# Can I poison rabbits?



## mountainwmn (Sep 11, 2009)

My neighbor has a buried but rotted through metal pipe in his yard, and the rabbits are ridiculous. They ate my entire garden, the fruit trees, my raspberries, and all the decorative bushes and stuff in the yard. I can't shoot them, I haven't been able to get quite close enough to smack them with a shovel, and live traps are too difficult to dispose of the rabbit inside. Can I get some poison to kill the little buggers, or what can I do?


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

If you poison the rabbits, then any animal that eats one may die also. Our cats and dogs take care of any rabbits around here.


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## mountainwmn (Sep 11, 2009)

I don't think anything is eating them, no stray cats or loose dogs, and I counted 14 of them in my back yard last night, and thats just what I could see from outside my window.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

If you don't have cats or dogs loose you could use #110 conibear traps. That would be far more humane than poison. If you do have cats and dogs in the area I wouldn't because the conibears could easily kill someone's cat or small dog.

Set the trap in a tunnel where the rabbit would go to hide. You could compost the rabbits.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

If you use livetraps, is there anyone around that would take care of them for you? I know our neighbor gladly takes any wild rabbits off our hands(he eats them).


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

You could put the rabbits in the freezer (live traps). That way your garden loss wouldn't be a total one...


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Tou are talking about throwing away perfectly good food here!

Trap them, break their necks, skin, gut, and eat them.


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## ninny (Dec 12, 2005)

Make some snares. Here's a webpage that gives instructions on how to make them.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2310961_make-rabbit-snare.html


.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

A $.50 bottle of cinnamon in a blender of water, sprayed all over will make 'em stop eating your plants.


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

What state do you live in? Some County Extension offices will help with excess wildlife. I assume you live in a city so can't shoot them. A pump pellet gun is quiet and lethal. Just dont' talk about it. Oras suggested, herd them into live traps and a 5 gallon bucket of water.


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## EasyDay (Aug 28, 2004)

mountainwmn said:


> My neighbor has a buried but rotted through metal pipe in his yard, and the rabbits are ridiculous. They ate my entire garden, the fruit trees, my raspberries, and all the decorative bushes and stuff in the yard. I can't shoot them, I haven't been able to get quite close enough to smack them with a shovel, and* live traps are too difficult to dispose of the rabbit inside*. Can I get some poison to kill the little buggers, or what can I do?


:stars:
How hard is it to dispose of a live rabbit? You don't have to kill it, just drive down the road a ways and open the cage.

I presume you can't shoot them because of the proximity of other bldgs, etc.?

Honestly, poisoning any wildlife should be an absolute last resort... and I don't think you've tried everything yet... just gave reasons why you can't.
As others have pointed out, when you use poison, not only is it an agonizing, torturous death for the animal, but anything that eats that animal (alive or dead) will be poisoned, and on to the next animal, etc.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Around here an explosion of cottontails is followed by an owl setting up shop for a couple of weeks until they're all gone.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

EasyDay said:


> :stars:
> How hard is it to dispose of a live rabbit? You don't have to kill it, just drive down the road a ways and open the cage.


There you go, just make them someone else's problem.


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

MullersLaneFarm said:


> There you go, just make them someone else's problem.


Actually, not really. Rabbits depend mostly on knowing their environment really, really well. That way they don't have to think about where to run. Rabbit hunters know that a rabbit always runs in a circle, they are staying to their known trails and heading along them back to their established burrows.

New place = no known trails or burrows = easy meal for anything that eats rabbit. And EVERYTHING eats rabbit because rabbit is GOOD!

Not sure why the OP isn't eating them. But, if you want rid of them with no fuss on your part, go here; http://americanbeagler.huntingboards.com/index.php
And write a post saying you have cotton tails to trap, buyer supplies the traps and picks up the rabbits. Someone will want them to turn loose on their place.


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

Put an ad on craigslist offering to let someone put some live traps in your yard. They can come by daily/every other day to pick up the bunnies and take them away for eating. There are people hurting for food right now. What if you poisoned a rabbit and then some poor person ate it before it died?


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## mountainwmn (Sep 11, 2009)

I have to say that I didn't think of eating them because I didn't like wild rabbit when I tried it before. It never even occured to me that someone else might want to! I cant get to their tunnels because they are on the neighbors property. Its not city here, but yards are small and the neighbors are close. Thank you all, I'm going to try that link and craigslist and see if I can find someone that will eat them!


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

I've found that Havahart live traps work great for keeping pack rats (our local main pest) nice and calm until Mr. Pellet Pump Rifle takes care of them with a point-blank head shot. With rabbits, that'd be my solution if you can't find anyone to take them live for food. For a while, a neighbor shuttled our live rats-in-a-trap to a wildlife rehabber (for raptor food); probably not possible in this case since bunnies have hunting seasons and such.


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## EasyDay (Aug 28, 2004)

MullersLaneFarm said:


> There you go, just make them someone else's problem.


HAH! Rabbits? No.


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## luvrulz (Feb 3, 2005)

mountainwmn said:


> I don't think anything is eating them, no stray cats or loose dogs, and I counted 14 of them in my back yard last night, and thats just what I could see from outside my window.


Your neighbors have cats and dogs. If you're worried about rabbits getting into your garden, FENCE IT! Duh! Or get a dog that likes to chase rabbits. Using poison is not the solution.......


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

They hate eggplant (chickens do too)........Do ya like eggplant?? :grin:

Poisoning them is just cruel and wrong. Either find someone who wants them or shoot them or trap them. Drowning is kinder than poisoning..

Rabbit is really really REALLY yummy :happy0035:


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

Can you shoot them with a pellet gun? I've killed (and eaten) rabbits with pellets before. Course they're out of season now and if you kill momma, babies until they're weaned are going to die as well. Can you get your neighbor to fix the pipe to stop the problem? That's where I'd start. By the way...you may think nothing else is going to eat them so you're not worried about poisoning them, but poisons will affect turkey vultures,hawks, all things that depend on them as food. I would encourage you to find alternatives to poisoning...


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

I'm still trying to figure out the neighbors pipe. Did I miss it?:duel:


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Me too, Ed


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## stormwalker (Oct 27, 2004)

mountainwmn said:


> \They ate my fruit trees,QUOTE]
> How big are these rabbits?
> No poison!
> There has to be someone nearby glad to catch these critters and eat them!


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## Riverdale (Jan 20, 2008)

EasyDay said:


> :stars:
> How hard is it to dispose of a live rabbit? You don't have to kill it, just drive down the road a ways and open the cage.


Illegal in Michigan.

Put them in the freezer.
If you don't like rabbit, give it to a food pantry.
Poison just wastes the rabbit.

Editted to add-

Would you release a chicken killing raccoon or oppossum "just down the road"? I wouldn't...


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## EasyDay (Aug 28, 2004)

Riverdale said:


> Illegal in Michigan.
> *
> But poisoning the food chain isn't?*
> 
> ...



Let me say this, I presumed that common sense would NOT be abandoned based on my comment. Did I really NEED to say "Do NOT dump a rabbit in your neighbors garden?" Should I have to point that out? 

When I go down the road, there is 1200 acres of wilderness. I realize this isn't true for everyone, so a simple "It is too populated in my area to dump them down the road" would have sufficed. No attack was necessary. How childish!

Don't preach about being responsible when you advocate KILLING animals over taking apt measures to guard against them... namely fence. That's what I use, and people a hundred years before me, and it works like a charm.

A responsible farmer works WITH nature, not against it.

Reminds me of the thread some time ago: "How can I kill the possum that keeps getting through the hole into my barn?". People jumped in about how to kill the possum. :stars: Finally, someone said "close the hole in the barn". Get it?


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## ronbre (Apr 26, 2009)

snares but be careful of any other animals..I wouldn't use them here now with our cats

i also wouldn't poison them

use chicken wire or other things around your tender plants..I wrap my baby trees with plastic tape in the winter, they don't bother them in the summer here..they don't bother my berries, 

also a cat or dog should help, my cats eat rabbits and catch them full grown


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Used to be feral pigs would come in and wipe out my garden at the farm. Now I just trap and eat the pigs and get vegetables from my neighbor who likes sausage. 

If you don't want to eat them, can you put a rabbit proof fence around your garden?


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## Riverdale (Jan 20, 2008)

EasyDay said:


> Let me say this, I presumed that common sense would NOT be abandoned based on my comment. Did I really NEED to say "Do NOT dump a rabbit in your neighbors garden?" Should I have to point that out?
> 
> When I go down the road, there is 1200 acres of wilderness. I realize this isn't true for everyone, so a simple "It is too populated in my area to dump them down the road" would have sufficed. No attack was necessary. How childish!
> 
> ...


I am not sure where the bolded line (attributed to me) came from, but it is NOT part of my quote-

I need to fence around my gardens because deer and rabbits have destroyed my peas. I have cats, so trapping the rabbits (with conibears) is not an option.

As for "preaching about being responsible". If this is aimed at me (and since my quote was used, I am assuming you are), there are some animals (raccoons and oppossum for two examples) that kill just to kill, regardless of fencing or holes. I lost a buck rabbit to a raccoon after the **** ripped a hole in the pen.

I was also making a point that it is illegal to trap a raccoon, oppossum, rabbit or skunk (or any other small animal) and relocate them. You get caught, you get a ticket and fine. Snares are also illegal in Michigan.

I also advocated (if this tact was taken) that if you don't like rabbit, give it away. Someone could use it.

I don't even used poison on ants around here, we try to control them with non-toxic (to humans and pets) controls.

And if you considered my post (with a misquote in it also) an attack, I don't know what to say. I guess if one disagrees, it is now an "attack"


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Illegal in Michigan to take or kill a rabbit in any way except by gun, crossbow, bow and arrow, slingshot--and then only in open season between Sept 15 thru March 31. If not on own property, must also have a license. Also illegal in certain heavily populated counties to hunt in any form. In all counties, must be 150 yards from any occupied building to hunt or discharge firearm when hunting. Fine and jail time if caught.........

Rabbit fencing is pretty reasonable to purchase and reuse every year. 

But as the religious pacificist said, "Sir, I don't mean to harm you, but Thou art between me and my target.".....................

Your choice to break the law or not.

geo


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## mountainwmn (Sep 11, 2009)

Yes, it is illegal to do anything with them except in hunting season, and even then still illegal to kill an animal you have live trapped. I cant give away meat I can't get. You are also not allowed to let your dog run loose, and I don't have one. As bad as the damage is, fencing is going to be expensive, and beyond my ability since you have to did it down, because they will dig under it. I did get a fake owl, but I don't think they even noticed it.


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## nzw tom (Oct 7, 2009)

Hope this helps. I put electric fence around my garden. 3 strands. 1 strand about 3 inches above the ground (for rabbits), 1 strand about 6 inches (for ****, etc.) and the last strand about 24-30 (for deer). Have not had a problem. A small fencer from TSC is around $20 and the wire is not that costly.

The olny downside is you have to keep the grass under the fence clipped (weedeater) down, so it doesn't short the fence out.

Tom


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