THE UBIQUITOUS BUNNY
(Page 6 of 7)
Of course, being Earth's ultimate predators, we human
animals have devised a number of ways to combat
crop-raiding bunnies, some of which have proven effective,
others not. The most certain way to keep hungry rabbits out
of small gardens is chicken-wire fencing. If your
veggie patch is too spacious to be economically fenced in,
you can experiment with various organic defenses-such as
bordering your crops with a ring of unappetizing marigolds,
spraying sprouting plants with a solution of hot pepper
sauce diluted in water (one tablespoon per gallon), dusting
both plants and the earth around them with finely ground
cayenne pepper, spraying crops with diluted onion juice
(liquefy several onions in a juicer, or set them to soak
for several days in a bucket of water), or placing old
shoes (the funkier the better) near where the bothersome
bunnies have been feeding. Some folks even create scent
barriers by urinating around the borders of their gardens.
(A few years back, one adventuresome entrepreneur marketed
lion poop as a mammalian-pest repellent. I hear tell the
product proved equally effective at discouraging rabbits,
deer, and gardeners.)
RELATED CONTENT
More direct (and, thus, more certain) robber-rabbit
remedies include fast dogs, large cats, live-trapping,
and-in rural areas, at least shotguns and well-aimed .22s.
But this time of year, before you take aim on a bunny in
your garden with the intent of transmogrifying diner into
dinner, look close to be certain your potential target
isn't toting a basketful of odd-colored eggs. Your kids
would never forgive you.
Oh! Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny
trail-hippity hoppity, happy Easter Day!
RABBIT FEVER: THE WILD BUNNY'S BANE
Tularemia-commonly known as rabbit fever-is an infectious
disease caused by a parasitic bacterium with the lilting
name Pasteurella tularensis. Primary hosts for
these nasty little buggers are rodents and lagomorphs, but
rabbit fever can be transmitted to humans through physical
contact . . . as in preparing an infected animal for the
stewpot. (Thorough cooking kills the bacteria, rendering
the meat of infected animals safe to handle and eat.)
In rabbits, the symptoms of tularemia include lethargy and
damage to various internal organs; in humans, the primary
indications are fever and the swelling of lymph nodes.
Although the disease is rare these days and can readily be
cured with prompt medical attention, the threat remains:
grave illness and the remote possibility of death.
Country wisdom has long held-and correctly so that rabbit
fever can be avoided by not harvesting wild bunnies until
after autumn's first killing frost; and even then, never
handle dead or alive-an animal that behaves unnaturally.
Today, that wisdom has been indirectly incorporated into
law in most states, since legal rabbit-hunting seasons
almost never open before late fall or early winter, and
generally close before the arrival of spring.
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