Long summer evenings are best spent bagging bunnies, but you cannot patrol all day and night. If evenings with the airgun are proving insufficient, rid your lawn of the bunny blighters with The Field’s top tips. These are the alternative ways to keep rabbits out of your garden. Or at least until you can return appropiately armed.

If you are waging a war against “the wabbits”, follow our guide to rabbit shooting: airgunning for summer rabbits. It takes skill and patience, but is the perfect pest control exercise to leave the plants in peace. But you will need the proper kit. Read The Field’s airgun guide. What to shoot and what to buy for advice on the law,  the models, pellets and scopes. Essential reading for beginners and experienced shots.

HOW TO KEEP RABBITS OUT OF YOUR GARDEN

While well fenced, my garden is, at certain times of year, visited by young rabbits. I don’t wish to shoot or net them. What can you suggest (not a chemical spray)?

BD, by email

Here are some traditional methods. Rabbits have an excellent sense of smell, so shave pieces off a bar of highly scented soap and place in the borders or make holes in bars of strong-smelling soap and hang them on fences or near where the rabbits enter the garden. Soak used corn cobs in vinegar for five to 10 minutes and place round the garden; the cobs must be re-soaked every few weeks. If the garden is smallish, place pegs around it and attach string that has been soaked in creosote, about 8in off the ground; change the string every three to four days. Field readers have had success using Silent Roar fertiliser pellets. These have been soaked in essence of lion dung, dried and sterilised. Sprinkle them in borders or on areas where rabbits enter the garden.