Are rabbits becoming a nuisance around your home? Here is how to stop them from eating flowers and plants such as roses, hostas, and others.
These are herbivores that will readily munch on any plant they find edible. Such edible plants could include your beloved flowers growing in your garden or surroundings.
The natural response will be to exclude these animals from your garden.
How To Keep Rabbits From Eating Flowers And Crops
So, how do you keep rabbits from eating your plants? This is what we’ll be discussing. There are lots of effective ways to do this without harming them.
Here, we’ll show you all the humane ways to achieve your goal. You only need to read along for details.
Several simple measures are easily applicable and serve as deterrence to rabbits. Among them is the frightening technique as well as turning them off with certain smells.
Also, rabbits can be kept off a property by simply installing a rabbit-proof perimeter fence.
Also, consider sealing off possible shelters as rabbits will readily use such for cover during winter. You may want to also clear all clutter around your home.
How To Stop Rabbits From Eating Plants
All of these are effective ways of keeping out rabbits, thus preserving your plants from being fed on.
Let’s take a look at each of these preventive strategies.
i. Frightening Rabbits
Scare tactics can effectively be used in rabbit control.
These animals love to forage for food while keeping as far away from danger as possible. You exploit such behavior by bringing in pets such as cats and dogs which will have a swell time chasing off these rabbits.
Your pets are in a good position to keep rabbits off your property or garden. However, they must always be outdoors to have a real chance of keeping rabbits in your garden.
This is just one of several scare tactics to deploy around your garden.
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The Use of Motion-Activated Sprinklers
Another involves the installation of motion-activated sprinklers at strategic points around your garden. You’ll need to install these in such a way that your plants are covered.
There are motion-activated sprinklers that are movable and adjustable.
The sudden activation of these sprinklers by rabbits scares them away. Before long, these animals will keep a safe distance, thus saving your plants from destruction.
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Using Ultrasonic Repellent Devices
Ultrasonic repellent devices are quite effective in keeping rabbits off your yard. These come in different designs and emit a high-pitched sound that’s only audible to these animals. Plus, such noise is very irritating to them.
As long as these ultrasonic devices are turned on, your surroundings become a no-go area.
Although the sounds emitted by ultrasonic devices can be picked to by the human ear, there are downsides to its usage. If you keep pets around, it’s going to make them uncomfortable and irritated.
You’ll need to consider your pets before using this device.
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Decoy Predators
As the name suggests, decoy predators aren’t the real deal.
However, they’re designed to mimic certain characteristics of actual predators. Apart from the scare caused by visual contact, some decoy predators may let out prerecorded sounds similar to those predators.
Some may even be designed to move slightly. Rabbits are scared by such sights and stay as far off as possible from such areas. These predators may be in the form of a snake, an owl, a coyote, fox, badger, raccoon, a weasel, and so on.
ii. The Use of Certain Scents
While rabbits may be attracted by certain scents, some others are repulsive to them.
For commercially available rabbit repellents, scents used mimic predator urine as well as the smell of blood which they hate. Rabbits also hate vinegar, crushed red peppers, garlic, and ammonia scents.
Geranium scent and taste, wax begonias, lavender, chives, and sulfur scents are all hated by rabbits. Other scents hated by these animals include those of a variety of predators.
You can get repellent products designed to smell like urine from lynxes, wolves, bobcats, and coyotes.
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Repellent Plants
To keep rabbits from eating your plants, you will have to consider growing select repellent plants among vulnerable or targeted plants.
Several plants belong to this category and will give you the repellent effect you need.
Examples of these include pot marigold, sweet alyssum, Lenten rose, yarrow, ageratum, lantana, lavender, and red hot poker.
Other repellent plants are geranium, cleome, juniper, bee balm, salvia, strawflower, ajuga, wormwood, snapdragon, begonias, the crown of thorns, and globe thistle.
Others are sunflowers, poppy, tomatoes, peppers, catnip, and milkweed.
The inclusion of any of these among your most vulnerable (plants mostly targeted by rabbits) plants will go a long way to limit the damage.
iii. Installing Rabbit-Proof Perimeter Fencing
A perimeter fencing around your yard or garden could keep out rabbits when installed properly. Rabbits will attempt to chew through just about anything on their path. This includes plastic mesh.
These creatures are also adept at burrowing and could patiently burrow their way below a fence.
Also, these animals can exploit even the smallest gap in a fence just to gain access to your plants. As such, your fence should be made from material that won’t easily be chewed through. Of course, wooden fences won’t serve much.
Also, the fence should go about a foot below ground to make burrowing more difficult. Ensure that any spacing on the fence is tight enough to prevent rabbits from squeezing their way through.
iv. Sealing Off Potential Shelters
During winter, rabbits are more likely to be found around homes as they exploit any space that provides adequate cover. You’ll need to ensure that your property is well sealed below.
With fewer shelter openings available, they move on to other areas.
Because rabbits love to stay close to plants they feed on, the unavailability of a dwelling makes them look elsewhere.
v. Clearing All Clutter and Harborage
If you have tall grass, thicket areas, or brush piles around your yard, you may need to have such removed to keep rabbits at bay.
These are natural hiding spots for them and the presence of these around your home could be the reason why these animals hang out in your garden to feast on your plants.
Conclusion
Are rabbits eating your flowers and other garden plants?
These are effective ways of keeping rabbits from eating plants in your home. With these measures in place, occurrences of plant damage are significantly reduced.