How to Keep Rabbits out of Your Vegetables

Rabbits may be cute, but they can also be highly destructive. Especially when it comes to growing vegetables and fruits.

Things You'll Need

• temper control
• rabbit wire or other building materials

Instructions

1. 

   Surround larger vegetables with a circular cage made of rabbit wire. You can buy it at home stores or hardware stores. Small rabbits may get through larger openings so you may want to cover the cage with a second layer of chicken wire.

2. If you have solid fencing throughout much of your garden but there is a gap at the bottom or you have chain link or cast metal fences, you can attach a 2 - 3' roll of chicken wire about a foot up from the bottom. Then bury the bottom like an apron 1 - 2' deep. Rabbits can dig so this will keep them from going under the fence. It will also keep out snakes and many other burrowers like gophers and moles.

3. Build a raised vegetable garden. This will have many additional benefits including ease of reach and better control over soil and water.

4. Fence in a special area with a solid base or a dug-down barrier. You can design your area creatively like a small house or shed. If you add a roof -- even a wire one, you'll keep out all potential animals including birds. Basically, you are constructing a big cage out of wood and chicken wire or hardware cloth, but you can get artistic in how you design it.

5. You can also try some of the organic repellents available in garden centers or online stores. These are processed scents of predators that may discourage rabbits from the area. Other ideas are using pet dogs and cats as hunters, but it depends on whether the animal is good at catching prey or not and whether or not you are in an area that is safe for them to run loose in. Also blood meal may work for you as a deterrent. You can trap your rabbits, but then you're stuck with getting rid of the rabbit. And you can feed your rabbits to dissuade them from your vegetables. This will work only if you have a small, limited population. Otherwise you will be attracting even more rabbits and that's not exactly the solution needed!

6. In short, if you can't fence in your area, then I'd suggest you use as many of the suggestions in step #5 as often as possible. But go for the fencing or cages if you can. And good luck with your vegetable garden!

Resources

• Gates & Croft Horticultural Landscape
• How to build a raised vegetable garden