I've made no secret of our rabbit problem around the micro-farm. Seriously, these little guys (and gals, most often) are so cute in the spring, but by summer they become an army of defoliators. Something had to give.
Enter the Havahart trap. This little beauty is available from one of my favorite stores, Lehman's, and it performs as advertised. The bunny enters the trap, trips a bottom plate, and finds himself confined by two end pieces that drop, enclosing the trap. He is unhurt, leaving him for you to do with as you wish.
We caught our first rabbit the other day, and we immediately took him for a little ride out to a nice country field, where he could make new friends and life a happy life. If you so decided, this would also be a good trap if you wanted to catch your prey live and later consider it what one of my sustainable living books euphemistically describes as "added protein" from your garden. Your call. We decided on catch-and-release.
At $50 for the rabbit size, this may be the ticket to keeping the rabbits out of the garden. And with food prices spiraling out of control in the store, we could recoup that investment very quickly.
The Analysis
Fast: The trap is easy to set up and safe to use. There is nothing sharp or dangerous to hurt you or your prey, and it is easy to carry away without ever touching the animal inside. A foot lever allows you to release your bunny once you get to his new home.
Cheap: I consider this a good investment in gardening.
Good: The best thing about this trap is that it allows you to treat the rabbit very humanely. I realize that, in the best of all possible worlds, the bunnies would prefer to live out their lives eating my tomatoes, but barring that, this is a good option for relocation.
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