So just as fast as my green beans are popping up, they're falling victim to the rabbits. I have some ideas of what to do involving some left over wire fencing and red pepper powder. So what have others used to battle these critters?
We don't have a problem with squirrels--they stay near the neighbor's pecan trees. But rabbits! We found that the only thing that kept them from eating our greens and seedlings was a 3' fence. We used T-posts with chickenwire strung between the posts. Ghastly little rodents, and because they are so cute and cuddly looking, it's hard to emulate Elmer Fudd.
Thankfully our property is surrounded by 6' high fencing so we've never had a problem with rabbits. I hope you can deter yours before all your green beans get decimated Northerner.
Our community garden has a chicken wire fence that goes underground a foot. Plus an outer electrical fence. (Plus gun entrapments and a moat with piranha.) (I wish). I have dug an 8 inch trench around my plot to discourage the voles. They do more damage in my garden than the rabbits. Dried blood helps too. Coyote urine.
Chuckle MG! I wish! Although we do have some packs in our town. We hear them in the evening or middle of the night. Twice I have heard them while gardening at the community garden in broad daylight. The first time I didn't think anything of it, the second time it occurred to me I might not be safe, so I scrambled for my car.
Don`t worry about the coyotes ! People are not on their menu ! We have tons of them here ! Found one pup sleeping under my zuchinni plants one year. They can be helpful in an odd way. We had a pair that claimed our pasture as their territory ! As long as they were here nothing bothered our watermelons. The year they moved we got wiped out. Coyotes love watermelons!
Cayuga, coyotes "yodel" and wolves howl. If you hear yodeling don't worry about being attacked. If you hear howls, you may want to get to safety. Wolves are pretty mellow, just preying on small mammals and the occasional deer, but since you are a "dear" you might want to take precautions!
I know the incidence of coyotes attacking people is rare, but several summers ago we were hiking on a well trafficked trail in Acadia Maine. It was one of those boardwalk trails along a cliff edge overlooking the ocean. We were hiking in the middle of the day and there were lots of people around. We found out the next day that a woman had died the day before after being attacked by coyotes on that same trail. The difference was she was hiking alone and at dusk. That has freaked me a bit.
Do they know for sure it was coyotes ? They are really not that big ! Now if someone or something has been injured,, they are opportunists and will take what is available !
Oops. It wasn't Acadia Natl Park in Maine. It was in Nova Scotia, the Cabot Trail. The Rangers put up warning signs.
