# There is a rabbit living in my carrot patch. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160 "2013-01-05T15:21:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Big\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/51bf81/32.png) [@Big\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Blue)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/41 "2013-01-06T19:08:17Z")
Maybe it isn’t a wild rabbit. Could it be an escaped or dumped pet? Sad, but possible. I see rabbits for adoption on my local SPCA website all the time. I once found a site for a rabbit rescue that turned out to be a town over, and was surprised to note some of their rescue rabbits were found. Of course, “found” can mean “my kid stopped cleaning the pen and it is too much trouble for me to bother”, but it can happen. Wasn’t there a thread on here a year or so ago about someone finding a bunny on the side of the road on their way to work?? Great news that you can use the plots again! The more you work and feed the soil, the better it will get! And by the looks of it, it is pretty great already. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/42 "2013-01-06T19:55:09Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > You must live in an awfully poor excuse of a city. I live in a large city, and I see rabbits, squirrels, and deer on a regular basis. > > I also, less routinely, see foxes and raccoons, and very rarely see bears and coyotes. I also smell skunks on a semi-regular basis. > > [http://www.palatine.il.us/departments/police/animal\_control/wildlife.aspx](http://www.palatine.il.us/departments/police/animal_control/wildlife.aspx) > > [Coyotes in New York City Lead Surge in Urban Wildlife | Live Science](http://www.livescience.com/8217-coyotes-york-city-lead-surge-urban-wildlife.html) > > [http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/positionstatements/16-Urban%20Wildlife.pdf](http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/positionstatements/16-Urban%20Wildlife.pdf) You’ve seen bears in town? ---
**Author:** ![highrollinwooded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@highrollinwooded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/highrollinwooded)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/43 "2013-01-06T23:03:20Z")
Also, their poop is excellent fertilizer, as they digest their food so well. I told my husband I believe that is the reason we have the nicest lawn in the neighborhood!!! ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/44 "2013-01-07T01:04:28Z")
If he’s young, he won’t move when you come right up to him–unless you try to pick him up, and even then, he may wait until the last second to run, so that you actually have enough time to pick him up. I’ve nabbed a couple of babies like that and yes, like \*\*Jackmannii \*\*said, they do scream bloody murder. (You’ve not heard anything until you hear a rabbit scream!) My advice would be to leave him alone. When he’s ready to move, he will. As a side note, about the carrots and what he will and won’t eat and the amount–unless you have grand schemes on how to keep wild rabbits out of your gardens (and good luck if you do–you’ll make MILLIONS!), then you’d best get used to having them in your gardens. Babies will eat minimal, depending on what you’re planting. (They did nearly wipe out my blueberry bushes one winter. Ate them down to about two inch stubs. The following year, I put chicken wire around the bushed and that seems like it kept them away.) In my experience, the babies don’t eat near as much as the adults, and tend not to eat EVERY freaking thing. Adults also ate my new okra and green bean shoots coming up. I eventually put up a small fence around my garden that will allow the babies to come through (and hide in the garden), but not the adults (who will come in and eat everything). Your other option is to get an outdoors cat. That will take care of any bunny situation in a hurry, but you have to prepare yourself for near daily “presents” until the bunnies are gone. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/45 "2013-01-07T01:16:18Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > You’ve seen bears in town? Now that would scare the shit out of me. The coyote are freaky enough when you run across them in the dark while taking out the grabage. Fortunately they’re rarely aggressive. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/46 "2013-01-07T01:49:20Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > I know what to do! Replace one of your carrots with a fake metal carrot. After the rabbit eats it, you get hold of a giant electric magnet, and then you turn it on fulll blast. You should easily then be able to trap the rabbit as the metal inside the bunny will be drawn straight to your magnet. You can’t possibly fail this way! Make sure you’re wearing a catcher’s mitt when the rabbit comes flying at you. Have you noticed any ducks posting “Rabbit Season” signs nearby? ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/47 "2013-01-07T01:55:37Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Now that would scare the shit out of me. The coyote are freaky enough when you run across them in the dark while taking out the grabage. Fortunately they’re rarely aggressive. We need a bear tax! ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/48 "2013-01-07T05:33:09Z")
> [@highrollinwooded](#): > > Also, their poop is excellent fertilizer, as they digest their food so well. After I learned about the digestive systems of rabbits, I’m not sure I’d agree. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/49 "2013-01-07T12:00:23Z")
Well, we chased it around the garden for a while. It just kept hopping into another area of the bed and hiding under some other plants. It’s pretty tame for a wild rabbit. We had to push it on the butt with our hands or a stick to get it to move along. After about 5 minutes of 3 people bothering it, it finally ran away and into some nearby bushes and near the compost bins. It made a little nest area on the carrots by either eating the carrot tops or just sitting on them enough to leave a rabbit shaped empty space in the middle of the carrot bed. We won’t be able to go back for about 3-4 days as I do shift work. I hope we annoyed it enough to make it find a new home. It seemed like a youngster as it behaved much like **phall0106** suggested and it is on the small side for what I think a proper sized rabbit should be. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/50 "2013-01-07T12:26:12Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > I know what to do! Replace one of your carrots with a fake metal carrot. After the rabbit eats it, you get hold of a giant electric magnet, and then you turn it on fulll blast. You should easily then be able to trap the rabbit as the metal inside the bunny will be drawn straight to your magnet. You can’t possibly fail this way! I have seen occasions where this might fail. If, as an example, the rabbit holds onto something really tight, the electromagnet might just attract all the cutlery in your house instead, and possibly nails and barb wire. Be sure to stand to one side or behind the magnet instead of right in front of it. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/51 "2013-01-07T12:36:02Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > Well, we chased it around the garden for a while. It just kept hopping into another area of the bed and hiding under some other plants. MacGregor, leave poor little Peter alone: he’s frightened enough by your bullying, just leave him be to go back to his mother and Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, m’kay?? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/52 "2013-01-07T16:37:29Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I have seen occasions where this might fail. If, as an example, the rabbit holds onto something really tight, the electromagnet might just attract all the cutlery in your house instead, and possibly nails and barb wire. Be sure to stand to one side or behind the magnet instead of right in front of it. Hadn’t thought of that. Who knows what such a magnet might attract? Perhaps the idea was a bad one. I suppose **Ca3799** could always buy one of those robots that gets rid of pests. She already has a picture of the rabbit, and if I understand the process correctly, all **Ca3799** needs to do is slide that picture into the slot on the side of the robot, and then the mechanical marvel will go scoot right out, find the rabbit, and take care of it but good. Thank heavens for modern technology! ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/53 "2013-01-07T17:12:19Z")
I can’t be the only person who immediately pictured this: [![](http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/gallifreyboy/RabbitHood_s.jpg) ](http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/gallifreyboy/RabbitHood_s.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/54 "2013-01-07T18:29:43Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Hadn’t thought of that. Who knows what such a magnet might attract? Perhaps the idea was a bad one. > > I suppose **Ca3799** could always buy one of those robots that gets rid of pests. She already has a picture of the rabbit, and if I understand the process correctly, all **Ca3799** needs to do is slide that picture into the slot on the side of the robot, and then the mechanical marvel will go scoot right out, find the rabbit, and take care of it but good. Thank heavens for modern technology! I’ve seen models with a selector dial on the side. Just point the indicator at “RABBIT” and Bob’s your uncle. As long as the rabbit in question doesn’t have a rubber mask and a crayon to write “Ca3799” onto the dial. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160/55 "2013-01-18T08:32:01Z")
You just wait till the giant bunny shows up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-rabbit-living-in-my-carrot-patch/646160.md?page=2)