Have you got any tips to keep rabbit's out of the garden??

Question

The little blighters are eating up my plants!

Putting a Fence up is not really an option, Is there some kind of pellets / drops, or repellant's that you have tried??

And for the funny people out there, No Guns!!

Answer 1

If your trying to repel rabbits with mothballs, coyote urine, human hair, marigolds, or a myriad of other home remedies, give up! They just don't work.

I have people come in the office and tell me that their remedy works just great. But then I've had ten others tell me they used the same remedy with no results.

What is tried and true when it comes to keeping rabbits out of the garden is a physical barrier. Anything strong enough and high enough to keep rabbits from punching through or jumping over will work.

At the Extension Center Demonstration Gardens we almost exclusively use one inch mesh chicken wire. We have a perimeter fence that's two foot high, running around the entire garden area. The bottom of the fence is buried a few inches down into the soil to hold the bottom securely in place. This will also discourage rabbits from digging under the fence. The fence is supported every six or eight feet with steel fence posts. Granted it's not the most attractive fence, but it's functional and it works.

Occasionally, rabbits find their way through our perimeter fence, usually through open gates. For these intruders we have also circled individual plants or plantings we know they find particularly tasty. Leafy greens like lettuce, mustard, spinach, and chard are favorites. Most any young, tender plant, be it vegetable, flower, shrub or tree are fair game for rabbits.

Raised beds, if their raised high enough, is also a deterrent to rabbits. Even a bed built up 18 inches high will provide a deterrent. Some nibbling will occur on the edges, but that can be tolerated. We make our raised beds out of various materials including; concrete block, slump block, and pressure treated 4 by 4's.

Cages can be built over raised beds to exclude more than rabbits. Here at the Extension office we have devised a very effective cage built from concrete reinforcing bars, reinforcing wire and chicken wire. The bars are bent into half circles and concrete reinforcing wire is attached. Finally, the frame is covered with a one inch mesh chicken wire skin. Chicken wire placed in the bottom of the raised bed or planter will keep burrowing ground squirrels from tunneling up from below. You can see our cages demonstrated in our gardens here at the Extension Center which is located at 4210 N. Campbell Avenue.

Taste repellents have limited success. Some people have reported good success using hot pepper sauce diluted in water and sprayed on the plants. Try one tablespoon per gallon and include a small amount of spreader sticker to keep it on the plant. Commercial, ammonium based, taste repellents are also available from garden centers and nurseries. These provide mixed results.

Trapping is another method of controlling rabbits, but is best used in combination with fencing. Several excellent styles of live traps, also known as "have-a heart", are available from garden centers, hardware stores, and seed catalogs.

Traps should be placed around the garden. Keep the traps near cover so that rabbits won't have to cross large open spaces to get to them. Check traps daily to replenish bait or remove any trapped rabbits. Forgetting to check the trap, even for one day, could result in the inhumane death of a captured rabbit.

Apples, carrots, cabbage, and other fresh green vegetables are good baits. A good bait for garden traps is a cabbage leaf rolled tightly and held together by a toothpick. For best results, use baits that are similar to what your rabbits are feeding on.

Release rabbits in rural areas several miles form where they have been trapped. Do not release them where they may create a problem for someone else.

A final suggestion; if all else fails, plant some extra greens for the rabbits. If your lucky you'll end up with enough for you, your family, and the rabbits.

Answer 2

No Guns! :)
Im glad you're animal friendly!

Gardeners have reported success sprinkling vinegar, hot pepper flakes and liquid chile sprays on and around plants. One method is to soak corn cobs in vinegar for five minutes and then place them throughout the garden. The corn cobs should be resoaked in vinegar after two weeks. Finally clover is a favorite food of rabbits as is the plantain weed, rabbits would rather eat that than your vegetables... Plant some extra greens for the rabbits.. If you can tolerate clover and even a few plantain weeds in your lawn, that may be the best solution of all.

Another tip here: http://justmygarden.com/2006/05/14/keeping-rabbits-out-of-the-garden/

Answer 3

why dont you just catch them with a carrot and an inescapable hatch, and video tape them. The video will relay directly to a flat screen looking into the hatch and the captured rabbits will go nuts. Their little friends will get scared by seeing them and never return again. Given time, you could release the crazy rabbits and all would be well as they would then become the celebrities of the local rabbit community, like the big brother house, and get laid even more than the average rabbit.

Answer 4

It's not a funny option. If you invited a mate who is a respectable air rifle user (i.e. goes to a club and is a reasonable shot) round for an afternoon then if they bagged a couple of rabbits, the rest would be disinclined to come into your garden. It does work.

Answer 5

Why not use ferrets and nets or sight hounds and a long net, then the guys using the ferrets or sight hounds get to keep the
rabbits to feed their animals on.

The simple fact is tyhat onece rabbits take a shine to your garden there is no way you can keep them out.

Let me know if you want to borrow a ferret and some nets

Answer 6

A big snake. They will eat the rabbits and any other rodents that come into your garden.

Answer 7

Lime works great on bugs, rabbits, and deer!

Its a white powder you can by at any horticulture store!

Answer 8

Moth balls. Also keeps snakes away but we have a bigger problem with the death of all the honey bees. Please read link.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder
Colony Collapse Disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Answer 9

What about Elmer Fudd?

Answer 10

take old pantyhose, twist them, and lay
them in your garden, the rabbits will think they're snakes.