# Rabbits!



## Hills Hoard (Dec 13, 2013)

Spotted a rabbit in my back yard today for the first time in 2.5 years of living in our new house.   Went to chase it away to see where it came from because we have got quite good fencing all around that section of property and the little bastard ran straight under my wood stack!   Spotted him again later and same deal...ran under my wood stack.....not happy because i dont want a system of holes and burrows in my yard.....any tips on getting rid of them?   I have a dog too so im not sure about poisoning them...


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## Michael Golden (Dec 13, 2013)

Your rabbits dig holes? We must be talking about different animals here.....lol


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## geoff1969 (Dec 13, 2013)

you could try traping it with a possum trap ...


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## Hills Hoard (Dec 13, 2013)

Michael Golden said:


> Your rabbits dig holes? We must be talking about different animals here.....lol



rabbits here dig massive networks of tunnels............thought it was a global rabbit habit


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## NH_Wood (Dec 13, 2013)

Shoot it if you can. The fewer rabbits down under the better. Cheers!


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## Hills Hoard (Dec 13, 2013)

this is what they do


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## Hills Hoard (Dec 13, 2013)

NH_Wood said:


> Shoot it if you can. The fewer rabbits down under the better. Cheers!


 

i dont have a gun license and i dont have enough property to shoot guns....i could get away with an air riffle or a sling shot...


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## Beer Belly (Dec 13, 2013)

Hills Hoard said:


> this is what they do
> 
> View attachment 120407


 HOLY CRAP !....shoot it, stomp it....hit it with a freakin' shovel....that thing has got to go !!


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## paul bunion (Dec 13, 2013)

Rabbits are non-native pests there as I recall?


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## Wood Duck (Dec 13, 2013)

In Australia they have introduced European rabbits, which dig holes and tunnels. In the US our rabbits don't dig at all. You Aussies should have introduced American rabbits, not English rabbits, or better yet, no rabbits at all. I think rabbits have been a major ecological disaster in Australia.

American rabbits chew the bark of saplings in the winter and have killed a lot of the evergreen trees I have planted. They are a pain, but they're native here and not a big problem compared to the rabbits in Australia.


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## Bad Wolf (Dec 13, 2013)

That's right, you guys are now "safe" from gun violence.

Crossbow?


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## TwelveBravo (Dec 13, 2013)

Air rifle or possibly a slingshot. Not sure of your laws regarding projectiles. As long as you have a safe, positive back-stop, could make for a fun day.  Don't know about yours, but American Cottontails are delicious! We hunt rabbits quite a bit here. My son and I will be out this weekend if the weather cooperates.  Good luck.


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## jatoxico (Dec 13, 2013)

I understand your worries. I've seen some footage (recent and back in the day) of hoards of rabbits like a locust swarm. Definitely not a cute little bunny or two. The rabbit population by me fluctuates depending on the fox population. Foxes moved on last year but they will be back and not a moment too soon. One of the little varmints was eating up my perennials .


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## byQ (Dec 13, 2013)

Pet ferret anyone? In England they put little nets over the holes and then send their ferret down into an adjoining hole. The rabbit bursts out of the hole and into the net. Ferrets really go after rabbits.


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## Pat53 (Dec 13, 2013)

Get a snare. They are relatively cheap to buy. Just place in at the opening of the hole/entrance, you'll have him in a jiffy. Work good for coons and feral cats too.

Pat


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## brenndatomu (Dec 13, 2013)

Hills Hoard said:


> this is what they do
> 
> View attachment 120407


Wowsers! I've_ never_ seen rabbits do anything like that around here! Now, groundhogs, that's a different story, they'll undermine your stacks in a heartbeat!


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## BrotherBart (Dec 13, 2013)

Bugs Bunny dug holes.


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## tcassavaugh (Dec 13, 2013)

get a box trap like "have a heart" then you can take it someplace and release it away from your house. or, you can get real close with a pellet gun, point blank. are they good eating? cottontails and snowshoe and the like are really yummy.


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## kingston73 (Dec 13, 2013)

Do you need any type of license for a pellet rifle?  I'd do the live trap and then kill it with a pellet gun idea first if possible.  That's insane how badly they can damage your land, I've read about it but never seen it.  Whatever you do I'd stay away from poison of any sort, too many bad things possible with that.


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## Hills Hoard (Dec 13, 2013)

paul bunion said:


> Rabbits are non-native pests there as I recall?




 correct, massive pest




TwelveBravo said:


> Air rifle or possibly a slingshot. Not sure of your laws regarding projectiles.  .  Don't know about yours, but American Cottontails are delicious!  .



Pretty sure sling shots are highly illegal here in oz, but you can buy them in shops...they just call them bait throwers...hahah...air rifle im pretty sure you need a license...laws here are really strict...i know of a person who got charged with fire arm offenses for having a plastic pellet gun...like a cheap toy version of an air soft gun...some people eat rabbits too, but i think the running joke is you get more lead than meat on ours..



kingston73 said:


> Do you need any type of license for a pellet rifle?  I'd do the live trap and then kill it with a pellet gun idea first if possible.  That's insane how badly they can damage your land, I've read about it but never seen it.  Whatever you do I'd stay away from poison of any sort, too many bad things possible with that.




yeah, im worried that my wood pile is going to collapse because of their digging....

i did anticipate rabbits when i put the wood pile there....pretty annoyed..


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## BobUrban (Dec 13, 2013)

can you trap?  Rabbits are really easy to trap and a small conabear is instant death vs. a leg hold trap. Actually anyone outdoorsy enough to procure firewood can easily build a simple snare from materials laying around the house and have fun catching those suckers.  Google survival snares and have fun.  I have trapped and snared undesirables around here in the past.


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## byQ (Dec 13, 2013)

Here's how ferrets and nets are used (warning these rabbits were not re released but they could have been).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaVkdhKXkjQ


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## Ralphie Boy (Dec 13, 2013)

We had those dang things on a NATO in Belgium base where we were once stationed. They had to close a building because the buggers tunneled under it and compromised the foundation.


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## Michael Golden (Dec 13, 2013)

Hills Hoard said:


> this is what they do
> 
> View attachment 120407



Never seen such a thing! Amazing......I would hate rabbits if they did that to my yard!


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## Paulywalnut (Dec 13, 2013)

Looks like the work of a tazmanian devil.


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## joelaycheck (Dec 14, 2013)

Here is a similar method but the ferrets aren't as friendly.


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## Hills Hoard (Dec 15, 2013)

well, my dog spotted the rabbit for the first time yesterday and i told him to go and get it...he bolted after it but it got away....then a short time later my dog spotted it again and took off after it so hopefully he is on the look out for it ad catches it....I am going to try and build my own trap too...sounds like fun!


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## Hills Hoard (Dec 16, 2013)

another sighting last night...i got a better idea of which pallet (that's supporting my wood stack) the rabbit lives under...so i made some snares and then used sticks to make a little fence which blocked off exits to funnel the thing through the noose....given this is my first attempt at setting snares i'm not brave enough to post pics yet, but ive been doing a lot of viewing on  youtube and leading up to christmas im sure i'll be refining them...


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