What Keeps Rabbits Away Stops Them From Eating Plants?

How to get rid of rabbits in yard
 

In all honesty, a man with a garden can vouch for it – those unassuming bunnies can do more damage than strong or frosty winds, as they have the potential to mow down one whole row of beans in a single night.

 

What’s worst? They will come back over and over again. More so, there is more than just your plants to worry about with rabbits. Saying that a bunny’s appetite is voracious is also an understatement, and their taste buds are not selective at all.

 

Hence, there is nothing safe from a rabbit’s reach. From berries to grasses, melons to mushrooms, to all kinds of shoots and roots, if it is accessible for them, they will eat it. Has it ever happened to you that you have done everything in your might to create a garden, and it has later been destructed to nothing by these furry beings?

 

In This Article:

At the end of it, there is usually one thought that may come to your mind – how to keep rabbits out of yard? If you wish to learn how to stop rabbits from eating plants, this guide is for you.

 

Herein, we will address some tips on how to get rid of rabbits in yard. Let us get started and address these tips one by one.

 

How To Keep Bunnies Out Of Garden?

Let us look at some tips on how to keep rabbits out of your garden.

  1. What keeps rabbits away best from entering the lawn is not to grow wild plants and tall bushes.
  2. If you wonder how to keep rabbits away from flowers, you can plant a few unique plants, like lavender, sages, zinnia, etc., which the rabbits do not like. Naturally, they would stay away from them if they did not like them.
  3. If you are constantly worried about how to stop rabbits from eating plants, fret no more! Just use a strong smell to repel rabbits. For this, you can plant vegetables and flowers, which have a strong smell to keep rabbits at bay. For instance, garlic, onion, marigolds, and lavenders are great picks to keep rabbits at bay.
  4. If you are done with the rabbits harming your flowers, you need immediate action. For this, you can add some pepper, such as cayenne pepper and black pepper or chili powder, on the lawn. This tends to irritate their nose and keep them at bay.
  5. Having a dog who will chase the rabbits away can be a good tip. This is the safest way how to keep bunnies out of garden.
  6. Rabbits tend to get scared by the noise. So, now you very well know how to deter rabbits. Equipment and tools that produce massive noise, such as an electric guitar, bells, and wind chimes, can also help keep rabbits at bay. So, it is easy for you to scare them with these sounds.
  7. Additionally, what keeps rabbits away? You can install mock animals to deter rabbits. You can use a fake coyote or snakes as they are the natural enemies of rabbits. Alternatively, an owl can also be used.
  8. An excellent way how to keep rabbits out of yard is installing a picket fence. You can install a chicken wire with an inch-long mesh and build a fence around the garden beds. Even when the fence is installed, you must regularly examine it to ensure that they haven’t nibbled or caused holes in it. Alternatively, motion-activated sprinklers can help too.
  9. Another way how to deter rabbits is by eliminating all the potential nesting spots. Typically, a female rabbit can give birth to over ten babies in a litter. So, if you wish to keep rabbits away from your garden, you should ensure that there is no area in your garden that can act as a potential nesting space.
  10. Adding visual deterrents is another way to keep rabbits away from the yard. Some things which work are metal pinwheels, owl statues, and rubber snakes.
  11. How to keep rabbits out of yard if all else fails? Another way to keep rabbits out of your lawn is by installing reflectors. Many of you may not know, but rabbits are afraid of their reflection. So, when the rabbits see their reflections in the reflectors, they are scared. Hence, they instantly try to get away from the yard.
  12. If all else fails try setting up a trap or get professional help.

Hopefully, you know how to keep rabbits away from flowers with the methods above. If you follow one or more such practices, it will be easier to protect your garden from bunnies.

 

Related: Do Potato Bugs Bite? How To Get rid of Goat Heads Weed?

How To Stop Rabbits From Digging Holes In Lawn & Deter Them Away?

How To Know You Have A Rabbit Problem
In addition to the tips above, here’s how to stop rabbits from eating plants? To prevent rabbits from eating the plants, you need to curtail them from digging holes in the lawn.

 

One of the best ways to get rid of rabbits in yard is to ensure that the rabbits do not dig holes around your flower beds, garden, or yard. For this, you must keep it well-trimmed and moved at all times. Any overgrown weeds, grass, and bush can be a hiding space for the rabbits.

 

Even though this is one of the most suitable methods, if you see a rabbit digging a hole in the lawn despite this, you need to adopt some alternative methods.

 

A few such techniques include:

 

1. Creating your own homemade rabbit repellent: You can make a homemade repellant if you do not want rabbits lingering in your yard. The ingredients required are powdered pepper, garlic, dish soap, water, and a plastic container.

 

You can mix these ingredients and form a solution out of them. Once done, spray this mixture in your garden and home perimeter. Rabbits hate the smell or the taste of garlic. So, this trick will definitely work for you.

 

2. Invest in a store-bought repellent: If you think creating a homemade repellant is a lot of work, you can also shop for a repellant from a store. Nature’s Mace Deer & Rabbit Repellentis one such repellant. It contains sulfuric, onion, and garlic, which works well to keep rabbits away from the yard.

 

However, not all store-bought repellants are plant-based. There are also some repellants, which use ultrasonic frequencies. Such devices emit a loud pitched noise, which is undetectable to people. Thus, they are safe for humans. However, when animals are exposed to such a noise, they will flee away.

 

3. Use some odorous plants: Lastly, rabbits are sensitive to taste and smell. So, using stinky plants can also prevent them from digging holes in the lawn.

 

Unsure of What’s Causing Trouble – Identifying A Rabbit Problem

How To Stop Rabbits From Digging Holes In Lawn
So, before you start your mission to get rid of rabbits in the yard, you first need to determine if the problem is the rabbits.

 

How can you know a rabbit has been into your yard if you have not seen them with your own eyes?

 

We have addressed the big question – how to deter rabbits, now let us discuss some giveaway signs that can guarantee that there has been a rabbit (s) in your yard. These include:

 

  1. In contrast to squirrels, the bunnies do not leap from walls, scramble up fences, or trespass your yard looking for food. So, they mostly stick to the food accessible at lower heights. So, if the majority of the damage is within two feet or so from the ground, you got to blame the bunnies.2. As opposed to the other nibblers, rabbits are quite tidy in their act. So, if you spot clean-edged and sharp cuts on the branches, vegetables, or the flowerbed, a bunny just visited your yard.
  2. Also, watch out for a cluster of round and small rabbits dropping.
  3. Freshly dug holes or upturned soil can also be an indicator of a bunny visit.
  4. Lastly, given their toilet habits, you might also witness their urine in patches on the lawn.

 

Now that you have identified that a rabbit has trespassed your area, you need to follow the simple tips stated above on how to keep rabbits out of yard.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Ques 1. Do Marigolds Keep Rabbits Away?

Ans. Unfortunately, the marigolds do nothing to repel deer, rabbits, or other animals. As a matter of fact, rabbits love marigolds. So, if you wish to drive them away, you must instead install a hardware cloth fence or a chicken wire around your flowerbed or vegetation or try other methods we have stated.

 

 

Ques 2. Do Rabbits Carry Diseases?

Ans. Rabbits, which are captured from the wild populations or the ones that live outdoors, or those bought from the pet store, often carry several zoonotic diseases. The prevalent zoonotic diseases associated with rabbits include mycobacteriosis, pasteurellosis, external parasites, cryptosporidiosis, and ringworm.

 

Ques 3. How To Keep Rabbits Away From Flowers?

Ans. Rabbits are sensitive to smell. So, if you wish to deter rabbits from entering your yard, you can dust some talcum powder on the plant.

 

More so, as rabbits are excellent sniffers, if you spray some powdered red chili around the targeted plants or around your garden, it can help keep rabbits at bay. Alternatively, Irish Spring soap shavings installed in little drawstring bags across the garden works well to keep rabbits away.

 

Ques 4. What Are Some Plants That Repel Rabbits?

Ans. Some flowers and plants which the rabbits hate are:

  1. Sweet Alyssum
  2. Salvia
  3. Cleome
  4. Lavender
  5. Ageratum
  6. Sunflower
  7. Milkweed
  8. Strawflower
  9. Shirley Poppy
  10. Catmint
  11. Crown of Thorns
  12. Lantana
  13. Snapdragon
  14. Geraniums
  15. Globe Thistle
  16. Vinca
  17. Wax Begonia (Begonia Variety)
  18. Peppers
  19. Wormwood

 

Ques 5. Will Mothballs Keep Rabbits Away?

Ans. No, mothballs do nothing to repel the rabbits. Beyond being hugely ineffective at keeping the rabbits at bay, the mothballs are also toxic for outdoor use. Typically, mothballs have a chemical in them, damaging the wildlife & vegetation around the house.

 

Ques 6. How Can You Rabbit-Proof Garden Fence?

Ans. If you wish to rabbit-proof the fence, you must dig under the fence, which loosely touches the ground. Then, all you need to do is extend the buried fence about a foot or more outward from the fence’s base. So, even when the rabbits dig below the fence, they will be curtailed by the buried wire mesh.

 

Ques 7. How To Keep Rabbits Out Of Your Garden With Home Remedies?

Ans. You can make a DIY rabbit repellant to deter rabbits from entering your garden. For this, you need to take a one-gallon container and fill it with water. In it, crush five garlic gloves, and let it sit in the water.

 

To the mix, add a tablespoon of dish soap and a teaspoon of crushed red peppers. Shake the mixture well, and leave it under the sun for about two days. This is an excellent home remedy that will help you to keep rabbits away from your lawn.

 

Ques 8. How To Prevent Rabbits From Eating Plants? Or How To Keep Rabbits Out Of The Garden Without A Fence?

Ans. To give you a gist of how to save your garden from rabbits:

  • Use repellants and plants that rabbits dislike.
  • Use noise instruments.
  • Keep your garden pruned to devoid them of hiding spots.
  • Have a pet that scares them off or have mock animals like coyotes or rubber snakes.