Carpet and Skirting boards

Bunny proofing skirting boards & carpets. How to stop a house rabbit chewing skirting boards. Prevent digging to carpet around skirting boards

You may not take much notice of your skirting boards and the carpet adjacent to it but your rabbit will which over time can lead to some nasty damage to from unwanted digging and chewing behaviour. There's is no single solution that can prevent this but by taking some bunny proofing measures where the problem occurs it can be reduced dramatically.

What problem can occur

Sharp teeth and claws are no match for soft wooded skirting boards and carpets.
Damage can occur to the soft wooded edges of a skirting board and the area of carpet adjacent to your skirting boards can become ripped up or shredded. It’s imposable to guard all the skirting board in your home so it’s important to find this problem where it developing and put a stop to it

Reasons for behaviour

Imagin the edges of your room as a hedge Your rabbit may be sharpening its teeth on your skirting board or even eating it.
Rabbits prefer to keep to the edges of a room when moving around a house or just sitting about. This means skirting board get a lot of attention from a roaming bunny including chewing on the wood to sharpen teeth of even eating the wood as a source of dietary fibre. Digging around the edge of a space is also normal for a rabbit and they have strong front paws that can quite easily damage a carpet.

Damage from digging and chewing can build up over time if not bunny proofed.
The only guaranteed way to prevent damage to skirting boards and the adjacent carpet is to use a solid material like ceramic tile. If not you can take other measures to prevent the damage from chewing and digging building up.

Bitter spray

Remember to keep reapplying the spray Bitter sprays can be applied to a surface to help prevent damage from chewing.
Bitter sprays can help make an area a lot less appealing to chew on. To stop the spray going everywhere spray some into a cloth then wipe the liquid directly onto the areas affected. Remember to keep reapplying the bitter spray regularly so it doesn't loose its effectiveness. Avoid home made remedies such that may be suggested to you such as perfume or chilly oil as these can be harmful.

Corner reinforcement

You can protect the soft wooden edges by installing some protective strips.
The edge of the skirting board can become rounded of by sharp teeth leaving it looking tatty. A way to protect this permanently it to install some protective corner strips along the edge to reinforce the wood.

Shielding with tiles

Laying ceramic tiles up against damaged areas of wood can prevent further damage.
A simple way to provide some temporary protection is to lay some ceramic tiles up against areas of the skirting board that are becoming damaged when your bunny rabbit is roaming freely around them. These can then be packed away when not needed.

Mats and carpet tiles

Prevent damage to floor surfaces by laying down a few mats or carpet tiles.
Another area where damage can occur is to your carpet or floor surfaces adjacent to the skirting board caused by you rabbit digging. You can prevent this by laying down a door mat or some carpet tiles on the floor. These can be easily packed away when not needed.

Provide alternatives to chew on such as willow sticks, chew toys and cardboard.
The skirting boards may become a target of gnawing behaviour as bunny rabbits tend to seek out and chew on soft materials such as wood to help wear down there teeth and provide digestive fibber. To help prevent this it’s best to provide some safe and acceptable alternatives that can act as a tasty distraction such as chew blocks, willow sticks, wicker toys, and card board boxes. Remember to replace these frequently as they will loose there novelty and appeal.

Stop the damage from digging on areas of carpet by providing acceptable alternative.
Your bunny may develop a habit of trying to dig up or shred the carpet. To help prevent this provide some safe and acceptable alternative such as a cardboard box with an old phone book in it or some cushions or a towel that your rabbit can dig and nest in.

Training and discipline

Use gentle discipline such as water misters to discourage chewing and digging.
If the door becomes a focus of attention and nothing seem to work then keep a water mister to hand, you really need to catch your bunny rabbit in the act for this to be effective, alternative if each time you bunny rabbit chews on the door you shut him away for a short time then it will help reinforce the message.

If you can replace flooring and skirt inboards with bunny proof materials like tiles.
If you are thinking about resurfacing an area of your home it’s worth considering using a tough material such as ceramic or slate. This provides a complete solution to this problem as not only is the tiles around the edge of the room unlikely to be damaged by your rabbit but you can cut the boarder out of tiles to.

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