How to Keep Rabbits From Eating Spring Flowers From Bulbs

Building a rabbit-proof fence will keep pests away from your plants.

Spring arrives with beautiful bulbs and flowers. While your bulbs are maturing they will be low enough to the ground that small pests, such as rabbits, will be able to reach, and sometimes, eat them. To prevent this, you'll want to protect these bulbs temporarily until they grow high enough off the ground that rabbits can't reach them. This way you can enjoy the beauty of your blooms throughout the season.

Things You'll Need

• 8 feet chicken wire, 36 inches wide
• 4 wooden stakes, 3 feet by 2 inches
• Shovel
• Hammer
• Staple gun
• Wire cutters

Instructions

1. Dig a trench around your plant on all four sides, 6 inches deep and 24-inches wide. The trench should form a square around your plant. Starting underground will prevent rabbits from digging under your fence.

2. Hammer wooden stakes, 3 inches into the ground, on each inside corner of your trench. Stakes should stand straight and be 2 feet apart. They should also be sturdy enough to hold up the chicken wire.

3. Attach one end of chicken wire to a wooden stake using a staple gun, starting at the top and securing it all the way down the stake. The fence will overhang 6 inches at the bottom. Cut it at the bottom of each corner with wire cutters to allow it to fold around your stakes, but do not cut off the overhang.

4. Unroll and secure chicken wire to the next stake making sure the fence is tight. Continue around the last two stakes until you form a complete fence and trim off excess chicken wire.

5. Fill in your trench with dirt, burying the overhang, and press firmly with your foot or the back of your shovel to pack the dirt tightly.

Tips & Warnings

• Your temporary rabbit-proof fence can be removed when your bulbs or flowers are at least 2 feet off the ground.

References

• University of Nebraska at Lincoln Extension: Managing Rabbit Damage