GARDEN FANATIC:Rascally rabbits in the garden

“Eh, what’s up Doc?” “” Bugs Bunny

“A corn-fed hog enjoys a better life than a creative writer...To be a rabbit is better still.” “” Henry Miller

The soft light of the beginning day revealed the subtle details of the newly planted landscape... stately trees, well-manicured lawn, and beds filled with pastel-colored flowers.

My personal reverie dropped noticeably, however, when I noted several piles of round, dark-colored pellets on the lawn and a number of bellflowers neatly nipped off a few inches above the fresh mulch. The perpetrator, partially hidden by the corner of a hedge, stared at me with luminous, brown eyes. “What’s up?” crossed my mind, from the yesteryears of cartoon television.

The siting of homes adjacent and within the coastal sage scrub, coupled with abandoned Easter bunnies, has contributed to rabbits stopping by to dine in our gardens.

Rabbits can become a challenge for gardeners, as they have a penchant for many flowers, vegetables, shrubs, and lawns. Years with high rabbit population usually mean fewer flowers in host gardens.

How can rabbits be kept out of your garden? Fencing is the best and obvious solution... be it wooden, masonry, or metal. Control methods that may cause rabbits harm are misguided, cruel, and repugnant. Contact the local Animal Shelter or the University of California Cooperative Extension for options in live trapping and release in Newport Coast (I meant to say an appropriate, wild habitat.).

Other than fencing, most rabbit repellents are iffy... but are worth a try. Please consider the Plant Man’s 10 possible solution.

1. Blood meal has long been thought an effective repellent, as well as being a mild organic fertilizer for the garden. It must be applied frequently for optimal results.

2. There is some evidence that glass bottles stuck in the ground (neck down) will act as a barrier in scaring rabbits away.

3. The same may be true with Whirly-gig type windmills.

4. Soybeans are often planted to keep rabbits away from other crops.

5. Mothballs have been thought to repel more than moths. However, I have witnessed soybean plants nibbled down to six inches and denuded gardens that were covered with mothballs.

6. Some gardeners swear that liberally applying dusting sulfur keeps the rabbits at bay.

7. Those into Mexican cuisine recommend sprinkling plants with red pepper.

8. Others say that a spray of three ounces of Epsom salts in 1 gallon of water will do the trick.

9. After cleaning your house, try spraying a solution of one teaspoon of Lysol in 1 gallon of water.

10. Finally it has been suggested that a solution of 1 ounce of tartar emetic and 3 ounces of sugar in one gallon of water can’t miss.

Personally, I can tolerate a little rabbit damage. It saves time on pruning, and besides, it’s a creative challenge to plant flowers that rabbits will resist.

Perhaps the best option is to provide tasty, high fiber meals at their dawn and dusk feeding times, so Bugs, Roger and Thumper are not inclined to eat the garden.