Living in the country we share with the local wildlife at times can be a little bit of a pain, It's lovely to know and see deer, wild boar and the odd fox are around and the balance of a bit of a field being rooted up (the boar) or a chicken being killed (the fox) we can live with but when changes of everyone living in harmony arrive it does sometimes feel like a battle. Having many buzzards around these parts kept down the rabbit and mouse population, until the crows arrived and the buzzards left. The rabbits bred (like rabbits) and now they can be seen everywhere around the farm. The odd buzzard has returned but doesn't seem to be eating many rabbits.
They are cute with their twitchy nose and the way they clean their ears makes them enduring, we still (miss F and I) say ah, look at they little bunny but not anymore after today's findings. I now know how Mr Mc Gregor felt when Peter and Benjamin visited his vegetable garden for they have visited mine ( and probably will be visiting tonight). Evidence of a little hole being dug here and there I can put up with but when they start digging up the potatoes and then throw them out of the hole they are going one step to far.
This afternoon while planting the runner beans I found my poor tomatoes had been attacked. Four have been nibbled with their stems broken off with one being turfed out of the ground, a few have also been chewed which I'm hoping will be able to survive their vicious attack. I had a few spares to re plant which were going in the poly tunnel (for a comparison to see which grew / tasted best so will have to re stock for that test).
I have put a square of rabbit repellent pellets all around with the instruction (if I understand correctly, perhaps not?) of opening both ends of the tube and leaving it in the area that has been protected in the hope that the rabbits will see the container and be repelled. They aren't harmful unlike an air rifle, which may have to be an option if we are to eat our five a day this year as I don't fancy the Atkins diet everyday.
The first photo isn't rabbit holes but large mice (i think) they may not of been large mice to start with, probably normal size mice but seeing as nearly all my peas I replanted have been eaten I think they may be the culprits. Apparently I need to soak them in paraffin, the peas not the mice to stop them from being eaten, the peas not the mice but maybe if i soak the mice that might stop them from eating the peas?
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