How to Keep Rabbits Away From Tomato Plants
An unguarded garden is a feast for local rabbits. Your garden is vulnerable to invasion at any point during the growing season. Rabbits enjoy the leaves and stalks of tomato seedlings and young plants. They will pluck the fruit right off the plants later in the season. Many hours of labor will become a buffet for wildlife unless you sow your garden with proactive prevention techniques. Choose one of the options recommended by the National Gardening Association Editors, or create a fortress by teaming several or all of the recommended solutions to keep rabbits from trespassing on your tomatoes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Deter rabbits from your tomatoes by luring them away or by using a repellent at the garden site. Alfalfa and clover are delicacies to rabbits. Plant a small patch of either of these grasses a stone's throw from the tomatoes to entice the rabbits' attentions away from your produce. Use natural repellents as another non-aggressive technique to waylay rabbits. Spread blood meal, canine or human hair, chili powder, or fish emulsion around the tomato plants. Use commercial repellents as well, if you wish.
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Trap rabbits and remove them from the property as another non-lethal rabbit control solution. Purchase traps from garden or hardware stores, or rent them from animal control agencies or local pest control companies. Use vegetables or some alfalfa or clover as bait. Remember to check and empty the traps daily. Move a trap to a new location if it sits empty for a week's time.
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The National Gardening Association Editors recommend fencing as the most effective way to keep rabbits away from tomato plants. Use chicken wire so the rabbits cannot squeeze through the fence openings. Install the fence a few inches below the ground to prevent burrowing. Rabbits cannot jump high, so a fence height between two and three feet is all that is necessary to keep them out. Use tree guards on young stalks as another barrier option.
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Tips & Warnings
Rabbits reproduce very quickly. Trapping alone may not be enough to control the situation and keep the rabbits from the garden. Prior to trapping, determine the transportation method for removing the trapped rabbits from the property, and choose the place you will take them to release them far from the garden.
