As adorable as these creatures are, rabbits can wreak havoc on lawns and gardens. Garden centers, home improvement stores, and online resources offer commercial products to help gardeners protect their plants from rabbits. But here’s the problem: commercial repellents are expensive, stink, and some contain chemicals that can pose health hazards to pets.

The solution is to find cheaper options that are effective in getting rid of rabbits that are ruining your lawn and garden.

Rabbit repellents work in two ways to keep rabbits out of your flower and vegetable garden and off the lawn: They produce 1) a smell or 2) a taste that is repulsive for rabbits but without harm. Even better, perhaps, homemade repellents are not only less expensive but offer safe alternatives to commercial repellents.

How to Identify Rabbits in Your Garden

Of the nine species of North American cottontail rabbits, the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is our most abundant and annoying. Found all the way from Boston to Boulder and south into Mexico, this bunny-about-town is rarely found in forests, preferring instead brushy fence rows, field edges, brush piles, and—how do I know this?—landscaped backyards! Its fondness for flowers, vegetables, bark, and bulbs often results in pruned and clipped gardens and lawns

Even though its nicknames are adorable ( bunny, bunny rabbit, cottontail), the eastern cottontail can be a bothersome pest. It is gray or brownish, with a short tail and big ears. It can weigh 2 to 4 pounds and be 15 to 19 inches in length with a lifespan of 12 to 15 months.

For an eastern cottontail, security is a pile of brush and leaves under my concrete porch floor or another animal’s abandoned burrow. Unlike their European cousins, these rabbits do not dig intricate burrows or “warrens” but make do with what they find.

Rabbits rarely leave their shelters in broad daylight, preferring instead early morning or evening. Like most animals, they are sensitive to the change in day length as spring approaches. For rabbits, the longer days signal the start of two things: spring dining and breeding season.

Speaking of breeding, rabbits naturally have a high reproductive potential. Depending on their region of origin, they can produce about three litters of six kittens. The gestation period for rabbits is just 29 days!

1. Original Irish Spring bar soap

I was surprised to learn that the original Irish Spring bar soap is an inexpensive way to get rid of rabbits. Apparently, to rabbits and other critters (even deer, so I have heard), it has a terrible stench that drives them away.

To turn Irish Spring into an effective repellent, you’ll need these supplies that are readily available in local stores or online:

• Irish Spring bar soap
• Small fabric drawstring bags OR cheesecloth and string
• Wooden stakes (12-by-1-by-1 inches or similar)
• Staple gun or duct tape

2. Household ammonia

Rabbits are dinner for predator animals, so they must be aware of what and who is around them for their survival.

Ammonia is a naturally occurring gas that is a building block for a range of cleaning supplies. The scent of ammonia is similar to the smell of urine that rabbits perceive their predators have used to mark their territory. When rabbits smell the ammonia, they are compelled to move on to another area to avoid whatever animal left its mark behind.

Because of its strong smell, similar to urine, ordinary household ammonia straight out of the bottle makes a great rabbit repellent. You don’t need to figure out complicated formulas or mix a bunch of different ingredients to keep rabbits away.

Household ammonia, located in the cleaning or laundry section of stores or online, will do the trick when used at full strength to get rid of rabbits. That makes it a good choice for gardeners who want a simple, natural solution for their rabbit problem.

Soak strips of old rags in undiluted ammonia, and place them on the trails the rabbits are using to get into your garden. The rags will hold the scent and make life unpleasant for the bunnies.

If you have outdoor pets, you may want to consider options other than ammonia, as some professionals suggest it may be harmful if ingested by curious pets with a weak sense of smell.

3. Garlic hot pepper repellant

Homemade rabbit repellent is a cheap way to keep critters out of your garden. It requires a bit more effort than commercial products, but the ingredients are easy to find and generally inexpensive.

4. Blood meal, bone meal

Placing blood meal or bone meal (find both in garden centers or online) around plants and along paths has shown some efficacy in controlling rascally rabbits. They find the smell of these products to be repulsive.

As a bonus, both are excellent fertilizers, so your garden will also benefit from this “repellant.”

 

5. Red pepper powder

Sprinkling dry red pepper powder at the base of plants can protect them from hungry rabbits. You’ll want to find a source that sells it in bulk, such as 1 pound or 3 pounds.

6. Strategic planting

There are ways to repel rabbits from gardens altogether. In fact, certain plants can do the trick. Plants like nasturtiums, garlic, onion, rhubarb, oregano, basil, and geranium are effective at keeping rabbits out of garden beds.

Lavender, snapdragons, and lilac bushes discourage rabbits, and it might be better to look at them and provide fragrance than the other options.

7. Vinegar and corn cobs

Another effective method is soaking corn cobs in plain distilled white vinegar and strategically placing them around your garden to deter rabbits.

Remember to re-soak the corn cobs in vinegar every two weeks for continual efficacy.

8. Motion sprinklers

Thanks to advancing technology, we now have motion-activated water sprinklers designed to deter rabbits and protect gardens from their intrusion.

These automated sprinklers have sensors so that when a rabbit comes into the sensor range, it is activated to harmlessly spray the little critter.

Additionally, sound-emitting sprinklers that function similarly to traditional water sprinklers and can be conveniently installed are available. These motion-activated sprinklers are eco-friendly and readily available for purchase at hardware stores or online retailers.

9. Put up a fence

The best way to stop rabbits from entering your yard is to use physical prevention methods like fencing. Install a strong barrier, such as a chicken wire fence, to stop rabbits and their babies from getting into your yard. It needs to be at least 4 feet high, as rabbits can climb, and they will. Rabbits can also dig, so the mesh or wire grid you select needs to go down into the ground by at least a few inches.

While fencing may be the most labor-intensive option, it will also be the most effective and long-lasting!

10. Get a cat

The presence of dogs and cats will do a good job of pest control. If you have them, let them spend at least part of the day in the garden area. And if your yard is big enough, you might get a cat just to take care of any mice and to keep rabbits away.

In closing

Remember, when embarking on a campaign to get rid of rabbits, give all methods and or products time to work before giving up on them!

 

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