How to Stop Rabbits From Eating Vegetable Plants

There is nothing that warms a gardener's heart more than the sight of a garden slowly filling with ripening vegetables nearly ready for the table or the canning jar. Unfortunately, there is nothing that breaks that same gardener's heart more than the sight of a previously prosperous vegetable garden that has been ravaged by the local rabbit clan.

If rabbits are ruining your summer salads, there are things you can do to save your produce for consumption by the non-lagomorphs that live on your property.

Things You'll Need

• Fencing
• Steak
• Water
• Dog (optional)
• Clover
• Vinegar
• Corn cobs
• Human hair

Instructions

1. Fence Peter Cottontail out. The most obvious deterrent is a fence that the rabbits can neither jump over nor crawl under. Master Gardener Lisha Utt recommends a simple chicken wire fence that is either flush with the ground or embedded several inches into the ground so the rabbits can't get under it. A 2-foot-tall fence should be high enough to keep the rabbits out. Check with your garden supply store or lumberyard for fence-building tips.

2. Add carnivore urine. If a rabbit thinks a large meat-eating creature lives in your garden, it will not venture inside for a midnight snack for fear of becoming said snack. If you have a dog, feed him some steak scraps (meat, not fat) or other leftover meats in addition to his regular food for a couple days, and then encourage him to pee on the perimeter of your vegetable garden -- but not on the plants. If you don't have a dog or your dog's not being cooperative, eat the steak and do it yourself.

3. Plant some rabbit food. Rabbits love clover as much or more than they love your carrots and leafy vegetables. Try to find a space on the other side of the yard from your garden, and plant some clover for the rabbits.

4. Consider other scent deterrents. Gardeners report a reduction in rabbit munching after soaking several corncobs in vinegar and then placing the soaked cobs near their plants. The cobs must be resoaked after a couple of weeks; more often if there has been a great deal of rain.

5. Insert the human element. Some gardeners swear that scattering bits of human hair in the garden keeps the rabbits away. The hair will either be absorbed into the soil or taken by birds and squirrels for nest lining, so you will need to replenish the hair when you notice most of it is gone. A hair salon can probably provide you with a bag or two of cut hair.

References

• Lisha Utt's Hints on Keeping Rabbits Away
• More about Rabbit Deterrents