Share on ThriftyFunThis page contains the following solutions. Have something to add? Please share your solution!
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.
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.
