RABBIT! What should I DO!

My yard was looking great this year, in fact better then it ever has. I was standing by the window marveling at how good it was doing and to my shock and horror I notice a large hole with dirt and dead grass in front of it. At first I was thinking Moles, but then didn't notice any tracks under the surface anywhere. So I am thinking it might be a rabbit hole. However I have never had a rabbit just walk up and dig a hole right in the middle of a yard! Do they do this, it seems like a weird spot and its about 7 inches in diameter and deep, goes into a dark abyss.

I really am not one to go around nuking animals, even when they take up refuge on my property. But Its in such a bad area I am scratching my head on what I should do, if its having bunnies in there, how long does it take for them to leave and go off to college?

Get a pellet gun and shoot it. They're delicious. I'm not making a joke.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

Seriously, just having one around will be enough of a reason for Bugs to pack up and leave even if the cat doesn't get him.

Soak a rag in ether and drop it in the hole.

Good night rodent.


(Though +1 on rabbit being a tasty morsel!)

I second that. Rabbit is very tasty. BBQ it up!

I cooked up some rabbit recently, it was good but it really DOES taste like chicken (at least the one I bought). I'd love to grill up one that was caught in the wild. I got veto'ed on my plan to cook it up again for Easter.

A cat or a dog around would make them find a new zip code. Even if you can borrow someone's dog for a few days and let him run around the yard. Maybe even a little used cat litter down the hole would scare 'em away.

My guess is it more likely a ground hog than a rabbit. Most "wild" creatures are becoming immune to people so they have little fear. Short of out right assination of the varmit, you could try to live trap and relocate it to some distant wood or field. Or you could invest in a good sized active dog and a fence. Let the mutt run the yard, it'll tend to keep critters away.

+1 for eating the rabit, they are very tasty if a bit oily. But -1 on using a pellet gun. A pellet gun isn't going to kill a rabbit. I can say that with the full confidence that only comes from having tried several times.

If you're outside of city limits, a .22 will do the job nicely. Within city limits, you'd want to use a humane animal trap.

the_bird said:

I got veto'ed on my plan to cook it up again for Easter.

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LOL my dad used to tease us with that for Easter. We'd start getting fired up thinking about the candy, and Dad would roll his eyes and say "I'm gonna SHOOT that goddamn Easter Bunny!" Scared the hell out of us then, but it's funny now.

llazy_llama said:

+1 for eating the rabit, they are very tasty if a bit oily. But -1 on using a pellet gun. A pellet gun isn't going to kill a rabbit.

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Wanna bet? I've killed more rabbits and woodchucks with my cheapo pellet gun than I can remember. Put a cheap 4X scope on it, sight it in, and hit the bunny in the neck or head. I recommended a pellet gun because I didn't know if the OP live in city limits or not. While I agree that a .22 would indeed be more lethal, you can't fire them in city limits. A pump-type .177 caliber pellet gun will do the job if you can't use a .22.

Another vote for kill and eat.

Do a Caddyshack and flood the tunnel with water.

+1 to Kill and eat

+1 to it is probably a woodchuck/groundhog

+1 to eat it if it is a groundhog and tell us how it tastes.

Make sure you know what kind of rabbit it is first. Cottontail? Eat it...neighbors escaped pet rabbit or Jack? (unlikely) Dont eat it.

Its likely a groundhog...and don't eat it, you want nothing to do with that meat. They are fatty and stink like hell, trust me.

OH...and if you aren't a gun person or haven't shot a lot of pellet guns or don't have a GOOD pellet gun. Good Luck on killing it with one shot with a pellet gun.

The More I read up, the more it seems to be a Ground Hog! Great, talk about destroying the yard.

And now my SWMBO says we cannot kill it, we should trap it and release it in a refuge.

:cross:

Aleforge said:

The More I read up, the more it seems to be a Ground Hog! Great, talk about destroying the yard.

And now my SWMBO says we cannot kill it, we should trap it and release it in a refuge.

:cross:

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Smoke that thing out!!
Either that or I second going Caddyshack on that azz! :rockin:

Have a cat? Dump some used kitty litter down the hole. He'll move on with a quickness.

No cat just a dog, and no fence as we can't have them in our community so the dog never just runs around back there to scare it.

What do they eat? Could I use a wire trap with bait inside?

OK, this is what you do...
1. Brew a really tasty German style beer.
2. While your beer is fermenting/conditioning, get some high-quality, all-natural rabbit feed and veggies. Then stick the food down the hole
3. A couple days before your beer is ready to drink, shoot the bunny with a pellet rifle or .22
4. Make Hasenpfeffer and enjoy your beer with a delicious, authentic German meal!

Yes I am serious.

If it is a groundhog keep your dog away from it. Even a sizable dog will take a beating from that varmint. The claws on those things are impressive. The dog might ultimately win, but it wont be pretty.

With all respect to your wife, kill the damn thing. They are more than a pest and it will keep coming back if you trap it. A .22-250 works wonders, but I understand you are in city limits. Get a decent sling shot and steel shot. One good shot to the melon and then slice him open.

We did these with Canadian geese on our property when the neighbors got sick of me shooting the 12 gauge at 5 in the morning . [I didnt think they were home and yes it is perfectly legal to shoot where I live on my property]

Groundhog is easy to trap. Get a steel trap, as in your picture, and dig a bit in front of the burrow. Stake the trap and place in front of burrow. Cover gently with leaves (keep your hands out of the trap). That thing will come home, or leave home, and step in the trap.

If you choose to live trap (I recommend) make sure you can carry that critter MANY miles away and leave in a place suitable, like a field by a woods. If you don't take it many miles away it will be back. If you don't relocate to a suitable location it might not live, thus making the live trapping worthless.

If it's a rabbit, you can, and should eat it if you kill it. They ARE delicious. They actually do taste like chicken, even though that's an overused phrase. I really ought to go hunting more this year.

PM me for cleaning details if you want. It's easy.

Hey some good "Real" advice, who would of thought! lol

I think I am going to live trap it and take it out to the nature preserve. But I am not sure what to put in the trap to make it go inside?

And as far as rabbits I will probably leave them be, I don't mind them as I don't have a garden anymore. However the hole seems WAY to deep after researching it to be a rabbit nest.

If you are going the live trap method, I would just call either the DNR or your local animal shelter. They will come take care of it and relocate the animal for free.

We did this when we had an angry badger roam into our yard.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

If you are going the live trap method, I would just call either the DNR or your local animal shelter. They will come take care of it and relocate the animal for free.

We did this when we had an angry badger roam into our yard.

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Well, this is all nice and good, but takes the fun right out of it!

I don't know if this trick would work, or how you would do it this way, but when I was a kid, I got $1 for each chipmunk I caught (killed) at my grandma's neighborhood. One lady told me to get a milk jug, fill with water and walk towards the chipmunk. It will run directly into it's hole. Then you just remove the cap and shove the milk jug, opening down, into the hole. The water will rush in, and the chipmunk will rush out (into the milk jug). This actually works, but it will not work unless the chipmunk has just ran into his hole, quietly waiting to see if you are going to leave.

Havahart makes a nice trap, but I'm not sure what kind of food would be best to lure them in.

Far and away the best solution to your problem:


extra points if you set up targets and manage to hit one.

llazy_llama said:

But -1 on using a pellet gun. A pellet gun isn't going to kill a rabbit. I can say that with the full confidence that only comes from having tried several times.

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This one certainly will kill a rabbit. With a muzzle velocity of a .22 short and the same caliber, it will easily handle a rabbit or any other varmit that might be tearin' up your yard.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

If you are going the live trap method, I would just call either the DNR or your local animal shelter. They will come take care of it and relocate the animal for free.

We did this when we had an angry badger roam into our yard.

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If you arent going to shoot it/kill it this is the best advice yet. If you really want to live trap it your self, an open can of tuna is good bait...smells like hell and works on chucks, skunks, badgers, and even the neighbor cat.

One word. EXPLOSIVES.

Bugs bunny liked carrots... I've found peanut butter is a favorite of many small creatures, maybe rabbits too?

I'd be careful... bunnies can be dangerous. One minute you're saying, "one rabbit stew coming right up!". The next minute your head falls off.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg]YouTube - Holy Grail - Killer Bunny[/ame]

Doubtful it's a rabbit. They cover the holes they dig with grass to try and camouflage it. If it is a rabbit, they usually do no harm. Where I used to live, I had a rabbit burrow a den in my back yard and have little rabbits every summer. One year, the den was a couple of feet from my hop plants and they did nothing to them. However, after the babies are older, they'd pop out of the den and run for cover when I mowed the lawn. I tried to avoid them, but the last year I lived there, I didn't see one and, well... it ended up like the climactic scene in Fargo.

I also doubt it's a rabbit. Like was said earlier, they are more smeaky about there holes and usually just dig a den, not a bloody subway like a gopher or ground hog.

Only one way to determine it is a rabbit:

Kill it and eat it.

If it tastes like chicken it's a rabbit.

Right?

WHat does gopher or groundhog taste like? Zac, do you know?

You need the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

I'm not convinced you have a woodchuck (groundhog). Every time I have had problems with woodchucks, they have burrowed UNDER something- my shed, my garage, etc. A rabbit is more likely to make a nest in the middle of the yard, IMHO. How deep is the hole? Is it like a tunnel, or just a little depression in the ground? A rabbit will just dig a small depression in the ground and line it with fur for a nest, while a woodchuck will go much deeper, like a tunnel.

OK, I had to ask.. Bernie, How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck has burrowed under your wood shed?

And would said woodchuck suffer depression?

Not very good for your lawn, but incredibly satisfying:

Pest Control - Moles, Gophers, Burrowing Rodents @ Rodenator