Thursday, July 15, 1999
Rabbit population chomps gardens
More bunny babies survive dry weather
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Ohio gardeners are struggling with nature this summer, in the form of little furballs.
Experts think that dry weather is to blame for the 15 percent increase in the state's rabbit population from last spring.
“During heavy rains, their burrows get flooded, and the babies drown,” said Jack Kerrigan, the Ohio State University extension agent in Cuyahoga County. Dry spells ensure that more rabbits make it past infancy — and into garden-chomping stage.
Rabbit populations are estimated by rural mail carriers, who tally the number of animals they spot on their routes, Bill Beagle, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Natural Re sources, said this week.
This spring, the carriers spotted an average of 4.8 rabbits per 1,000 miles traveled — an increase of about 15 percent statewide compared with 1998, Mr. Beagle said.
The increase in rabbits has not hit the Cincinnati region as hard, said Daniel Frevert, assistant wildlife management supervisor for the state Division of Wildlife's Southwestern Ohio office. He hasn't taken one call or complaint on rabbits this year.
While the region has had some dry weather lately, wet weather this spring helped stem the rabbit population, said Pete Cassinelli, owner of Cassinelli's Glendale Nurseries. Wet springs the past couple of years have saved many area gardens from chomping bunnies.
In Lorain County, Eric Lis has watched his crops get devoured by the animals. “I've gardened here for nine years, and I never had a problem until this year,” he said.
He has tried chicken wire cages, epsom salts, Tabasco sauce and even hair clippings to try to keep the rabbits away. Nothing has worked.
“They're eating everything — cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. The habanero pepper plants were not in the ground an hour before they started on them,” Mr. Lis said. “This fall I'm building a fence.”
Calvin Creasey, a professional landscaper in Stow, uses a fence and chemical spray to keep rabbits away from some of his flowers. Chemicals cannot be used on edible plants unless they are specifically labeled for that plant, however.
An 18-inch-tall chicken-wire fence is the best method of controlling rabbits, Mr. Kerrigan said. But 6 to 8 inches of the fence must be buried, or a strip must be placed on the ground, to stop the animals from burrowing under the fence.
Mr. Cassinelli uses a fence and an active cat to keep the rabbits from his West Chester gardens. And for those bunnies that dare, he developed a spray a few years back for his plants. The special concoction is made with hot sauce.
“We haven't had a problem with rabbits since,” he said. “They don't like the hot sauce.”
Gardeners under attack from the rabbits will have to be content with trying to keep them away from their carrot patches. It is legal to trap rabbits in Ohio, but it is not legal to kill them without a license.
It is also illegal to dump trapped rabbits on someone else's property or in parks.
Enquirer reporter Phillip Pina contributed to this report.
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