huffhuff Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Hi guys, One of my permissions has a running track etc. in one of the fields. The pesky rabbits are doing lots of damage to the ground and as a result, there have been a few injuries due to the scrapes/holes. The groundsman goes round every now and then and fills them, but it's an endless battle. Looking at the picture below, the red line is a road. The yellow line is the boundary fence. The two fields visible on the left are mine, but the bottom has a permissive right of way that ends at a style at the bottom of the yellow line. The tree line is chock-a-block with rabbit holes and they get through the fence at various points (I block but a new one appears) . They are behind the boundary fence but before the road. They are twisted in and around all the tree trunks and the entire root system from top of the picture to the bottom. The road is used considerably by cyclists and horses (stables just up the road). There is also a public footpath running east by the reservoir (usually accessed via a bottom left field style). The local gamekeeper came and said it would be near on impossible to ferret (due to roots, sheer numbers of holes and proximity to road). The road, footpaths and dwelling make it a nightmare for rifle. The ground is flat and provides no substantial cover. The best i've got so far is a ghillie suit at night with an air rifle. I even tried waiting up a tree to get a decent and safe angle, but it's very limited. Short of dropping the fence, digging down with rabbit wire and resetting - anybody have any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Have you spoken to the house owners? It may just be they are fed up with which might mean the noise were you to shoot them would be less of an issue. Road and footpath etc are an issue but shooting at night means you won't get horses on there and cyclists well they are fairly expendable so depending on tree height a high seat in the road hedge might be an option, which if coupled with night vision would be subtle. from a height it sounds like an ideal job for a .22lr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Snares in the fence perhaps ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave1979 Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 could you put drop boxes on the runs?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAD1927 Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) Although it is said that ferreting may be difficult that may be the case if using purse nets however with a suitable number of ferrets and useing long nets this could be achieved. My suggestion would be if a rabbit can get in believe me then so will a ferret!! Only problem I can see is if the ferret kills in or you have to dig. Using several long nets, start at 1 end and slowly move down the hedge ensuring you have as many purse nets down as possible and the long nets secured. Looking at the lenghth it's not going to be a 1 day or 1 man job I would suggest 6 or 7 ferrets and at least 5 people working the nets. With some methodical planning you should have a decent bag and whats left in the burrows you may get to pop them off with the air rifle or .22RF I had a similar problem not only with hedges but also a disused quarry (no chance of digging) it took me about 4 months to get them to a controlable/acceptable level then the mixi kicked in and nigh on finished the job for me. Edited November 13, 2012 by BRAD1927 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huffhuff Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) Have you spoken to the house owners? It may just be they are fed up with which might mean the noise were you to shoot them would be less of an issue. Road and footpath etc are an issue but shooting at night means you won't get horses on there and cyclists well they are fairly expendable so depending on tree height a high seat in the road hedge might be an option, which if coupled with night vision would be subtle. from a height it sounds like an ideal job for a .22lr I know the guys in the 2 houses very well, no issue there at all. I was meaning they are an issue if shooting north along the tree line. There are no real big trees central for a seat and it's pretty dense up there so shooting through trees a no go. To be fair, now the leaves are dropping I should go take another look. I have been up there at night, the idea being I will see cars coming from a distance. However, on aiming with finger on the safety, a group of kids walked by (getting to path...to the pub no doubt). So I don't even consider it now. Plus there are often engineers in the reservoir at odd times (and there is another public footpath to the east, behind reservoir). Snares was another thought of mine. That would need some thought (and a lot of snares). The place is a school, people in and out from 6 in morning until late at night. The fence line is now also visible from the roadside due to leaves dropping. Edited November 14, 2012 by huffhuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huffhuff Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Although it is said that ferreting may be difficult that may be the case if using purse nets however with a suitable number of ferrets and useing long nets this could be achieved. My suggestion would be if a rabbit can get in believe me then so will a ferret!! Only problem I can see is if the ferret kills in or you have to dig. Using several long nets, start at 1 end and slowly move down the hedge ensuring you have as many purse nets down as possible and the long nets secured. Looking at the lenghth it's not going to be a 1 day or 1 man job I would suggest 6 or 7 ferrets and at least 5 people working the nets. With some methodical planning you should have a decent bag and whats left in the burrows you may get to pop them off with the air rifle or .22RF I had a similar problem not only with hedges but also a disused quarry (no chance of digging) it took me about 4 months to get them to a controlable/acceptable level then the mixi kicked in and nigh on finished the job for me. The digging would be an issue. Where would you put the long nets in the picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAD1927 Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 To be honest you would need to create an enclosure so basically where possible either side of the hedges for as far as you can cover or the length of your nets. I normally take a couple of pieces of ply wood board wide enough to cover the width of the hedge and it only needs to be about 2ft high to turn them. You can buy quickset nets from Bridport nets not cheap but they do come in lengths upto 150yds so a fair bit of coverage. As for the ferrets (tin hat on for this one) if it stays down then not really alot you can do except sit and wait or leave boxes out and keep checking every couple of hours but aslong as you got a decent set of brush/hedge cutters a good spade and the ferrets have finders on them this should not pose to much of a problem and is basically the not so fun part of ferreting but hey ho take the rough with the smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huffhuff Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) As an example, here is the distance from fence to road; Here is an example of how dense the cover is. There are actually 5 holes in that picture. Edited November 13, 2012 by huffhuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAD1927 Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 the net can go along the hedge but looking at the under growth there would be a lot of prep work needed before working that area again sometimes the joy of ferreting I have spent a week or more clearing pathways thinning out etc before working the warrens in very similar situations just depends on how much you can clear out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huffhuff Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 OK guys, thanks for the ideas. I think i'm going to try up the tree again now the leaves are thinning out. Off to find a high seat now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 the net can go along the hedge but looking at the under growth there would be a lot of prep work needed before working that area again sometimes the joy of ferreting I have spent a week or more clearing pathways thinning out etc before working the warrens in very similar situations just depends on how much you can clear out. ...Yeah, but we are coming into the time of year. Jobs like this can sometimes need Aluminium Phosphide, but a LOT of prep will be required for that to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewsher500 Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 i shoot a couple of places with less ground, more houses and more people one is a rugby pitch! NV monocular, red filter, sticks and well modded .22lr with subs stay between houses/people/paths/boundarys and the quarry. use full height of sticks and slot away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 ferreting is the problem solver here give magwitch a pm and see if he fancies a day up there if you aint got any ferrets, I'll always lend a hand if need be, we used to ferret lots of road/hedge boundaries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-G Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Time to get some night vision on an air rifle mate and have some fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 I agree with Brad and Stubby, its a ferreting job but may require lots of prep to clear undergrowth and will certainly need a lot of long nets and ferrets. I wouldn't worry about the road, you just need enougth nets and people. If its a fast road, put out some cones at the roadside. I've even used Men At Work signs which I have for work. I'd be inclined to take Stubby up on his offer. This place needs cleaning out thoroughly by a gang of experienced ferreters. You can then keep on top of it, because you can guarantee rabbits will come back. Buries are ancestral. They stay in use for generations. I used to ferret my main shooting ground with a mate when I was at primary school 35 years ago. The holes we used to net then are in the same places under the same trees now. They get ferreted and I shoot then continuously, some have even been blown up with a Warrenator, but they will always return. the difference is I never allow the numbers to recover. The secret is a complete purge when you've got a serious infestation and then continuous low level control to stop the population building up. With this in mind the owners of the running track should consider a rabbit fence on their side of the boundry. Its expensive and hard to set when there's a lot of roots, but they are already (presumably) paying a groundsman to chase his tail repairing scratchings every day. So it might be cost effective. As far as shooting goes I would never under any circumstances shoot from the sports field into the tree line along the road with a .22lr, however late at night. Its a disaster waiting to happen. Nor would I shoot onto the foofpath. It looks like a job for FAC air and NV. If you can rig up some kind of high seat in the treeline and shot the rabbits when they're on the sports field that would be ideal, but it will need to be discreet or someone will mess with it. But don't rely on one time of day or night all the time or the rabbits will get wise and change their feeding pattern. Make use of early dawn in mid summer for example, to vary your approach. One thing is for sure: if you can successfully shoot this patch repeatedly, even if you're only killing a small percentage, you will put pressure on the rabbits, they will learn this place is not the safe haven they thought it was and you will discourage repopulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Ideal job for snares-set them just before dark then check them and lift them out of harms way in the morning-sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnabbs Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 I would be looking at snares or drop boxes but you could also try long netting them at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 I will always come up with an air rifle I have a couple of others who would help to. We shoot rabbits on a hedge row which is quite similar day and night shoots, one side is a quiet road and the other is a horse stables as long as everyone is aware we are there, there is never an issue we do very well on the bunnies. I also do a golf club and running track (but we have shot most of them out of the track now) Im only in stevenage so if you want help with shooting or a fresh pair of eyes on it for any other ideas PM me and I can pop up any time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 one other idea! We have done this to. You could try netting the holes and smoking them out. Use the smoke pellets from a plumbers merchants I have a lot of these. They will fill the whole run and the rabbits will bolt no digging or loosing ferrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbga9pgf Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 Would be a drop trap or two for me. Lots less hassle than clearing the area for ferrets, as you say, too close for a .22 rimmy. You could build and dig in a drop trap in an afternoon. Leave it there a week or two to let them get used to it (block off all other holes with cut up scrap ply) and leave one or two with the drop trap open for business. Once you are ready, set the traps once they are used to it. I have seen some drop traps on tinternet claim 30+ bunnies in a single night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huffhuff Posted November 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 Drop trap seems favourable. I.ll look at getting one from somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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