climrick Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Anybody have any ideas on how to keep rabbits out of a garden? I have a fence (they dig under it), tried deer and rabbit repellant (works for a day or two). I've been trying to give them a taste of lead, but i swear for every one I kill, two more show up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Tell the man of the family to go out after dark and "water" around the garden, but not in it. Rabbits avoid the urine of meat eaters. It's funny how many men will water anything outdoors at the first chance, but give them a destination and they refuse! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmoopie11 Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I just read in one of my magazines to spray the plants with a solution of hot sauce with water. Interested to hear if anyone else heard this or had any luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staci Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Tell the man of the family to go out after dark and "water" around the garden, but not in it. Rabbits avoid the urine of meat eaters. It's funny how many men will water anything outdoors at the first chance, but give them a destination and they refuse! :-) I am always wondering why there aren't many rabbits around my home, now I know that it is probably my husbands fault. I swear that he doesn't even know that we have a bathroom in the house. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northsouthgirl Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 What about human hair? I've heard it works for deer. Just go to the local baber shop & ask them to save some hair & spread around the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ran46 Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Good luck, we have had problems for the last three years with our landscaping. The rabbits will stand on their hind feet to reach the branches off some of our shrubs. They will clean the leaves right off the branches. They could care less about our dog or our pellet gun. The only thing we found that worked last year was some hawks were hanging around and they really cleaned out the rabbit "herd". This year we had a stray cat for a few weeks off/on and that kept them away, the cat hasn't been around the neighborhood and the rabbits are back. I have even gone up the embankment almost to them and they will just run to the edge of the woods and watch when I go back into the yard. I have tried all kind of products purchased and homemade. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSTeach Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I have heard cat hair might work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Get a cat or try burying about a foot of a chicken wire fence in the ground. They won't dig very deeply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 We have bobcats, they keep the rabbit population down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflowerpa Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 We put moth balls around the outside of the garden in the grass. Obviously you wouldn't want to do this if you have small children but we have tons of rabbits and they don't bother the garden and the deer avoid it like the plague. I used to plant a small patch of lettuce away from the garden just for the rabbits. They left the garden alone and I had extra lettuce. They don't like the smell of marigold either. The first year Ihad my husband plant marigolds we ended up with a hedgerow that nothing could get through. I picked enough seeds from it to 1/2 fill a 5 gallon bucket. Everyone the next year had marigolds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northsouthgirl Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 We put moth balls around the outside of the garden in the grass. Obviously you wouldn't want to do this if you have small children but we have tons of rabbits and they don't bother the garden and the deer avoid it like the plague. I used to plant a small patch of lettuce away from the garden just for the rabbits. They left the garden alone and I had extra lettuce. They don't like the smell of marigold either. The first year Ihad my husband plant marigolds we ended up with a hedgerow that nothing could get through. I picked enough seeds from it to 1/2 fill a 5 gallon bucket. Everyone the next year had marigolds. Good point, I have seen amish gardens & they use marigolds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Marigolds will also keep away a lot of the detrimental insects but the pollinators will still come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slk59 Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Marigolds will also keep away a lot of the detrimental insects but the pollinators will still come. but watch out for slugs. they eat my marigolds down to the stem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Mungaknuts Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I've put Epsom salts all around to keep the slugs out as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodseya1 Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Try these Rabbit Repellent This is harmless for rabbits. It only repels them. 1/2 cup talcum powder 1/4 cup cayenne pepper Mix the ingredients. Spread the mixture wherever you do not want the rabbits to feed. Animal Repellent 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 quart water 1/4 teaspoon liquid detergent Mix well. Spray on all garden plants. The smell will repel animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest madre Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 When the cat was allowed out we never had a problem. The neighbors complained about the cat and we we've had to keep him in. Now, there's an entire family of rabbits running around (and squirrels and chippys). They don't seem too concerned about our dog, for some reason. ;D I like the lettuce idea...I may try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I'm surprised that no one has suggested inviting them in for dinner. They are excellent eating. Very few rabbits make if through their first year as just about every meat eater preys on them but breeding like rabbits is no joke. Here is an article from the Down to Earth Garden Club June newsletter. It will be up on our website as soon as I get the weeds under control. Most of the info is from PSU County Extension. Hope it helps. Our backyard cottontail is Sylviagus floridanus. It consumes 1/5 of a pound of food per day, which may not seem like much until it invites its extended family to dine in your garden. Rabbits can cause damage in fruit orchards, where both fruit and bark are consumed; vegetable gardens; flower gardens and in landscape plantings. A rabbit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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