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Lots of bunnies around, yes, seemingly more in recent years than in the past. But almost certainly they are named Peter, not Jack.

Uhhhmmmm.....you sure those are jackrabbits? Those are usually indigeneous to the western states. When I was stationed in the Mojave I would see jackrabbits all the time. They are much bigger and faster than the bunnies we have here.

Our problem here is raccoons. We have them living in the culverts and raiding the trash cans at night. The little buggers are pretty adept at getting in the cans without tipping them over. That's how we know it's not the neighbors' dogs. Then they take their (our) spoils and hit the backyard deck for their dining experience. I think I even saw a flier they printed up for Chez Schmoe's.

Jackrabbits, cottontails, whatever - we've got a lot of bunnies around Hillsborough also. Of course having arrived recently from a larger city, I find the little buggers adorable and I'm amazed at how bold they are. They let you get pretty darn close before they run.

They don't seem to be bothering the garden though. It's clearly Bambi who is eating my tomatoes as fast they can set the fruit. And he eats strawberry leaves but not the strawberries themselves. The squirrels come back in the morning to eat those after the birds have pecked away at them for a while.

I'm beginning to think of it as more of a giant wildlife feeder than a garden.

My lawn bunnies are amazingly assertive. They have no fear of me, that's for sure. I tried talking to a friend (active in PETA) but her suggestions were that I re-landscape my yard with plants bunnies don't like to eat. I heard that human hair (spread around a plant) is a bunny deterrent. I'll try that next time I get my hair cut.

Now I mourn for my hostas and lariopes, chewed to a pulp by the pesky wabbits.

Does animal control have any responsibility to remove them or is this just my problem?

There are some who suspect that the destruction of the habitat near the airport is responsible for this upsurge in our long-eared friend'ds numbers. Personally, I think that they must have had a long winter without enough things to do to distract them.......

Thanks for the enlightenment on our neighborhood wildlife.
Maybe I should have titled this post "Allen doesn't know Jack ... or Peter."

Joe is correct. These critters are not actually jackrabbits. They are a breed that was imported from Japan by those who raised Beagle hounds for rabbit hunting. It seems that the local bunnies were not fast enough at times to out run the Beagles so the search was on for a faster bunny. Unfortuantely one was found in Japan. Now, these critters did right well in satisfying the beagles,the hunters. Since these critters were not hunted for the kill but only for the excercise and training of the hounds a problem was created. It seems these critters decided to intermarry with our local bunnies. So now you have a breed that has longer legs, are faster, breed faster, have a different taste for plant life than our local bunnies once had and actually have little fear of man.
Just thought you'd like to know what kind of critter you are facing. Fence in the yard , buy a couple of Beagles and enjoy the sounds of the chase.

Mr. Produce, since you seem to have a grasp on this wildlife in the backyard thing, what do I do about the raccoons?

Don't suggest a pack of coonhounds. Those things are noisy. Besides, Mrs. Schmoe has this thing about hunting animals. As for me......

"Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit!" E. Fudd.

Thanks from me as well, mr. produce, for all your insights. But I don't want to kill anything. The rabbits haven't been harmful, so far as I can tell.

awww Allen, someone put rabbits in your yard. That is a sign of good luck, and it means you are a kind person. (well, I'm gonna catch hell for THAT, but it's what I've always been told. :)

Shucks Joe that wuz whut I wuz gonna segist. I dun got a fin coonhond upin in the hills I wuz gonna lone ye. Them critters aint bad fer barbiquin but then ifin ye aint got no stumach fer killen the critters I be guessin ye better get ye sum gud traps and seendin them critters on down cuntry. Coonhond aint much noise, it are rat purdy musik to mine yers.

Allen, ye dont go killen them rabits, you jest let dem honds run em til one or de uder git plum tukered out. Them thar thangs aint wruth nuthin fer etin no how, they be tufer'n shoe lether. That be why I segisted puttin a fense rond yer yard. It be rat good tranin fer the lil Beagle pups. Ifin ye get a fullbloded wun it gonna cost ye an arm an a laig.

Seriously Joe there are some products out on the market that will put off a smell and run them off. One is coyote urine but man it can stink up the yard especially when it rains. I keep trash cans with tight lids on and it keeps them out so far. I live in the country, in the mountains so I got all kinds of critters running around here including bears, deer, racoons, possum, squirrels, rabbits and a bunch of hawks which occassionaly will make a meal out of a small rabbit. Wish I could offer more in the way of gitten shed of them thar critters but thats about all I got for now.

Thanks Mr. Produce. The coyote urine thing may not be for me. I had heard that if you (meaning a human) urinated around your vegetable garden it would keep the deer out of it, but that would involve getting up in the middle of the night. If you tried it during the day someone might see you out there and then you're doing community service at some soup kitchen.

To reiterate, I am not opposed to "taking out" any nuisance animal in my yard. Mrs. Schmoe has a thing about that. I've had problems with squirrels getting in the bird feeders. I tried the baffles. They circumvented those, proceeded to tear up the bird feeder and hassle the birds. I went to a local store and bought a gun that shoots plastic BBs. It doesn't break the skin, it just stings like a.....well, you know. I figured a little Pavlovian training was in order for the squirrels. Touch the bird feeder, get a welt on its haunch worked. The squirrels now stay on the ground and are content to eat what the birds drop from the feeder (not that stuff, the seed).

Joe, the squirrels in the birdfeeder thing.. you can go to birds unlimited and buy this really cool birdfeeder that will twirl the squirrels off of it. Its a wonderful invention, and provides hours of family entertainment. Check it out. They even have a video you can watch before you buy. LOL.

Thanks Lilly. I'll look into that feeder. I just pulled a feeder out of the tree they busted up (It was out of shot range from the back deck). I need to do something. Mrs. Schmoe threatened to hide my squirrel weapon or shoot me in the ... uhm .... posterior with it. I even put out squirrel feed near the back of the lot and they still prefer the bird food.

Joe, I had a bird feeder that stood on metal pipe and the dang squirells managed to shinny up the thing from the ground. I got a bunch of the 64oz Sprite bottles, Coke or Pepsi will do I suppose but the green looked better,hahhaha and put them on the pipe. The critters could no longer climb the pipe because it was too slick and the bottles would spin a bit thus the critters failed in their attempts to get to the bird food. One particuar critter was persistent and decided to chew his way to the top. He managed to destroy a couple of the bottles but his goal was not achieved. Since the feeder sat near a tree he then attempted to jump from the tree to the feeder which provided hours of entertainment. It took him over 6 months but he finally hit the top of the feeder and then fell to the ground without getting his belly full of bird feed. Frustrated, he gave up and proceeded to eat my green maters. That ticked me off so I shot him, cause you don't mess with my maters. Unfortunately he was too tough to eat. Fried critter, eggs and green maters make a right good breakfast. Guess all the muscles he developed in attempting his jump made him that way.

I swear Joe, it is the funniest thing you will ever see.
Grrrrrrrrrr@ squirrels. My cat and I don't appreciate much about them. :)
Let me know when you get one of those squirrel twirlers. LOL.
mrp... thats a funny story. :)

And the story is totally true, Lilly. Glad you enjoyed the bit of humor.
Speaking of cats and squirrels, sounds as if your cat was like my youngens . It would literally growl at the critters and then give them a run for their money to the closest tree. Kat would not climb the tree because it had a fear of heights so the critters were fortunate. Also had a dawg who also chased squirrels and could and would actually climb trees better than Kat.
Yea, Kat was the name, actually BK or black kat. dont have much imagination for names of critters. All I got now is a parakeet and his name is Mr. Burdy. He doesn't chase critters, however, he is strictly and indoor burdie.