They’ll get old enough and clear out within 6 weeks. You can buy crystallized fox urine, which might scare them away, or you could plant something they don’t like the smell of, such as mustard greens (mine don’t like them). You’ll have to do this for a couple years, as they are persistent.
If they aren’t causing any damage, you could also view them like larks: they choose places that are quiet and safe, meaning your home meets that criteria.
Wild, North American rabbits are less destructive than mice or their European counterparts. They don’t build warrens. The does dig a little indentation into the ground and line it with fur, grass, and leaves for the babies. If they don’t have kits to take care of, they just loaf on the ground, no digging.
They are cute and seemingly harmless, but we have repeated Tulameria outbreaks here. I’d like to avoid the possibility of that airborne illness wafting up through the deck slats.
Our AC is having an issue, so the service company is coming to have a look. I just got a text to let me know the tech is on his way… his name is… chuck norris.
Understandable, lime disease is the big one out here. Rabbits do get ticks, which is a nasty vector.
As for eating your plants, the main thing is to plant something they like better somewhere else, such as clover, dandelions, crabgrass, or brassica (cabbage and broccoli), or inter planting plants they don’t like among the other plants. The second option doesn’t work as well with rabbits as it does with deer, since they are closer to ground level and can get to the stuff they like a lot easier than deer. (We plant ornamental peppers to keep the deer away. Fun fact: our pet rabbits eat jalapeños and Serrano straight off the plant, so ornamental peppers may not work for wild rabbits.)
Your garden plants are a treat for the rabbits, but what they really want to eat is grasses, dandelions, plantain leaf, and other assorted “weeds.” They prefer the thick, fat grasses, and need them for proper digestion (or they can go into GI stasis), so if you can create a spot where the grass can grow thick and uncut, maybe with clover, dandelions, and other weeds nearby, they will naturally prefer that to your other plants.
Our home’s previous owners had a little 5x5 kennel built onto the side of the deck for their dogs, which we just use for storage since we don’t have dogs.
A possum (Lillian) lives under the kennel. So does a groundhog. And I’m pretty sure this winter a skunk was nesting under there too. I’ve seen all three of them go in and out from under it. And we haven’t heard any ruckus, so they must get along ok.
The possum sometimes climbs up the steps to get cat food, which we leave on the deck for the two stray cats who basically decided we’re their people now. The cats get along with her fine and don’t seem to mind sharing, they just watch her. Then she tumbles back down the stairs like something out of a 3 Stooges or Laurel and Hardy movie, because she’s extremely klutzy. And it’s kinda sad but also very funny.
Luckily, the skunk and groundhog don’t come up the stairs.
Next year, I kinda want to put a camera down there so we can see what really happens under our house. Do they all snuggle up together for warmth, or do they each have separate corners? Do they all meet in the middle to hang out? I have no idea.
I think what I posted is about making the wifi signal stronger, not blocking EMF radiation. I guess, though, that it might increase radiation exposure? (And if such exposure is a problem, I guess I’m screwed, since I’ve had an unshielded router in my home for decades.)
Yeah, I just thought it was a funny addendum to what you posted.
Because there are people who want the exact opposite of what you posted (I guess they’re not the brightest onions in the attic) and there are people making things and selling to them. Which makes no sense at all, but it is kinda amusing.
