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Tips for keeping bunnies out of gardens from the ThriftyFun community.
By Lisa Pfush
By Carol
By Rosebud
By kerra
By Siris
By Watinwood
By Diana
Wolf urine works too, but it's very inconvenient to chain a wolf in your yard and force him to drink coffee. I haven't tried it.
By Backyardigan
Females give birth to an average litter of 2-3 "kittens" and can have as many as 5-6 litters per year. The babies are born in shallow nests in the soil (called "forms"), which are covered by leaves, branches, rocks or other debris. The kittens stay in the nests for several weeks, with the mother leaving them hidden during the day so as not to attract the attention of nearby predators. (Note: If you find what appears to be an "abandoned" rabbit nest, it's likely that the mother is hiding close by. She'll come back at night so leave it alone! The mortally rate for baby rabbits is high - even higher for those raised by well-intentioned humans!).
Trunk Guards: Individual plants and small trees, shrubs, and vines can be protected using homemade or commercially bought trunk guards. To make them yourself, simply roll 1 inch mesh into a 18-24 inch cylinder (or larger if needed) and surround the plants. Close the seam using thin gauge wire or zip ties. Make sure to make the cylinders large enough so the rabbits can't browse on leaves through the mesh. Bury them into the ground a few inches or secure them with stakes to keep them securely upright.
Trapped animals need to be relocated to somewhere. Laws may vary locally, but many times this requires a written permit to do so. Once trapped rabbits are moved out of the area, those same resources become available and new rabbits move into the area. The cycle simply continues to repeat itself.
If you do decide to use live traps, check with your DNR or animal control regarding laws first. Always locate traps in the shade, check it daily, keep pets away, and have a release location planned before you set the trap.
Dried blood should be available at your local garden store. It is a biproduct of cattle beef processing. It comes in a powdered form and is effective for discouraging deer and rabbits from eating your plants.
If you have a cat or dog in the home then you are vacuuming their hair off everything all of the time. Empty your vacuum canister or bag each time around the perimeter of your gardens.
Grow lettuce, broccoli, and veggies in large containers on your sunny porch or in your yard to keep the rabbits from chewing them to a nub! :)
If you have a problem with rabbits munching on your flowers, try brushing your cat and then sprinkling the cat hair over the plants. This was the only solution that helped me after I had tried other remedies such as sprinkling cayenne pepper, human hair and blood meal over my plants.
Use empty gallon milk jugs for back yard planting season. The rabbits would eat all our new pepper plants. The only way to keep them away was to cut off the bottom and top of the milk jug and bury the wide bottom part in the ground a couple inches.
Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
How do we keep the rabbits from eating the bulbs I plant for next year's growth?
Hardiness Zone: 5a
By rox from Champaign, IL
Try putting hot pepper sauce all over the plants,critters do not like hot stuff,good luck.
To protect the bulbs I have planted from the critters in my area I went to the hardware store and bought some chicken wire. I laid it over the flower bed and put some heavy rocks on the wire border. The squirrels, chipmunks and other critters can't chew through the wire to get to the bulbs.
Thank you, that is a great idea.
Best Method Ever
All my friends and their parents use this method and not only do they have zero problems, but their plants are bigger and happier, too. First step -find someone with a pet rabbit. Go to rabbit.org for a state by state listing of rescue chapters. They would be happy to hook you up with someone in your city. Second - ask for a ziploc bag of poop. Don't worry, it does not smell. It's dry and crumbly and pellet shaped. Scatter these pellets around or through your veggie patch and voila, no more wild rabbits.
Why this works? Rabbits are very territorial and will fight to the death in many cases over land. Since domesticated rabbits are much larger than their wild cousins, a wild rabbit will see the poop (or smell it a long ways off) and give your plants a wide berth. The poop tells them a giant rabbit lives there and they will want nothing to do with your plants! Also, rabbit pellets make great fertilizer that will never, ever, burn your crops. It's a win-win situation.
I have a House Bunny who's litter box is just like a compost bin. He makes my yard happy and is the best companion I've ever had.
Wow, that is awesome info, thank you very much....I love to see the rabbits in our yard, but I do want it to stay pretty with flowers and shrubs and since my little dogs chase them the info on rabbits being territorial is very good to know.
What can I use to get rid of rabbits in my flower beds? They are eating my flowers. I have a sprinkler system that comes on every morning for 5 minutes in these beds so it has to be unhurt by water.
By Pat
What can I place in my vegetable garden and around my flowers to deter rabbits from eating them? I know I can fence in the garden, but what about flowers?
By Joe Burto
As the woman at the garden shop told me not much stops them but a fence. I have heard marigolds will deter them ~ they ate mine. I was also told bone meal, or coyote urine will work but has to be replenished when it rains or when your sprinklers go on as is the situation here in CA. I also heard just plain red cayenne pepper sprinkled on the leaves will deter them. This use to work for me when I lived in the northeast with my flowers but again has to be replenished often but I got bottles at the dollar store.Not so sure you want to put that on your vegetables though. Good luck I haven't found anything but a fence to work so far and then I had problems with the snails!
My grandpa always put bone meal around the garden.
This winter the rabbits have eaten the phlox in my garden. I know they will attack my tulips the minute they bloom. Any suggestions to keep them away and send them back to the forest?
Three rabbits have eaten all 16 of my pepper plants. How can I keep them away next year? I tried deer scent, but that didn't work.
By Holly A. from Copley, OH
How do you get rid of rabbits in a garden?
By Ruth
I think with dogs.
I read that you can use crush red pepper sprinkled in your garden. That's fine, but does it harm you plants at all?
By Eric m.
How do you get rid of bunnies in a garden?
By RuthC.
Well you could put Irish spring Soap in bar form (keeps some animals out of gardens because of its smell.) Tie it to a stick about 2 ft off the ground and put it around your garden. The stronger the smell the better it keeps them away!
A friend plants comfrey. The bunnies would much rather eat it than anything you have in your garden.
Can someone tell me how to keep rabbits out of my garden safely?
By Sharon Rafferty from East Hampton
Place a rabbit fence around your garden, also if you dust with "Seven" a bug killer, that will also help.
Also, try buying children play snakes and place them around. See if that helps. It would keep me out. lol.
How do I naturally repel rabbits in a garden?
By john from MA
Go to your local feed store, such as an Agway, and purchase fox urine. Spray or drip it out where the rabbits appear. Do store it outside, in a garage or shed, as any drop of it inside will really smell up your home.
Mass home improvement stores such as Lowes and Home Depot will also have predator urine located in their garden pesticide section. Of course, if you or a neighbor has dogs, you could always walk them around the perimeter of the garden and let them do their business.
Although traditional fences are probably most effective in keeping wildlife out of your garden, there are other methods that can also work well. Commercial and homemade products utilizing certain odors are also effective. This is a guide about using scent fences for repelling deer and rabbits.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
We're having a lot of trouble with rabbits eating all our plants. Any ideas? Thanks.
HeatherD
You may need to employ a variety of tactics to achieve success. If it repels rabbits, it should also deter gopher and woodchucks. Here are several ideas:
1. Fences: This is really the only foolproof method for protecting your garden from rabbits. Fencing should be 4 ft tall and extend at least 6 inches into the ground. Use metal wire with an inch mesh and you will keep them out.
2. Bloodmeal or bonemeal: This gives rabbits the impression hungry predators may be lurking nearby. Sprinkle this on top of the soil or fill cheesecloth bags and hang them from trees and shrubs.
3. Hair: Collect discarded human or pet hair and spread it around the perimeter of susceptible plants. Again, rabbits become leery that hungry predators may be in the vicinity.
4. Mason jars: Some gardeners swear that placing Mason jars in 3 foot intervals around the perimeter of your garden will keep rabbits out.
5. Vinegar and corncobs: Soak corncob halves in vinegar for 24 hours and place them around the garden. Save the leftover vinegar and resoak the corncobs every two weeks to keep rabbits at bay.
6. Powdered fox urine: This stuff may not sound very appealing to work with, but exploiting the rabbit's natural fear of the fox is a good strategy. Find this at your local garden center.
7. Tree guards: These are available in home and garden centers, but are easy to make yourself using foil, or window screen. Wrap the trunks of susceptible trees to a height of at least 2 ft above the deepest level of normal snowfall.
8. Try planting Mexican marigolds or garlic.
9. Rotten eggs: Blend 4 eggs, 4 cloves of garlic, 4 tbsp. of Tabasco with 4 cups of water. Allow this to ferment in the hot sun for a few days and then pour around susceptible plants. You may not be able to stand the smell, but neither will the rabbits. Reapply it rains.
Many commercial repellents are available in the form of sprays or powders. These work on the premise that rabbits won't eat something that tastes or smells bad, and usually contain garlic and/or cloves. You will find a wide variety of repellents at home centers and feed stores.
Although rabbits will eat anything (and everything) if food sources become scarce, some plants have been found to be less appealing to their pallet. Contact your local extension agency for recommendations on which rabbit-resistant trees, shrubs and plants grow best in your zone.
Good luck.
Ellen
About The Author: Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
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