Allotments 4 All

Hi my allotment is in the countryside so we have a lot of problems with rabbits and other wildlife and i was wondering what is the best thing to do to try and stop the rabbits eating all my crops apart from sitting up the lottie with a gun(nice to eat) i was thinking of putting chicken wire all around my lottie any ideas would be a help

We had the same problem, we imported three feral cats from Cats Protection.  We see them from time to time, but we also have little piles of feathers from the pigeons they catch, and we need to see if the rabbit population diminishes.  There are so many in the fields adjoining the site, but even if the cats catch only the babies, that's a bonus.

Chicken wire works! so does ferreting / shooting!!

I Have had huge probs with these little pests

They eat everything,even my lovely hebe.

I could not hurt them,Just use wire and net. :)

We get the occasional one coming down the railway line in cold weather. There were definite rabbit footprints on the site recently, and they're such a pest we're not happy about it!

Get some foxes.  Rabbits make excellent fox food.

 Try and have a word with the landowner I think that I read somewhere that they have to control their rabbit population by law.

Quote from: Richard Kinson on February 03, 2009, 20:25:45
that they have to control their rabbit population by law.

This is true but there is a difference between "control" and "totally eradicate". When landowners "control" a rabbit population nowadays its often with gas...

The ferral cat idea works. I had  a flat patch on my sweet williams where a local cat used to lie in the sun, I was bothered at the time until I realised I was one of the few who never netted brassicas etc, never get any damage. Occasionally see him as well....

Chicken wire helps but smaller rabbits can squeeze through it, I ended up using the kind of wire mesh you see on an  aviary.

Thanks for all the replys some good ideas I never thought of will be looking at the cat idea and smaller wire

We don't get so many foxes now, since we had an epidemic of mange. they are around though. Something will have the bastard thing.

I had the same thing last year. I used tin sheets all the way round. Hard work as its 150ft x 35ft but they seem to be doing the trick.

I am not sure whether I have a fox or a feral cat on my lottie. There is a space near the IBS I managed to cadge which looked in the longer grass like a sleeping area for a cat/fox sized animal.

We are in the middle of the countryside so surrounded by rabbits. Although we have chicken wire dug into the ground to 12" depth we do sometimes see a baby rabbit on the plot. But not for long. I also don't seem to have trouble with smaller rodents like my neighbours anymore (thinking  particularly rats).

As I am clearing this area for a shed I will definitely have to make sure that  I leave a patch that is fox/cat friendly.