Rabbits in the Yard

I plant marigolds and sprinkle chili powder around my flower garden each year. I buy the chili powder from the dollar store so it is not to expensive. Just remember to reaplly after it rains.

We use this stuff called Liquid Fence. It smells HORRIBLE, so spray it at night when you use it. The smell will be gone the next day. Seems to work really well for us.

We use moth balls. Keeps the racoons away too. But, not good if you have little kids crawling around there.

plant marigolds around the perimeter of your garden. Bunnies don't like them and the scent drives them out of the garden without harming HARE on their bodies.(get it?) haha

There is a spray called "Bobbex-R" that works absolute wonders!

Here are a few home remedies you can try:

Human hair sprinkled around flowers.
Used cat litter sprinkled in flower beds.
Make a concoction of lemon juice, liquid detergent, tobasco and water...spray on everything and again after every rain.

The only other alternatives are to set traps and then find someone to take them...more will come there is a reason we joke about having babies like rabbits. Or you can get a cat or dog....they deter rabbits slightly. Or you can sit in you back yard with a pellet gun and then have Hausenfeffer for dinner (I'm not kidding. It's great stuff)

Take care and happy hunting. "Kill the Wabbit! Kill the Wabbit!" as Elmer Fudd would say.

I haven't personally had experience but I've heard a couple things:
1) Cat scat - just scooped straight out of the litter box and placed around the perimeter.
2) Dog Fur - scattered around.
3) Plant hot peppers around the edge of the garden - this is more long term deterrent because apparently the bunnies doen't like 'em and remember to stay clear of "that" garden. My in-laws used this for the veggie garden, but they are kind of decorative.

Good luck.

This is probably a weird suggestion, but it works! Put human hair inside sections of pantyhose, ball them up and scatter them in your garden. The smell of humans scares away the rabbits. My ex-mother-in-law used to do this all the time. She was a hairdresser, so she had access to the hair. Next time you get yours cut, save some of the clippings for this purpose. It is a great trick!

Try Rabbit Scram - you can purchase a tub of it online.

I use the homemade garlic spray with blended garlic water a couple of eggs and dawn dish soap (to help it stick to the leaves). It works, but you have to spray after every rain.

I have a humane trap from my father-in-law, but I found out that you need a permit, so I secured one from the Department of Natural Resources. I put carrots in the trap and set it out where I can see it from my kitchen window. It is very satisfying seeing that big rodent hop into the trap and the doors gently shut behind her. The trick is, where do you release the bunny? My parents live in an unincorporated wooded area where bunnies don't do damage, so I relocate it nicely.

If you have pets, use the pet hair and put it around the plants you don't want the bunnies to eat. Put all that pet hair to good use.

I swear by Liquid Fence. It smells horrible as you spray it on but the smell goes away after 30 minutes (to us) It stays on through rain and only needs to be put on once a month. It will not harm people or plants.

My Grandmother, who is 91, says that you should have your young sons urinate around the plants. The animals won't come near. But, as I found out the hard way, the boys think it's fun to urinate outside. It does work, but now that my sons are older, I'm afraid of public indecency!!! LOL

My mother in law just told me rabbits are afraid of male cats so if you sprinkle some Tomcat pee around the perimeter of the area, they'll stay out. Gross, I know, but apparently effective

I found these natural suggestions.

I wonder if you made a garlic spray if would work to spray it on the plants you do not want to be eaten.

Hope this helps,
Linda

http://landscaping.about.com/cs/pests/a/easter_rabbit_3.htm

But fencing isn't your only option for pest control against wild rabbits. Nor do you necessarily have to turn to toxic substances. In addition to fencing, wild rabbit control is possible through organic methods.

Pro-Tecs has come out with a natural repellent against wild rabbits that exploits rabbits' dislike of the smell of garlic. A concentration of garlic that, according to Pro-Tecs, is "about 1000 times stronger than garlic juice," is contained in a Pro-Tecs repellent clip. Simply attach these repellent clips to your landscaping trees, garden plants, etc. to repel rabbit pests. Each clip is said to last 6-8 months. Of course, a major selling point for a garlic-based repellent is that it's organic pest control.

One of the best "homemade" organic rabbit repellents is the soiled cat litter from a cat that has killed and eaten wild animals. Spread such cat litter, while still fresh, around your landscaping trees or garden once a week.

Another commercial rabbit repellent that can be used safely on food crops is Hinder. Hinder's active ingredients are ammonium soaps of higher fatty acids. Thiram repellent, however, is dangerous, and it can be used only on ornamental plants.

Remember, too, that some plants function as "natural pest repellents," at least in terms of saving their own hides. Many of the same plants that are rabbit-resistant are also avoided by deer. In the case of some of these plants, it's easy to see why: although natural, they're poisonous (yes, to humans, too). For this reason, deer and rabbits will generally leave alone foxglove (Digitalis) and monkshood (Aconitum), for example.

In the case of other "natural pest repellents," rabbits avoid them not because they're poisonous, but because they don't smell good -- to rabbits, at least. Aromatic herbs such as lavender (Lavendula) may send humans scurrying for their potpourri supplies, but they send rabbits just plain scurrying! And if you aren't keen on spreading your cat's litter around the yard as a repellent, at least install some catnip plants, or "catmint" (Nepeta) for puss. Rabbits don't like the smell of catnip. Nor will they like the smell of a garden frequented by a catnip-craving cat. It's also a lot of fun to see cats going crazy over their catnip!

A neighbor of mine had a garden which was getting invaded by our abundant population of bunnies around here! She ended up planting a few Marigolds about 12 inches apart around her veggie garden and did not have a problem since! I was shocked! Worth a try and they look pretty too!

Good luck and blessings to you!

I always mix up a spray bottle of a little bit of Tobasco sauce and water and spray the plants. They don't like the taste. Try it.

For the backyard, some of my neighbors staple chicken wire to the bottom of their fences. I'm not sure if this is a problem in your front yard or backyard. (I don't even know if you have a fence to staple the chicken wire to. One of my neighbors has chicken wire around his flowers in his front yard, but directly around the flowers doesn't look nice.

Okay, this is going to sound really funny. I am a hair sylist and this is not a strange request, call the local beauty salon and ask them to save you a bag of hair they have sweeped up. Then take the hair and spread it around your plants and flowers, the bunnies will smell the human hair and think that there is a human near by, keeping them away, you will have to reapply though, at least once a month.
You can also try planting Marigolds in your garden. Bunnies don't like the smell of them.
Good Luck!

Sprinkling black pepper around the plants helps (although you will need to re apply pepper after the rain). Mothballs work too.

Also, there are critter away products you can find in most garden centers.

I'm not sure if you are talking about edible plants or not. There is a product called "phooey" that you spray on the plants, flowers etc. (reapply after heavy rain) It is soooo bitter that it stops the animals from eating the plants. It works really well. Bunnies are so cute yet so destructive!

I also have heard about planting Marigolds. Rabbits don't like the smell or taste. If you don't want to go that route, I have another suggestion. I am a hairdresser and when I worked in the salon, there was a client that came in once a week to get her hair done. She also brought a plastic bag with her to collect all the hair that we cut for the day! She would spread that hair around her garden AND around the base of her trailer to keep out all kinds of animals! The human scent from the hair kept away the rabbits from her garden and the raccoons from trying to get under her trailer! She did this once a week and told us that she never had a problem with animals!
Good Luck!

Hi S.,
There are several things that will help with your rabbit problem. In the past I have used liquid fence or coyote urine and although they worked great they smelled horrible! Currently, I use coco bean mulch it works great and my whole yard smells like chocolate! Also dried blood or blood meal works great without the "side effects" of smelly stuff or hair balls. You can get the mulch where ever you get mulch. The dried blood is a little tricky, last year the only place that I could find the dried blood was at Sid's Garden Center in Bolingbrook. Hope this helps! Happy Gardening!- MJ

Put human hair around your plants. Get it from a beauty salon.

M.

Next time you get a haircut bring home the hair and sprinkle it around the area the bunnies are munching. The human scent should keep them away!