Rabbits are adorable. But don’t be deceived by their cuteness. They can absolutely damage your garden.
So, keep them away with homemade rabbit repellent. We’ve made a list of repellents using kitchen ingredients for you.
Why You Should Keep Rabbits Away From Your Garden
Rabbits are cute. However, when it comes to your garden, they are no longer cute–they are a menace to your produce.
Rabbits will bring destruction to your garden. They will mess up the landscaping while also eating some of your produce.
In other words
They are annoying!
You have this picture that these cute little pets would just munch on carrots. You might have this idea that they only eat carrots.
Wrong!
Rabbits eat fresh fruits and vegetables. So, a fruit and vegetable garden is like a paradise to these seemingly charming little mammals.
Rabbits don’t just eat your produce. They will also gnaw on trees.
So
If you have young trees that are still growing, they most likely still have really soft barks and tender shoots. Rabbits would love to gnaw on those.
If a large chunk will be removed from a tree or large plants, then their growth will be interrupted. They will not grow as healthy as you envisioned them to be.
Ugh. You know what else?
They would also chomp on anything they see. If you have furniture or other stuff just lying around in your area, they might just bite into them too.
You see, if the rabbits are already in your garden, they won’t just stop there. As long as they see something they could damage, they would feast on it.
Unfortunately
You cannot guard your garden or your house items all the time. You either have to work or there are some errands to run.
That’s why you have to think of ways to make sure that rabbits won’t destroy your garden.
How to Prevent Rabbits from Destroying Your Garden
You have no choice but to really make an effort to keep rabbits out of your garden and the rest of the property.
Here are some things you can do:
Fencing
You can do a whole fence for your garden or an individual fence for your crops.
Of course, you have to be circumspect with your fencing since rabbits are small and they are fluffy. They could easily squeeze themselves to get into whatever fence you have decided on.
Here’s what I’m getting at
A wooden fence will not work in this case. The best type of fence that you can use is the chicken wire.
A chicken wire with a one-half-inch mesh seems like a good enough size.
Now
You know that rabbits can hop, so make sure that your chicken wire is also high enough to bar the rabbit from jumping over it.
A two-feet fence should be good enough to prevent the rabbit from going in.
There’s another way
You can also use the chicken wire as individual crop protection. In this case, you just have to make sure that the individual protection is sturdy so that the rabbit won’t push it to get a bite of whatever plant you are protecting.
Here’s the downside:
One of the reasons you have a garden is because you want your plot of land or your yard to look beautiful.
Having chicken wires around the plants will certainly damage the aesthetics of your garden.
Although
Sometimes, you have to weigh your options. A not-so-beautiful garden with healthy produce is still preferable over damaged crops and garden.
Destroy the rabbit nest
Rabbits build their own nest made of grass and fur. The nest can easily be hidden when they are in the fields because they camouflage with the environment.
In some cases, they would even build a nest in the middle of the yard where predators are not likely to prey on them.
You have to remember
Most predators don’t venture in the open field.
Back to the nest–just remove it. You can also block off the area so they won’t go back and build another nest.
Moreover, if you see spaces under your house and other structures, it’s best to seal them off so as not to give rabbits the idea of building a nest there.
Trap the rabbits
Okay, this will sound really mean: trap the rabbits. Build or buy an animal trap to catch the rabbits.
However, the problem is how you will be able to dispose of them. You would have to drive them somewhere and release them.
However
There are laws about releasing wild rabbits since they could be carrying diseases.
So, while this is actually an option to prevent rabbits from destroying your garden, it’s really quite a hassle on your part.
Repellents
There are available chemical repellents that you could put on trees and plants in order to repel the rabbits.
Unfortunately, some of these repellents are actually not good for your growing plants. It’s like barring rabbits from destroying your garden but you are destroying it in the process.
Good news:
There are actually homemade rabbit repellents that you can create using ingredients that you can find in your kitchen.
Let’s talk more about that.
Homemade Rabbit Repellents
These homemade rabbit repellents are great because they are mostly made of organic materials, hence, they won’t damage your crops.
1. Tabasco spray
Ingredients:
- Water
- Tabasco sauce
- Dishwashing liquid
- Crushed garlic
You don’t have to follow a strict measurement in order to make a Tabasco spray. All these ingredients mixed together will be effective in driving the rabbit away.
But for your convenience, you could follow this: For a 500 ml spray bottle, you can mix together 300 ml water, 100 ml Tabasco, 20 ml dishwashing liquid, and five cloves of crushed garlic.
Listen
You can make your own measurement. It’s the mixture of all these ingredients, which create a really pungent smell, that would turn off the rabbit.
Spray the mixture generously to plants. They won’t damage the plants.
2. Black pepper & chilli spray
Ingredients:
- Crushed black pepper
- Minced chillies
- 1 egg
- Water
Again, there is no strict measurement to follow here. But if you really want to, break the egg and mix it with 400 ml of water. Add the crushed black pepper and chillies. Mix them well.
Just like the Tabasco spray, you can use this mixture to ward off rabbits. Spray this mixture generously to the plants that you want to protect.
3. Milk, egg & chilli powder spray
Ingredients:
- Chilli powder
- 1 egg
- Milk
- Water
Just to give you an idea (but you could always experiment with the measurements), for a 500 ml spray, you could mix the egg with 250 ml water, 100 ml milk, and a teaspoon of chilli powder.
Spray the mixture generously to the plants you want to protect.
4. Linseed oil & detergent spray
In a 500 ml spray bottle, mix 250 ml linseed oil with 150 ml water and 50 ml dishwashing liquid. Mix them thoroughly and spray on plants that you want to protect.
5. Chilli powder
Chilli powder alone could already repel rabbits. These cute animals don’t like the smell of chilli powder. They hate the taste even more.
What you can do is dust your plants with chilli powder. Guaranteed, the rabbits will never go near your plants again.
6. Irish Spring soap
This was a surprise to me the first time I learned about this. Irish Spring, which I think smells so good, is actually effective at fending off rabbits in the garden.
What you need:
- Irish Spring soap
- Knife
- Drawstring pouches (as many as you need)
What you can do is slice the bar of soap into half-an-inch chunks of soap. Put two chunks of soap in every drawstring pouch.
Next
Hang the pouches around your garden at five feet apart. You can put a wooden stake where you can hang the pouch. Or you can just tie it around sturdy branches on trees.
They shouldn’t be so high that rabbits won’t smell them anymore.
7. Vinegar
Many people don’t like the smell of vinegar. Well, rabbits just hate them.
You can sprinkle vinegar on all your plants to keep the rabbits away.
8. Commercial rabbit repellent
There are commercial rabbit repellents that won’t damage your plants. You can find organic products that would repel rabbits without hurting your crops.
Important note:
Make sure to repeat what you did to ward off rabbits in around five days. This means that if you are using the spray, then you should spray the plants every five days.
For the Irish Spring soap, replace the chunks if you don’t smell the scent of the soap anymore. Don’t wait for the chunks to undergo sublimation.
These aren’t too bad, right? They are actually very simple to do.
Summary
Do you like rabbits? Well, if you have a garden, you might not like them all that much. Sure, they are just adorable. However, they cease to be cute when you see them trampling all over your garden and eating all the produce they can see.
Keep rabbits away from your garden through a homemade rabbit repellent. We have a list of eight repellents that you can easily make in your kitchen. The ingredients to make these repellents are mostly available in your kitchen.
Don’t let those fluffy mammals deceive. They are a menace to your garden. Rabbits really love fresh fruits and vegetables. So, keep them out in the best way possible.
Useful Resources
- How to Identify and Get Rid of Rabbits – The Old Farmer’s Almanac
- How to Keep Rabbits Out of Your Garden – The Spruce
- 16 Things You Need to Know Before Adopting a Rabbit – Insider
