Keeping the animals in

Posted on: 4 February 2016

Feral rabbits have been a huge problem in Australia ever since they were introduced to the ecological environment in 1859 by the Europeans. Unfortunately, rabbits reproduce extremely rapidly, as one female rabbit and her offspring can theoretically produce 50,653 rabbits in just 3 years. With that being said, if your garden or yard has been under attack by rabbits over the past few years, it's time to take action rather than sitting idly by. Here are 3 tips for building rabbit-proof fencing.

Choose Chain Link with Small Meshes or Fences with No Holes or Rails

Baby rabbits can fit into surprisingly small spaces, and once they get into your garden, they can easily find hiding spaces to cover their tracks. When building a rabbit-proof fence, you need to take this into fact into consideration.

If possible, you should build solid wood fencing all around your garden, so that there's no doubt that even baby rabbits won't be able to squeeze through the cracks. If you're going to be using chain link fencing, the welded wire mesh must not exceed 1-inch in length. Metal fences with railing designs are not suitable for keeping rabbits out because they will be able to easily fit through the spaces between the rails.

Bury the Fencing into the Soil     

Rabbits are great at digging into the soil, so they can easily bury under the fence and into the garden if they are determined to do so. To prevent this from happening, you'll have to make sure that the fence post is buried deep underground. In fact, the deeper that you can go, then the better chances you'll have at keeping the rabbits out. 

Install Barbed Wire at the Top

On top of being decent diggers, rabbits are generally quite good at jumping over fences as well. To deter this type of behaviour, install barbed wire at the top. The barbed wire will pierce the rabbits should they attempt to get through without actually killing them. If you have any pets at home, installing barbed wire only at the top is a good idea. This way, there's a smaller chance that your dogs or cats might end up running into the barbed wire and hurting themselves. 

Conclusion

Upon erecting rabbit-proof fencing around the perimeter of your garden, you will be able to stop worrying that the rabbits will damage your crops and yard. Inspect the fencing regularly to check for holes and other damages that may allow the fencing to be easily breached. 

For assistance, talk to a fencing contractor.