[galwaybeginner]

Hi

I want to grow a good few herbs in my garden, as I already have chives and parley and want to expand the choice when I'm cooking.

We get a lot of hares passing through, and eating a lot of flowers on their way. As far as I know they have not gone near the chives or parsley, but I am concerned that they may be tempted by others.

I'm also in the middle of putting up a polytunnel and thought I could put the herbs in there if needed, but would rather not if possible (keep the space or veg!)

I was wondering two things - firstly, do rabbits eat herbs? and secondly, if they do is there a herb they do not like that I could grow to deter them from the rest?

No, actually wondering something else as well! I've also got a cat, but she doesn't seem to eat much other than grass. Is there any herb I should avoid with cat (either that they like a lot or that could harm her)?

Many thanks!

[Sean Ph'lib]

I planted a wood a few years ago and the damage inflicted by hares had to be seen to be believed! The only remedy which proved efficacious was to install tree-guards. My garden is surrounded with chicken wire, and I think that's the only practical way of dealing with hares. As regards planting things they won't eat.... if you want to eat it, a hare will want to eat it too! Rabbits are worse, in that they'll burrow under a fence; one got into my garden last January and demolished a bed of spring cabbages. Happily, the cabbages recovered (and I'm eating them now) and the rabbit came into the sights of my little single-barrel and I ate him too!

[Liparis]

Are you sure it was Hares that did the damage to the trees? It's quite unusual. I have hares on my land and they never do any damage, not even my veg are fenced off from them. All damage done to trees is by squirrels. I welcome the hares, they eat the grasses and a wild herbs etc but the advantage is, it's an extremely rare piece of ground on which you would find both hares and rabbits. The thinking is - not mine - that the hares see off the rabbits as they tend to attract a lot of predators, hares keep a lower profile than rabbits. 1 mile along the road from me the rabbits abound, but never come near me.
Bill.

[Sean Ph'lib]

Yes, I'm certain it was hares. I even watched them at their work. They cut the saplings clean through at an angle of 45 degrees - just as if it was cut with a knife. If they ate the little trees it would be bad enough, but they don't; they just cut them and leave them there! Altogether, I had to replant over a thousand oaks, two hundred beeches and a hundred silver birches. Strangely, they hardly touched the ash, which is the predominant species in my little wood. Every other tree is now protected with a tree guard. I have to check after every storm, because if a guard gets blown off, a hare will cut the tree within a week!

[Liparis]

Wow! I wasn't suggesting you didn't know the difference visually by the way, I've just never seen such damage done by hares.
Bill.

[Sarah Evans]

That is quite significant damage they dished out. Try a product called Grazers, we had some visit our garden centre and damaged some fruit trees after using grazers no bother. Plus mad pet greyhounds are a good deterrent of which we have two.