In The Tale of Peter Rabbit I always saw Mr. McGregor as the bad guy. Of course, I cheered for Peter when he was being chased through the garden hoping he would escape. Now I can understand why Mr. McGregor tipped over the edge and went berserkoid on the bunny. Those fuzzy little critters can do a lot of damage.

We’ve had rabbits in our neighborhood for several years, but for whatever reason they’ve always stayed on the other side of the road. Until this year. This spring we’ve had a cottontail nibbling at the alfalfa in our driveway. I’ve tried everything to protect the garden and trees from its sharp little teeth.

Rabbits are typically active at night, as well as around dawn and dusk. If they’re foolish enough to be on the garden side of the fence during daylight hours, our dog will put the run on them. Notice I say “put the run,” not “our dog will catch them.” There’s not a chance on this green earth our lackadaisical Lab will come close to one. But I have to be more concerned about what happens in the dark.

Keeping Rabbits Out of the Garden

At the moment, there is a chain link fence between the rabbits and most of the gardens, but I don’t have a lot of faith that it will prevent them from finding their way through the barrier. Rabbits are persistent, particularly when it comes to food.

What I don’t want to do is build a wire fence around all of the gardens. It’s difficult enough to maneuver around the electric fencing I had to string to keep the dog out of them. Since I already have the posts and wire up for the electric, my first line of defense would be stringing another couple of electric lines 3 and 6 inches high. This is below the others that are roughly 10 inches and probably at 16 or 18 inches to deter the hound. Hopefully, the additional lines will be enough to deter the rabbits, as well.

If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to go with a fence to keep them out, using either chicken wire or a rabbit mesh (which I actually think is less pokey). The thing with fencing for rabbits is that you have to think like one.

A Rabbit-Proof Fence

If they’re hungry enough (and they might be if we have a dry season, as I think we will) rabbits can go over or under a fence. The trick is to bury the bottom of the fence in an ‘L’ shape with the end facing outwards. You’ll need to dig 10-12 inches deep with 6-8 inches for the bottom of the ‘L’. Bend it, set it in the trench, and fill it in to keep them from going below your barrier.

For a truly rabbit-proof fence, you also need to have it higher than you might think, because rabbits can be creative when it comes to scaling a fence. Don’t allow the fence to snag, and try to have it reach at least 3 feet tall. Of course, if I have to build one, I’m most likely not going to have it that tall. I want to be able to hop over it myself. Anything much more than 24 inches will be a problem for my short legs! I’ll put in a couple of gates, but know that realistically I’m not going to take the time to walk to them when I’m in a hurry. I need to go over.

I’m really hoping the little bunny will be content to nibble on the alfalfa in the driveway, and will be wise enough to stay on that side of the fence.