Rabbits!

When DD moved back from NI with her two small boys after her divorce, she moved into rented accommodation so we gave her cat a home.

He had an absolute ball rabbiting day and night. Talk about the killing fields!! He made great friends with our ridgeback and would bring her the dead offerings as a present. I remember laughing at her expression one day as she lay in her favourite sun bathing spot surrounded by dead bodies. Mittens arrived with yet another victim which was one too many for Nahla who started howling at the kitchen window to get my attention.

They're no longer with us and Rabbit duty is now down to Jazz and Cookie with a little help (or hindrance) from the terriers.

I am going to B AND Q this evening and will try and get some mothballs - we do have children around but I can bury them in the tunnel - the balls, not the children!! Thanks for the suggestion. Failing that I will follow the ebay link - thanks!

Greyhounds? ???

Moth balls.
www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2060353.m570.l1313.TR9.TRC2.A0.H0.Xmoth+balls.TRS0&_nkw=moth+balls&_sacat=0

mimiro, where do you buy moth balls for the wardrobe days? I've tried waitrose.

if cats arent your thing.
gm used to deter rabbits and deer from her roses;
cut a shallow(4inch deep)trench around the plants ,not too close and sprinkle camphor flakes,crystals or balls(mothballs)in the trench,cover with dirt loosely.
its a bit noxious for a while but the rabbits smell it for a long time.
also used in a dirt cellr used to store food.it kept the spiders,afids ,moths and weevels and such away.

we had a problem with woodrats eatting the electrics in our car.i could only find mothballs,so i cut up some tights filled with 6-12 blls and set them in jar lids on the tires.also hung one from the front towing bracket.kept the rats and squirrels away.
had to refill about every 3 months.the smell hung around for about a week.but it was worth it.

just be careful if there are any small children around

Yes, merlotgran and MC, cats are the answer. Many a rabbit or hare, has been dinner for our boys, along with squirrels and rats. They've even tried to take on a fox!

You have my sympathy too. I remember one year when the blighters were eating absolutely everything in my garden - flowers, herbs, vegetables. They even ate the onions and chives, so i bet they would have been ready-seasoned if we could have caught and eaten them.
We are only separated by chain link fence from the fields and the adjoining gardens, so i attached chickenwire to that to prevent them just hopping through. Young ones still found their way in sometimes, but only until they grew too fat on my veg!
Occasionally, a burrow has appeared, but if I persistently block/collapse it, they seem to stop using it.

Currently there isn't a problem - over the last five years, the previously huge local rabbit population has been declining and now seems to have almost totally gone - to begin with, I thought that a neighbour's cat, a very prolific hunter, had something to do with their decline, but realistically I think it must have something to do with disease. It's sad not to see them all playing or relaxing in the fields, but my garden is certainly a lot better now!

You have my sympathy. Without our two Jack Russells and two cats, we would be over-run with the blighters.

Rabbit proof fencing maybe the only answer.