cut up cobs of corn also might be good. Set the trap alongside a wall near your garden if there is one. Leave the trap in one place - eventually the rabbits will get used to it.
posted by zaelic at 11:45 AM on May 25

Last year I used a motion detection sprinkler to keep raccoons from digging up my yard, which worked quite well. It wasn't cheap, but did have the added bonus of being hilarious when my roommate forgot it was on and got soaked.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:48 AM on May 25

Your best bet is to put a fence around your garden, I'm afraid. Some chicken wire, a staple gun, and a bundle of surveying stakes will get you a solid fence that will foil the varmints. My wife and I put up just such a fence a couple weeks ago to protect our pepper plants.

The traps are a nice idea but 1) they only trap one bunny at a time (if that), and 2) You have to then take the bunny far away from your area and release it. Meanwhile, bunny's friends are feasting on your garden in your absence.

There are also repellents that are said to work quite well. Usually sold as deer repellent The most effective is said to contain some sort of mega-essence of putrefied egg. Yumm!
posted by Thorzdad at 12:12 PM on May 25

Trying to trap the bunny or bunnies is, as noted in earlier comment, a losing proposition. Rather than building a fence, why not try discouraging them from munching on your veggies? The two best bunny deterrents I've found are:

- Plant a border of marigolds around your vegetable plants. Bunnies (and humans) dislike the smell of the marigolds and will stay away.
- Mix some dog hair in with the dirt around your veggies. Dogs are always shedding; at last there's some use for all that excess hair!
posted by DrGail at 2:02 PM on May 25

I think a fence is probably the only humane way to stop them eating things. Rabbits eat, it's what they do.

If you're putting up a fence, dig a trench along the fence line and bury the first foot of the chicken wire in the ground, this will stop them digging underneath.

I like the idea of chopsticks set into the ground to make a chevaux de frise. No idea if it'd work, mind. It would have to be wide enough to stop them leaping over.

If you are set on using the trap, our pet rabbits used to go crazy for windfall apples, the mouldier the better.
posted by Helga-woo at 2:35 PM on May 25

I don't know specifically about bunnies, but it's usually illegal to trap and relocate other pests like squirrels. And inhumane- you may be getting a mother and inadvertantly leaving the young for dead, or the animal will not be able to survive in unfamiliar territory.
posted by gjc at 4:45 PM on May 25

Fence, fence, fence. Bunnies are easily foiled by simple chickenwire and wooden stake fences. I've even gone so far as to simply plant more and let the little bunnies live the pampered life.

Now if it's a groundhog, I recommend a .22 LR and a safe firing angle. They'll chew right through a fence and decimate 60-80 sq ft. of garden in one evening.
posted by mrmojoflying at 5:05 PM on May 25