Bunnies
 

Do any of you have any experience trapping rabbits? I've a small one born this spring eating up a bunch of shrubs and flowers. The spray repellent doesn't seem to work, so I set two traps and used what I found on various internet sites for bait: Lettuce, carrots, banana, one of the plants he likes to eat (this was in a small pot) and sprayed it with apple juice. Went out this morning to check and instead of a rabbit, I had a small raccoon. He'd eaten everything including the plastic pot the plant was in. I took him out to a lake on the way to work this morning so I don't trap him again, but does anyone have any better bait suggestions?

I have used both carrot and apple in the past. They seem to hold up better than other fruit/veggies but still need to be kept fresh to be attractive. Unfortunately, where you find rabbits you will usually find raccoons and/or possums - just goes with the territory, I guess.

Let us learn from Elmer...lol

Jim, it could have been worse....last time I tried live trapping pests, I would up trapping a skunk. As a side note, I found that Fabrize instantly kills skunk odor, even for room air when you spray the Fabrize like it was a room deodorizer. We keep several industrial-size bottles on hand at all times.

Jim- have you tried the dried blood repellent? It seems to work pretty well for the bunnies. If all else fails, get out the 'ole Red Rider special.

I'll try the dried blood next time I stop at home depot, but the Red Rider option is looking mighty tempting!

Now thinking of skunks, I'm glad I only had a raccoon!

Some times killing may be the best option, short of moving.

When I first moved down here (Georgia) I soon discovered a mouse or two in the rental. It was a nice double wide trailer, as trailers go, and it was all we could afford at the time. I have never been big on hunting, though I love to target shoot, and had a couple of rifles around. The Land Lord would do nothing about the mice and we tried live traps with no luck. One day we noticed no mice! That same week we discovered a nice size copperhead sitting on the kitchen counter. I cleared the house and shot the snake...twice. Then we moved to a mouse free house! Lesson learned. If we ever get any pray type critters around again, be it mice, rabbits or whatever, they are going to be evicted without hesitation, and that includes my yard! I would not have had a snake in my place, and would not of had to put two rifle rounds through my kitchen counter if we had just gassed-poisoned-nuked the mice to start with. Although, moving out of that place was really the best thing.

We had mice and and the resulting copperheads under the shed last year. Finally poisoned the mice after the snakes bit the dogs. Found out dogs are luckily much more resistant to that than people. Stupid dogs tried to eat the copperheads.

I am from South Dakota so the only poisonous snake I recognize right off has rattles. I had no idea what was on out counter top, so my wife looked it up on the computer while I got the gun out. You can imagine my feelings when she said what it was. I really did not want to shoot it, but getting bit was less appealing. And we have kids. The poor thing was just there for an easy lunch, but I wasn't going to let it get away inside the house! We could not move out fast enough though! I will take prairie rattlers any day. I am glad your dog came through OK.

That's the nice thing about living in MI. We only have one poisonous snake, the Mississauga (sp?) rattler, and the last time I checked the last death was in 18xx and was a 70 some year old women who got bit (ie - the are not very poisonous, they'll just make you sick like the flu). That and only rarely will you get a poisonous spider, the occassional brown recluse or black widow, but they are pretty rare.
As far as bunnies - I don't have a vegetable garden, so I let them live in my yard. I believe one has nested and had little ones a few years, although I haven't seen babies yet this year. The tulips still come back, even the ones they manage to eat the flowers off of.