I couldn't quite believe when I saw my apple trees the other day. These trees are 13 years old and the one had been chewed by rabbits! I thought the bark would be hard enough now to discourage them.
When I see stuff like this my work is flexible enough that I can deal with it straight away. I went and got some rabbit wire and wrapped around them. I hate using wire like this and will try to make use it doesn't grow into the trunk.
I really thought they'd be big enough now that I wouldn't have to worry. I guess there isn't much goodness in the grass at the moment.
I foresee rabbit pie in our future...
Kev, having been a rabbit owner for many years, I think people often underestimate how much damage a rabbit intent on something can really do.
ReplyDeleteIt's mad what they can do. One of my next jobs is to go round the veg garden fences and make sure I find where they've been getting in there as well!
DeleteIs there anything you can paint on the bark damage? Maybe stand corrugated plastic pipes around the trees?
ReplyDeleteI could graft it, but luckily it doesn't go all the way around, so the tree should live.
DeleteI haven't had a rabbit destroy any of my fruit trees but I've had many a deer destroy a tree. I keep all mine caged against the deer but the wire is spaced too far to deter rabbits.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should plant some peas around your trees to keep them occupied. Rabbits pretty much decimated my pea crop last year even with a few of them meeting their maker courtesy of my pellet gun.
I like the idea of the peas, although they wouldn't really grow here this time of year. I had thought of pruning the trees, which I need to do anyway, and then leaving the prunings on the floor for them.
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