Topic: Thinking of giving up due to grazers

[squeezyjohn]

Earlier this spring I sured up all the rabbit fencing around my plot and it stopped all the nibbling which felt like a triumph!

But on returning from 4 days away I found almost half my hard work this spring totally undone.  Lettuces all eaten, Chard mostly gone, Leaves massacred on all my young carrots and beetroots.  The tops of all my young leeks and onions nibbled down to an inch from the ground and most of the climbing beans chomped - even all the leaves on my lupins, the growing top of 2 sunflowers and my tomato plants were not spared. The peas are no better.

 

I've checked all the fences again - there's no holes, no burrows and it's about 4 foot tall.  I don't know what's been in there - I'm guessing a leaping rabbit or a deer ... but there's no point in carrying on really - there's no way I can net everything on the plot.

The only things I can grow are potatoes, rhubarb and tobacco which don't get eaten.

[caroline7758]

Oh no, that must be heartbreaking! I regularly think about giving my plot up because I can't get on top of the weeds, but that's within my control, while you've obviously put in loads of work to protect your crops and to no avail!

Having said that, I do net quite a lot of things because I get rabbits on my plot too. And I grow carrots in dustbins so I think the rabbits might struggle to get at them! Maybe you could choose a few things to grow and just net them?  And maybe someone here can tell you which plants rabbits/deer don't like, if there are any?

Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

[artichoke]

Oh dear, that's tragic..... We have deer, rabbits, badgers and foxes, not to mention pigeons and crows, and something is gnawing my broad bean pods....but I would never give up. Can you stretch cheap netting over your fenced areas? Lots of my neighbours do, with a tall pole in the middle or here and there, holding the netting up like a big tent so that you can walk about inside it. One of them sews the nets together so that they make a huge canopy at very little cost. I have had deer stamping footprints all over my plots, but the flimsiest barriers of bamboo and netting have successfully deterred them. No-one wants their hooves and horns tangled up in netting if they have somewhere else to go.

Can you fleece your crops, just laying it over them with the odd brick holding it down? Or veggie mesh type stuff, a lot stronger? For some reason, nothing eats my asparagus, apart from squashable beetles.

And what about fruit? So expensive to buy and so pleasant to eat..... Apples, plums, cherries, gooseberries and all the other berries......yes, they need protection, but throwing veggie mesh over them (not the trees obviously) seems to discourage the grazers enough to give a reasonable crop.

Sorry if this advice is irritating, but it seems such a shame to give up when there are solutions. Very best of luck.

[Jayb]

Sorry to hear you are having such problems, overwhelming when everything is being attacked so badly.

Do rabbits jump over 4 foot? Could the entrance to the plot have been accidently opened while you were away?
I've used a battery electric fence to keep out sheep and ponies from my veggie plot. Don't know if it works for rabbits but might help with deer. It just gives an unpleasant zap when touched, made me jump even when I knew the shock was coming! A bit costly though ( I got one when I was keeping a few pigs) or might not be permitted on your site?

[daveyboi]

You can get electric rabbit fencing.... If using wire netting make sure  it is buried in the ground in a L shape about 1 foot deep.
Make sure you do not have any holes as I could not work out how this sort of thing was happening at home until I spotted a baby rabbit could get through a very small hole in the netting.

However have you seen evidence of rabbits in the plot such as droppings? Or deer footprints?

When you mention lupins this brings slugs or snails to mind.

[squeezyjohn]

Thanks to everyone who's replied.  I'm pretty sure it's not slugs and snails as I've got some of those plants surrounded by copper rings which have had 100% success rates in the past and it's quite clearly chomping from the top down in all cases.

I won't give up there - I've put too much time in to clearing it and in to the soil (not to mention the beautiful hand-made recycled shed!).  But I've had it with the stuff that gets eaten ... there is simply no point putting peas and carrots in a place like that (I might try the high up bed though) ... I've got an asparagus bed that's doing well and doesn't seem to be eaten by anything ... I can grow lots of potatoes there, my garlics are doing OK too despite being nibbled to the ground back in the winter and I have got some fruit bushes and trees.  I think I'll put in another bed of asparagus next spring and just concentrate on the things that work!

I think I'll try and get myself on the waiting list for the new allotments in our village which has running water and deer fencing around it although the plots are tiny.  I'm pretty sure I could get better yields of peas, beans, root vegetables, leeks and salads there.

[Digeroo]

We have deer and they can jump 4 or 5 feet quite easily.  Luckily they seem to go away at this time of year but are a real nuisance in the winter. 

I am finding I am having to net more and more things.  Though they do not seem to go from my courgette plants.

I can add voles and squirrels and rats.  And now moles to the list of pests.  Even the geese have been nibbling the leaves off the raspberries.

I really do understand your frustration.  Snails and slugs can be very devastating.  Snails seem to be particularly large this year. 

Can you find a use for goose grass nothing seems to attack that?!!! 

[cambourne7]

sorry to hear that but i am sure that you will find a way :)

Cam

[laurieuk]

Strange you should use the word "Gazers" in your title as this could be your answer. I have used Grazers, the spray against rabbits and found it very successful. It can be used on almost all plants.

[Silverleaf]

Can you find a use for goose grass nothing seems to attack that?!!! 

My rabbit likes that stuff! :)

[ancellsfarmer]

Sorry to read of your predations. I feel at risk with  resident rabbits and deer frequent visitors from adjacent military training areas, but fingers crossed, no losses yet... I have seen rabbits top wire fencing by running up the bracing/strainer posts of proper rabbit fencing. Deer can top 8ft fence if pushed but need a clear run-up.They struggle with loose coils and difficult- to- judge strands. With the loss of Renadine, there are few (non-fatal) remedies. If this incursion has happened in 4 days away, it might be worth a visit first light/ twilight to disturb their grazing habit. If you share allotments, a 'vigilante' patrol may turn them away. Its said that jeyes fluid smelly rags will deter, also lion pee/droppings (buyer collects) from a local zoo .If conditions permit, rabbits can be harvested by legal means, tasty fried with streaky bacon. Invitations by pm welcomed, 10 mile radius of RG28

[squeezyjohn]

Just gone back down to assess the damage and found that not happy with destroying all the young plants out there they've started chomping the emerging scapes and all the leaves of the almost fully mature garlic!!!! 

Whoever heard of having to net garlic?  These things are absolute monsters

[ancellsfarmer]

Because of your recurring posts, and your obvious distress, I have checked your Profile/location and find the Google map with your indicator depicts three large arable fields to the south/south west. If this is the direction the grazers (deer, it seems most likely)arrive, then they will also be feeding there and I would suggest you take the trouble to approach the landowner/farmer and discuss your mutual interests. They may have the greater inclination to fence or otherwise prevent this. Is your allotment council owned, an approach through the parish council might be appropriate from as many plotholders as possible ,this issue needs resolving.