Critter fence ideas

[ness]

Hi all,

I hope everyone's spring (or fall, if you're down under) is going well !

Over the last few years rabbits have become a real problem for us. We rebuilt our raised beds this spring, and I'm hoping for some input/ideas on fencing for the individual beds. Last year we tried chicken wire first, but it was difficult to work with and we didn't like the look. So we cobbled together a plastic mesh fence on wooden stakes. It worked well...until the rabbits chewed through it.

My plan is to install conduit clamps at several locations on the outside of the beds that can be used for PVC hoops, frames for shade cloth and hopefully some sort of fencing system. We'd like something that looks pretty good, is easy to work with, is durable so it can be reused, and is easy to add/remove as needed.

I'd appreciate any input, pictures, links etc.

[Cole_Robbie]

Everyone's pests are different, but my rabbits are easily distracted by having plenty of green grass to nibble.

[bower]

bunnysafe-peascarrots.JPG

I bet you could make something effective and nice looking with a good durable canvas. I'm pretty sloppy about it but will swear by my little row cover fences. This is snowshoe hare habitat as you can see, and I have had rows of peas snucked off at the bottom and left dangling, using chicken wire around it which is just like a magnet for them, to get to what they can smell and see through the wire. Compare these beds last year (and every time I use it) with zero rabbit damage. As you can see, a two foot high cloth barrier is enough to keep them out. Taken with the height of the raised bed itself, it's above their line of sight, so they can't see in.
Obviously I am doing a sloppy job just slinging around these old row cover discards I got from my friend's farm, and not even aiming for a nice appearance. But if I was going for a permanent setup and to look nice, I would get a good quality white canvas and hem it and sew a loop to run the conduit through the proper length pieces. White is good on the inside because it reflects light to the plants, but you could do another color on the outside for a different look. This is probably not a trendy garden look by any stretch, but it's the only thing I found works for rabbits.
Cole has it right too, it helps that there's plenty of stuff for them to eat without bothering the vegetable beds. And they do seem to like grass best of all! But there are lots of perennials like oregano that they probably nibble for interest without doing any damage. Too easy to keep a bunny friendly open patch, in exchange for my carrots and peas.

bunnysafepeas901.JPG

[bower]

Just out of curiosity I took a look and there is a commercial 'privacy screen' product that could work - it's made of HDPE and pre-finished with a border and grommets to attach with zip ties. It would have to go right to the ground as a bunny fence. IDK if this would work the same as a cotton canvas or cloth, which like the row cover offers nothing firm for a bunny to bite, but it is waterproof and probably easy to clean, install, and remove for winter storage. So this could be a "neat and pretty" version of what seems to work here.

[ness]

Thanks, folks. I hadn't thought of using fabric. Seems like a good solution.

[stone]

At my house, I don't have to fence in many individual beds, and the season for those is short, so I can live with the look of the chicken wire... most important is having a frame to tie the bottom of the wire to.

For my Spring peas, I put in pine logs 18 ft long... and 8 ft wide... and used 1x2 boards with screws to fasten the wire...

To hold the wire up, I used bamboo. metal posts would work, but for such a short period of time? unnecessary.
My peas have begun to bloom... when I'm finished with them, I'll take down the wire, and leave the pine logs there (forever).

You people with grass eating rabbits!
My rabbits eat peas, clover, and violets! Grass? I don't see it... although, they like henbit... but peas most of all.

[jmsieglaff]

IMG_9392.jpg

This is the best fence photo I have at my finger tips of my gardens. I have battled them for years. This is 1/2" mesh hardware cloth. I'd recommend it. I had used 'rabbit guard' fencing for a number of years, but I often had something eating my beans and lettuce. I could not figure it out until I found a baby rabbit in the garden, they could fit through the bottom fence grid, despite tighter spacing....so I do not recommend using 'rabbit guard fence'.

Luckily we have seen hawk populations increasing, which is helping rabbit pressure a little bit. I wish a red fox would take up residence under my deck, that would really help!

[ness]

We had foxes in the neighborhood for a while, and things were certainly better then. Wife just saw one the other day for the first time in a couple years, so I've got my fingers crossed.

[ddsack]

This vinyl coated steel wire poultry fencing is quite nice looking. We had rabbits chew through our plastic deer netting, so we had to run this around the outside bottom of the netting for reinforcement. It comes in various heights, 24" 36" 48" in rolls of 50ft.

[bower]

At one time I had fenced a large garden area intending to keep rabbits out. They were determined to get in despite my best efforts to make it impossible. And yes, at its best no adult hare could get in. The mothers however were happy to poke the little ones through a small hole they managed to make big enough, and the baby bunnies stayed in the garden all summer, protected from foxes I guess!
I have a pic somewhere of a grey fox in the garden with a rabbit in its mouth. That was a good year for the garden, but they don't seem to reside anywhere for more than a season before they move on. I suppose if I wanted regular foxes, I could start keeping chickens...

[stone]

Luckily we have seen hawk populations increasing, which is helping rabbit pressure a little bit. I wish a red fox would take up residence under my deck, that would really help!

cat-rabbit1.jpg

I have rabbit catching kitties...

[pepperhead212]

I have gotten a horrible rabbit problem in the last half dozen or so years, eating any beans or kohlrabi I plant, where they can get to them. Many others, as well, but these are their favorites.

[stone]

fence2.jpg

The poultry netting kind of disappears in the vigorous Spring garden.

peas.jpg

I have the prettiest blooms on my peas!

[bboomer]

It sounds like you all have very aggressive rabbits! They are a pain in my garden but they are also LAZY. I two foot chicken wire fence buried a couple of inches in the ground keeps them out. They just go somewhere else it seems.