Battling Bunnies in the Garden
I hate to go all Elmer Fudd or Mr. McGregor on you, but I really do not like rabbits, especially in my garden. They can mow down a row of seedlings in a few hours, reproduce like mad, prune shrubs you want to grow, and drop pellets all over your garden. Battling bunnies is a major occupation during parts of the garden year.
Sure, other garden pests can be more destructive, as anyone who has dealt with persistent deer problems can attest, but in terms of numbers, rabbits top gardeners’ most-irritating list.
What to do? Here are a few suggestions for battling bunnies, based on hard-won experience and a bit of research.
5 tips for busting bunnies in the garden
- Fences. The bottom line is, if you want to keep rabbits and other critters out of your garden, build a fence. This works especially well on dedicated vegetable gardens. University of Minnesota extension recommends a fence that is 18 to 24 inches high and made out of 1-inch mesh chicken wire. Some experts recommend two layers of wire to make the fence extra difficult to squeeze through. To prevent rabbits from burrowing under the fence, you may want to bury it about 6 inches under ground.
- Smells. Rabbits don’t like the smell of predators or death. That’s why many gardeners swear by everything from sprinklings of human or animal hair (get it from your hairdresser or animal groomer) to human urine (easier to for men and gardeners with fences to apply). Many commercial repellents are infused with the scent of fox urine. Another solution is blood meal, dried powdered blood that is sometimes used as a fertilizer. Some individuals also swear by strong tasting substances, such as hot peppers or Tabasco sauce, as a deterrent. The problem with smell- and taste-related solutions is that they dissipate after rain, so they often need to be reapplied.
- Plant deterrents. Onions, garlic, marigolds, lavender, catnip-many plants are credited with being deterrents to rabbits. What they all have in common is a strong scent. Garden blogger and author Shawna Coronado swears by a combination of ‘Taishon’ marigolds and spicy globe basil. Both are high-scent plants that are pretty in the garden, too.
- An alternate buffet. Author Tammi Hartung recommends planting “decoy plants” to keep critters out of your garden. I tried this using parsley as an edging plant in my ornamental beds to keep the bunnies out of the vegetable garden. I’m not sure how well the parsley attracted rabbits from the vegetable garden, but I did discover that parsley makes a great edging plant.
- Predators. Last year, we were fortunate to have a fox living near our house. The bunny population took a nose-dive. The fox must have moved on, because the bunnies are out in force again. Obviously, wild animals are not a solution you can rely on or even should encourage, but letting the dog out, if you have a fenced-in yard might scatter the bunnies and at least make them a little nervous about taking up residence in your garden.
More on critter-control
The humble rabbit isn’t the only thief of the vegetable patch: deer, voles, squirrels, and other hungry critters are also common backyard garden bandits. While some of these tips are suitable at preventing both rabbits and other pests, different problem animal species often need differing methods of garden deterrence.
Another great resource for gardeners with critter problems is Deer Resistant Landscaping: Proven Advice for Outwitting Deer and 20 Other Pesky Mammals by Neil Soderstrom.
The marigold theory did not work for me. This year, planted 2 flats & diligently watched when I noticed many stems where the buds were bitten off. In spite of sprinkling red pepper flakes directly on the plants twice a week, a couple nights ago I peeked out my window at midnight & 2 rabbits were munching away. Since then I’ve applied pepper twice & this morning, the few plants that had blooms are now bare. Suggestions?
I feel your pain! Rabbits mowed down about 20 marigolds that I planted in a front garden bed midsummer to add some color. It looks so bad, I’m taking them out. Fencing is the only sure-fire way to keep them out. A teenager with a BB gun may also help. 😉 Good luck!
We bought Rabbit fence, didnt help, we watch a little rabbit go right through it!
Someone suggests an animal…a dog to get rid of rabbits….perhaps the small yappy ones may work.
We have a German Shepherd….he loves lying in the sun, watching the bunnies much away……no help what so ever. So make sure you get a guard dog.HA!HA,!
They love my marigolds but the marigolds help control the aphids on my milkweed in my butterfly garden so I don’t care. I will provide enough for the rabbits to snack on.
Has anyone had success with a spray that includes egg whites or other foods they hate? I was desperate this spring after every last pansy and phlox flower was eaten, so I bought a spray called Safer (non-chemical) and it appears to be working. Of course, I’ve got to respray after every rain.
I have found domestic rabbit poop to work really well. The down side is 1. It is hard to find unless you know a breeder. 2. Every plant and in my case solar light cord needs to be surrounded and 3. Poop needs to be replaced frequently. I too am looking for a better solution .
Home depot told me to spray Ammonia and the smell will keep them away.
That is the next step for me.
Im going in with Ammonia! Will let you know! Phlox, coneflowers, cornflower all chewed beyond recognition. I watched intently as three generations went after Elephant Ears, Daisies and Liatris! I’ve been invaded in my little backyard.
The rabbits chewed e Rey o e of my marigold plants to the lady stem!!!along with my purple cone fliers and Lillie’s! My local garden store Recommended “ Organic Insect Control by Espoma. I sprinkled the pellets around the order of plants. Lasted 10 days ( was pricey) I also keep a spray bottle filled with water – if I see them in my garden I give them a spray they run off but I suspect they are back at midnight.
I am going to fencing after trying numerous liquid and pant deterrents that failed.
Coyote urine sprinkled your yard perimeter. Your local feed store should have it granulated in containers.
Needs to be replaced after rain. It is smelly but should work.
I have over 1,000 tulips and have “tucked” my tulip leaves each spring with human hair I get from salons. This has worked to deter rabbits for over twenty years. Tuck the hair deep into the curled leaves so wind and rain doesn’t dislodge the hair.
I have rabbits as pets. Rabbits never give up. Also many of the herbs listed are favorite treats many bunny owners feed to rabbits. I grow calendula & lavender as daily treats for my rabbits.
Hi. We also have a serious rabbit problem. We initially purchased a green vinyl fence that was supposed to be rabbit resistant. Hah! Maybe for a day! They chewed through multiple areas to have easy entrances and exits. I had started my large pollinator garden a year and a half ago, and have found rabbits like the majority of the plants, from phlox, to eccynacea, to black eyed susans, to so very many that I lost count (but they haven’t touched any of the beebalm). I desperately want all the plants to establish for a few years, and later the rabbits can enjoy them when they spread. So, for now, I purchased hardware clothe 2 feet wide x 1/2″ squares. My husband and I cut it with wire cutters and made 12″ high with a diameter of around 12-18 inches round cages around each valued plant that we have seen the rabbits munch on. Its been almost a month and the rabbits have not dug under the cages or attempted to reach from above since the tops are jagged wire. The only problem is that these cages are not very sightly but as the plants grow, less of the cages is visible. Have not decided yet if we will leave the cages up for next spring, but thinking we will so the rabbits don’t devour the early plantings again. So far so good. I bet that a fence of this hardware cloth could be perfect around the perimeter of the garden as well. Hope this post helped 🙂
Thank you! This is really helpful as I’m also trying to grow a wildflower meadow in an area rife with rabbits. In a nearby area I have a chicken run that is fenced over 6′ high with 2″ hardware cloth, with the bottom 3′ also covered with 1/2″ hardware cloth. This 1/2″ hardware cloth also comes out 2′ from the fence to stop digging predators. I’ve seen rabbits inside the fence. When startled, one rabbit jumped up, clearing the 3 feet of 1/2″ hardware cloth mesh and wriggled through the 2″ hardware cloth above it. Gone in a matter of seconds. I had hoped to erect a simpler, temporary fencing solution around the would-be meadow until it matured a bit, but now I’m despairing that: 1 – anything simpler wouldn’t be effective, and 2 – even my Fort Knox chicken run predator protection which would not be viable (and would ruin the whole meadow vibe anyway) doesn’t keep the darn rabbits out anyway. There is ample forage around my yard but they still make it into and out of chicken-fort-knox anyway. .
I asked advice from the nursery and they told me to plant Lavender. I followed their advice.
No more rabbits, chipmunks in the Garden and in the Lavender looked lovely.
Get a cat… Cats love to catch rodents…ground rodents…tree rodents etc etc etc
Been in the lawn care industry for years now and I genuinely hadn’t heard of a few on your list. I’m definitely going to try the marigolds for some of my upcoming projects. Thanks for the great advice! Looking forward to more gardening tips 🙂 !
Love the idea of planting marigolds, basil and lavender–sun loving plants. But, what
do I plant in my shady garden as deterrents?
I like to scatter MothBalls around target plants. Most wildlife hate the smell (me too).
Ammonia works well too.
In the case of special plants I usually create barriers using rabbit wire. I still scatter moth balls around so they don’t get the idea of digging under.
I have a lot of strong smelling plants around the garden which I am told annoy rabbits. These include LemonBalm, Mint, Lavendar, Russian Sage and Catmint. We life near a park and there are tons of rabbits about. There are also tons of Coyotes and Foxes about so I think the rabbits get culled naturally. I also chase them with the hose set on Jet if I spot them, or I pitch handfuls of stones at them. The neighbours think I am nuts.
I use liquid fence. The actual brand. To keep the rabbits out,I spray around the garden but if they are already in the yard I spray the plant and a little around it. It has worked well for me this year.
I was thinking of creating a patch for the rabbits in a far corner of my yard using cabbage, kale, lettuce etc. and fencing off my garden patch with plastic netting. I want to encourage them to them feed there and leave my veggies alone. Or am I asking for trouble that way?
I have visiting coyotes, a resident owl, visiting hawks, an occasional fox in the middle of the city in Oklahoma. I also have a beagle. This does not help much. The coyotes are getting rabbits. I see their scat several times a week and it has rabbit hair. The beagle spent her first years in a medical lab. She is a sweet , good animal companion but she has no understanding that ordinarily she should be on rabbit interdiction. I have to fence flowers. They will and have eaten sunflowers, zinnias, nasturtiums, cone flowers, rose campion, hollyhocks, pansies. portulaca, poppies…They leave the peonies, irises, catmint, regular mint, rose bushes alone.
I have had to put up an only moderately inoffensive metal fence but the openings are 1.5 inches. So far it has worked. My rabbits appear too lazy to dig much. If I have the lower rail resting on the ground they don’t try to get under (so far).
Squirrels are as much a problem here. So far they always get my cherries. I don’t want to use netting as I understand it hurts the birds. Coffee grounds worked last year to keep them off the tomatoes. Thank you for all of these methods.
I’m at my wits end with the destruction caused by rabbits in our condo’s courtyard. Over the winter they devoured over 12 rosebushes thorns and all! We set 7 traps for 5 days and caught a squirrel ….no rabbits!!
BB gun sounds good to me!
I use fencing around my yard. My metal fence, I add chicken wire for the bottom 18 inches. The areas that I cannot fence, I plant Hellebore, geraniums, lavender, hyacinths, and snap dragons. I hang my pansies in baskets onto hooks at different heights and elevated pots. I regularly add ground egg shells and used coffee grounds to my Hostas. If nothing else, it is good for the plants and may reduce slugs as well. In addition, I leave the clover in the grass, the rabbits prefer the clover to anything in my garden.
To Sherry Burgess,
I love what you are doing! I was planning to do a lavendar border, but you have a wonderful variety I’m fojng to try! My mother-in-law and then my husband always planted marigolds to keep rabbits away.
i’m getting desperate to get rid of some of the dang rabbits…they are particularly loving my roses this year, mowing them down every night…i’m going to try my grandson’s big water gun right at them as they sit munching away on the lawn and think they are hidden…dumb critters! Maybe with ammonia in it as some have suggested they don’t like the smell, me either! Any ideas???
I planted marigolds, thinking they would deter rabbits. They ate them all down to stubs.
Stupid rabbits, my husband just planted a seedling grape, came out this morning and not one leaf.? going to try caging in some if my plants with rabbits deterrent spray and see what happens…
I planted the most gorgeous and expensive delphiniums this year already in full bloom, lasted 2 days. Researched the web and ordered wolf pee. Expensive and did nothing to deter rabbits. Now eating my beautiful dahlia.in spite of putting a barrier around them AND wolf pee. This is a losing battle it seems. I have 2 pots of lavender that I’ve been looking for a spot to plant them so this is my next strategy.
Garlic does not seem to work. I just found a rabbit nest in my raised garlic bed right beside a well established plant. The nest is no longer there – I removed them and I doubt that they will survive. I think they were just born yesterday as I did not notice the nest before today. Hoping that the foxes make a comeback in the neighbourhood because when they were around there was no rabbit problem.
I planted 3 rows of Gazanias around a tree. A week later, they were mowed down to stubs. The rabbits have also samples my Blue Fescue, Butterfly Milkweed, and Scaviola. My partner bought a slingshot but now they run when they see him. We have a trap set with carrots and apples but so far, no takers. BB gun may be next. Sad, but true.
WRONG! BUSTED A BABY BUNNY THAT WAS EATING MY MARIGOLD!