Rabbits ate the beans

Salaam · June 16, 2019

Hello all,

Rabbits have been eating some of my new beans. I've included the picture. Will these beans grow or should I replant some. I think I'll have a solution for the rabbits.

Thanks.

PaulF · June 16, 2019

Rabbits and deer will continue until there are no more left. The only way to solve the situation is by exclusion. We have put a 2foot high woven wire (called chicken wire) fence around the garden and an eight foot tall deer fence around it. For more than five years the fences have been in place without losing a plant to rabbits or deer. Didn't have to shoot a single critter.

Nematode · June 16, 2019

No beans for you.
You might try replanting very dense and put a row cover over them to get them started. Once they get some size they can grow through it if the browsing pressure is not too intense.
Deer / rabbits here nibble tender shoots but find better stuff as the beans pass the shoot stage.

Sherry_AK · June 16, 2019

I feel your pain. I made the same discovery this morning here. Our neighborhood is infested with rabbits this year.

Worth1 · June 16, 2019

My skillet would be infested with rabbits if the weather was cooler and had those problems

xellos99 · June 16, 2019

Replant some, they can regrow somewhat but I don't think they will ever come back well from that much damage. I was twisting one around a pole the other week and the very tip broke off and I don't think that plant ever came back from it really.

jmsieglaff · June 16, 2019

Rabbits are vile creatures. My daughter loves them, bunnies are her favorite animal. So unfortunately my defense is hardware cloth as fencing.

June 16, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

My skillet would be infested with rabbits if the weather was cooler and had those problems

LOL.

Worth1 · June 16, 2019

I was raised raising and hunting rabbits to eat, what can I say.

We raised what we ate.

Nothing and I mean nothing beats that backstrap on the bone portion of fried rabbit dipped in gravy.
Some of my fondest memories are hunting rabbit in West Texas in the winter snow with a 22 Ruger pistol.
I rarely missed.

rxkeith · June 16, 2019

most of the beans i see there have just the leaves nipped off. you still have a central growing tip that will generate new growth provided you find a way to keep the rabbits out of the garden. you have a temporary setback is all. any plants where there is just a stem will need to be replanted. i have had beans newly up where there is nothing but a stem the next day. rabbits really like new bean plants. they will be back for more more if they are able.

keith

Sherry_AK · June 16, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

My skillet would be infested with rabbits if the weather was cooler and had those problems

My last experience with rabbits was 2 years ago ... two of them died of tularemia in our yard. No bunnies in my skillet!

Worth1 · June 17, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherry_AK

My last experience with rabbits was 2 years ago ... two of them died of tularemia in our yard. No bunnies in my skillet!

One of the reasons I dont mess with them in this part of Texas.
Too many parasites due to lack of cold weather.

xellos99 · June 17, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

I was raised raising and hunting rabbits to eat, what can I say.

We raised what we ate.

Nothing and I mean nothing beats that backstrap on the bone portion of fried rabbit dipped in gravy.
Some of my fondest memories are hunting rabbit in West Texas in the winter snow with a 22 Ruger pistol.
I rarely missed.

I am overrun with Rabbits. There are always dead ones on the roads because there are so many people cant help running over them.

Our government has made gun laws so strict that nobody can be bothered with shooting anymore.

Even the air rifles without licence are restricted to 12ft lb power limit, which very rarely gets a clean kill so it is cruel and you need to get so close to them that they run away long before you get within range.

**Lee** · June 17, 2019

If you put up a protective fence, be sure that it is metal and not the
plastic fencing. Rabbits will chew right through the plastic to get at your
plants. The metal fence I have has been mostly successful at keeping the
long eared rats out of the garden except when I was not careful to seal up all gaps.

As for the beans, I'd replant. Rabbit snuck through the wire fence and ate my beans last year.... didn't really get any all season.

Good luck!

Lee

ContainerTed · June 17, 2019

Maybe Elmer Fudd was right, after all. We do get the cold during our winter and "wabbits" are definitely on the menu. The squirrels here eat walnuts, acorns, hickory nuts, some pecans, and lots of maple seeds (those whirly birds), apples, berries, and anything else they take a mind to devour. Usually it's only half of this or two bites out of that or ......

I think any animal that destroys the results of my hard work and garden sweat needs to find another place to live or I will send them off "with extreme prejudice".

June 16, 2019	#2
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,295	Rabbits and deer will continue until there are no more left. The only way to solve the situation is by exclusion. We have put a 2foot high woven wire (called chicken wire) fence around the garden and an eight foot tall deer fence around it. For more than five years the fences have been in place without losing a plant to rabbits or deer. Didn't have to shoot a single critter. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

June 16, 2019	#9
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I was raised raising and hunting rabbits to eat, what can I say. We raised what we ate. Nothing and I mean nothing beats that backstrap on the bone portion of fried rabbit dipped in gravy. Some of my fondest memories are hunting rabbit in West Texas in the winter snow with a 22 Ruger pistol. I rarely missed. Last edited by Worth1; June 16, 2019 at 09:31 PM.

June 16, 2019	#10
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,848	most of the beans i see there have just the leaves nipped off. you still have a central growing tip that will generate new growth provided you find a way to keep the rabbits out of the garden. you have a temporary setback is all. any plants where there is just a stem will need to be replanted. i have had beans newly up where there is nothing but a stem the next day. rabbits really like new bean plants. they will be back for more more if they are able. keith __________________ don't abort. we'll adopt.

June 17, 2019	#14
Lee Tomatopalooza™ Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NC-Zone 7 Posts: 2,188	If you put up a protective fence, be sure that it is metal and not the plastic fencing. Rabbits will chew right through the plastic to get at your plants. The metal fence I have has been mostly successful at keeping the long eared rats out of the garden except when I was not careful to seal up all gaps. As for the beans, I'd replant. Rabbit snuck through the wire fence and ate my beans last year.... didn't really get any all season. Good luck! Lee __________________ Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put one in a fruit salad. Cuostralee - The best thing on sliced bread.

June 17, 2019	#15
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	Maybe Elmer Fudd was right, after all. We do get the cold during our winter and "wabbits" are definitely on the menu. The squirrels here eat walnuts, acorns, hickory nuts, some pecans, and lots of maple seeds (those whirly birds), apples, berries, and anything else they take a mind to devour. Usually it's only half of this or two bites out of that or ...... I think any animal that destroys the results of my hard work and garden sweat needs to find another place to live or I will send them off "with extreme prejudice". __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

June 16, 2019	#3
Nematode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: massachusetts Posts: 1,710	No beans for you. You might try replanting very dense and put a row cover over them to get them started. Once they get some size they can grow through it if the browsing pressure is not too intense. Deer / rabbits here nibble tender shoots but find better stuff as the beans pass the shoot stage.

June 16, 2019	#4
Sherry_AK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Alaska Zone 3/4 Posts: 1,857	I feel your pain. I made the same discovery this morning here. Our neighborhood is infested with rabbits this year.

June 16, 2019	#6
xellos99 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: wales uk Posts: 236	Replant some, they can regrow somewhat but I don't think they will ever come back well from that much damage. I was twisting one around a pole the other week and the very tip broke off and I don't think that plant ever came back from it really.

June 16, 2019	#7
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	Rabbits are vile creatures. My daughter loves them, bunnies are her favorite animal. So unfortunately my defense is hardware cloth as fencing.