Rabbit problem

You can get electric fencing to keep in chicks and ducklings. Maybe you could use some to keep out rabbits.

yogagran, are you sure that rabbits are cutting and leaving? they usually eat - or at least nibble a bit before they move on.

they will cut anything that looks like a root that might cause problems when hopping past - so houserabbits will helpfully cut through all available cables. one of mine bit through the curly telephone wire when i was mid-conversation.

rabbits don't like any sudden movement - so something like a flag waving would scare them for a while - put up a bit of bunting?

Hoiked is very definitely a word, especialy if you live up north

I understand that excitement about seeing deer hoof prints. I found some new ones in my garden today, showing a new place where they jump over the fence. I found some hedgehog poo too, which was also exciting .

'hoicked' is a word, isn't it?

I should think so!

And their poo looks like chocolate drops to little'uns! DGS picked one up when he was tiny, and popped it in his mouth! [horror]

(I hoicked it out very quickly and did my best to wash his mouth out. He never suffered)

they're not the cutest of deer are they, not like bambi, more like a little pig ... my husband has banned me from buying food for them!

You really don't jeni.

I want one too!

yes I know, from gardening point of view its BAD ... but I love wildlife too, and have never seen a baby muntjac ... I'm sure my moggies will keep them away a bit.

You're excited?! About seeing the prints of the next generation of muntjac? In your garden!!!

Can't really add to the suggestions, apart from to say, we have three cats, and they seem to deter the rabbits from getting too close to the house, but we have muntjac,who I think are responsible for "pruning" some of my ground cover shrubs.

We are really excited as over the weekend we saw some tiny deer footprints in the mud, presumably a baby muntjac. If the weather improves, I'm going to sit out there early, and hope I see it.

I planted three ragged robin a couple of weeks ago, protecting the base of them so that the rabbits couldn't get to them, fairly early on the tops of two of them had been chomped off and left lying on the ground and this morning the last one has been topped too. .
I don't want/like a neat and tidy garden and the plants, once they get beyond brand new tasty stage, seem to thrive. It is the new ones that rabbits and deer go for. But thanks everyone, you've given me some ideas to try.
Coupled with a new, boisterous rescue dog around a year old I think that the garden will suffer greatly this year! I'm glad to say that the dog is good at chasing the squirrels away - just need to work on teaching him to chase rabbits too. Just spent ages teaching him not chase deer when we're out and about so it must be very confusing for him!

They don,t eat chives or mint.

Roe deer don't seem to eat sage. They eat a few daffodils, but only a few. Lysimachia punctata is left alone, as are peonies. They like eating Japanese anemones, but the plant survives and flowers every year. I only get to see the flowers for a day or two though. Ragged robin and Red campion do well. The deer do have a nibble at red campion but only a wee nibble. Last year I had two clumps of it flowering from April to November.

I must tell my neighbour. She backs onto a wood and frequently finds deer on her lawn! She also complains that they eat all her plants!

or foxgloves.

We had a muntjac deer for a year or three. N ightmare with the bizzy lizzies, but there aren't going to be any of those now for a while.

They don't eat begonias. Or the perennials.

Or fuschias.

No way! It's only small, about60ft x 100ft. I can't even get into it without help. So it is designed to give a nice view from the house! This is difficult as it slopes down away from the house and has been terraced!
Gary, my Gardner does the best he can, bless him!

jeni
I would very much like to see pictures of your garden..
It does sound very nice indeed.

It would not surprise me if you are in the NGS.

Thanks. I'd love to see them.

jeni, I'll get some pictures sorted next time it rains. I have lots. Just need to make them visible somewhere....

You can borrow my horrible killer cats...particularly fond of baby rabbits this time of year

I have very few rabbits, but daily visits from muntjac deer and badgers. I have found the only way to stop them damaging my plants or digging up the lawn is to feed them peanuts - costs me a fortune at £49.99 a sack. They are also eaten by pheasants, squirrels, tits and pigeons, which I find entertaining.