Rabbit Pest Control
Stevenage, Hertfordshire
Are you looking for rabbit pest control in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas? If you need help or advice in solving a rabbit infestation, get in touch today. our pest control experts are here to help.
Contact our bird pest control specialist today on 07807 429 843.
Why Should Rabbits Be Treated?
There are many reasons why rabbits should be treated and why so early on. Rabbits have been known to cause damage to lawns and plants by eating and scratching them constantly. These rabbits can carry fleas and transmit diseases to domestic rabbits.
By law, all landowners are obligated to control all rabbits that they have on their land. Rabbit control is significant to protecting plants and other vegetation over time.
There was an order passed under section one of the Pests Act 1954 that means England and Wales were declared Rabbit Clearance Areas (this had a few exceptions such as London, the Isles Of Scilly, and Skokholm Island).
When you are an occupier of land within England and Wales (Except for the previously stated lands), you must destroy any wild rabbits that are found on his/her ground. This can also include taking preventative measures to ensure no damage is made from these rabbits.
What Are the Signs of a Rabbit Infestation?
There are a few signs which can indicate that there is a rabbit infestation within your property. This being said, rabbits are mainly nocturnal (meaning they only come out at night), which means you will rarely see them in your garden or land. Some signs that there could be a rabbit infestation include:
Half-eaten or cleanly-bitten bits of vegetation and flowers. Rabbits have been known to eat any plant that they can reach.
Having freshly dug holes in the ground may be the result of burrowing.
Damage to tree bark.
Finding tracks and droppings around the area can also be a hint of some rabbits being nearby.
Although other signs can indicate a rabbit infestation, these are the ones that specifically mean there are rabbits nearby. Other animals like foxes or badgers leave different types of droppings and other clues which are more obvious.
There is no telling how long you have had a rabbit infestation until you see these signs, as they can take time to notice, which is why you should check your property once in a while for freshly dug holes etc.
Our Rabbit Pest Control covers Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire including:
- Stevenage
- Letchworth Garden City
- Luton
- Leighton Buzzard
- Hemel Hempstead
- Welwyn Garden City
- St Albans
- Hatfield
- Hertford
- Dunstable
- Bedford
- Hitchin
- Royston
- Biggleswade
- St Neots
- Harpenden
Your responsibility to control rabbit numbers
You have an obligation by law to control any number of rabbits within your property or land under the law. England and Wales (excluding the city of London and Isles of Scilly) have been declared a rabbit clearance area under the Pests Act 1954. So having good management of the rabbits and other animals within your property is advised.
You must do your very best to ensure there are no rabbits within your property or land and causing damage. If you cannot have them removed, you must do your best to reduce the damage they can inflict on neighbouring crops and fields.
You must understand that if you do not control or limit the amount of damage that the rabbits are causing, the Secretary of State for the Environment can enforce this control and prosecute you for anything you have neglected or refused to do.
There are a few control methods that you can use to keep rabbits under control within your property or lands. Some of the methods used to control rabbits include:
Using Gas
Using Traps and Snares
Fencing Ferreting
Shooting at them
When can you shoot rabbits?
Whether or not you can shoot rabbits depends on whether you are the occupier of the land you wish to shoot on. If you are the occupier of the land or property, you can shoot rabbits during the day and authorise one other person to do so with you. However, that person must be part of your household, one of your staff, or at least be employed for a reward with the specific goal of controlling the rabbits.
With this in mind, if the owner of the shooting rights for your land does not agree to hunt and destroy these rabbits or allow extra shooters to assist you, then you can apply to Natural England to grant you the authority to do so.
You can hunt and shoot rabbits during the night too. However, you can only do this if you are:
The occupier/owner with shooting rights
A landlord/landlady who are reserving their shooting rights
A shooting tenant who is not in occupation but has derived the shooting rights from the owner
An occupier or the other person who the occupier has authorised in writing, where the occupier has the written authority from anyone with the shooting rights
The Common Rabbit
After calling a qualified professional on the rabbit infestation, they usually investigate to get the best idea possible about the infestation and how big it is, etc.
After the pest controllers have finished with their investigation, we will sometimes give the owner recommendations to receive the best rabbit pest control solutions. In many situations, gassing is usually the best option when removing rabbits from the area, but this method must be done under strict conditions.
Also, using gas to remove the rabbits is a suitable option when there are no buildings around the area but should not be used if living spaces are too close.
Using the gas method, you can remove up to 50% of the rabbit population, but the side effects from gassing can be that other species of animals in the surrounding area can be affected in unknown ways. Gas can also affect the local wildlife in unknown ways if not used correctly.
Some companies use ferrets as a traditional way to control rabbits and remove them safely and humanely. This is done by having the ferrets(which have trackers on) chase the rabbits and find where their holes are, place nets on the holes' entrance, and wait for them to be chased into them again, so you can catch them without harming the rabbits.
This means you are spending less time searching where they are hiding and not guaranteeing an end to them attacking the vegetation as the rabbits cause damage to them. When being removed from the property, this must be done following the British Pest Control Association guidelines.
Rabbit problems are quite common and can cause a decent amount of damage to plants and other vegetation, which is why you are required to control and deter them as much as possible when you have the chance to do so. Also, they can carry a few diseases, so having them running around your property and on your vegetation can be a health and safety issue.
How To Deter Rabbits
Rabbits can be very annoying and persistent. If they see your garden as a source of food, they will return as many times as they want to eat. This can make it rather difficult for you to stop them without resorting to some extreme methods.
Most rabbits are attracted by flowers and vegetation, which they use as a source of food. With this in mind, adding some fencing around the plants would help protect them and, at the same time, deter the rabbits.
One of the simplest ways to deter rabbits from eating your flowers and other vegetation is to add appropriate fencing. This usually needs to be high enough to stop them from jumping over and deep enough into the ground to stop them from digging under the fencing.
Also, the fencing must be constructed to have gaps small enough so that the rabbits are unable to climb through.
If you suspect that you have a pest in your home or office, call Red Tail Pest Control today for a free, no-obligation quote.
Domestic Pest Control Commercial Pest ControlIf you want more information about rabbit pest control in Stevenage, Hertfordshire or the surrounding area we can help. Get in touch with our pest control expert on 07807 429 843. Alternatively you can use our contact form to send an enquiry.