How to Keep Deer & Rabbits Out of My Sweet Peas

Rabbits feed on a variety of garden vegetables, including sweet peas.

Urban deer have more of a tendency to eat sweet peas than rural deer, since they have less food to forage on. In addition, humans scare rural deer away more often than urban deer, who become used to humans. Urban deer become more common as urban sprawl overwhelms more habitats. Deer will sometimes forage on sweet peas. But rabbits have more of a tendency to eat sweet pea flowers than deer, in addition to many other plants that deer eat.

Things You'll Need

• Chili powder
• Repellent
• Fencing
• Garlic powder
• Water
• Cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Place scent repellents anywhere. These are smells that deer do not like, which discourages them from coming into the garden. Apply taste repellants directly on the sweet peas to keep the deer from eating them. Repellents that deter deer also deter rabbits. However, when applying repellent to sweet peas, make sure to choose a repellent that is safe for edible crops if you are spraying near plants that you intend to eat.

2. Sprinkle chili pepper around the sweet peas to deter rabbits from coming nearby, since the powder gets on the nose and whiskers. If that isn’t effective enough, mix four tablespoons of cayenne pepper and four tablespoons of garlic powder in 40 ounces of warm water. Squirt dish detergent in and mix the concoction together. Leave this mixture outside for a day and then spray some on the sweet pea flowers.

3. Put a fence around the garden to keep deer away. Any fence will work, but best fences prevent the deer from seeing inside the garden. Bury your fence 6 to 12 inches underground to prevent rabbits from digging under the fence.

4. Place a dog in the backyard to scare off deer and rabbits, both from the smell caused by their defecation and by their barks. Unfortunately, male deer can become aggressive during mating season and have even killed dogs, making this not a viable option during the fall mating season.

5. Avoid putting plants in the yard that deer like, such as hibiscus and crabapples. Deer aren’t as attracted to sweet peas, so removing plants that deer do like will reduce the chances that they also eat the sweet peas. However, deer will eat any plants whether hungry, even those that aren’t their favorites.

6. Count how many rabbits you normally see. if there are only a few, place rotten cabbage or lettuce somewhere else in the garden to lure the rabbits away and feed them. However, this may encourage more rabbits to come to your garden, attracted by the food.

Tips & Warnings

• Despite its name, sweet peas are poisonous and should not be consumed by humans. However, this plant is not poisonous to rabbits and deer.

References

• The World's Most Beautiful Landscapes: Deer Forage
• The Garden Lady: Don’t Always Blame the Deer
• Veggie Gardener: How To Deter Rabbits From the Vegetable Garden