How to Keep Rabbits From Eating Lily Bulbs

Keep rabbits from eating your lily bulbs by repelling them with natural and safe methods.

Rabbits can ruin your flowerbed. Rabbits often eat flower bulbs just as the bulbs begin to grow. Rabbits are low feeders; they will seek out the new flower bulbs and eat them once they sprout. You can prevent rabbits from ruining your garden without spending money on commercial repellents. You'll need to protect the bulbs only in the spring because rabbits will not feed on them once the plants grow taller.

Things You'll Need

• 36-inch-tall chicken wire
• Wooden stakes
• Lavender
• Catnip
• Tansy
• Garlic plants
• 2 tbsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 qt. water
• Cheesecloth
• Spray bottle
• Soiled cat litter

Instructions

1. Place chicken wire around your flower garden bed. Stake the chicken wire so that it sits 2 feet off the ground. The wire needs to be secured at least 6 inches deep to keep the rabbits from burrowing underneath the fence.

2. Plant flowers around the lilies that repel rabbits. These flowers include lavender, catnip, tansy and garlic.

3. Spray the lilies flowers and other vegetation around the plants with a repellent spray. Make your own spray by combing 2 tbsp. of cayenne pepper with 1 qt. of water. Boil the mixture and strain it through cheesecloth. Fill a spray bottle with the solution and spray the plants weekly to keep the rabbits away.

4. Sprinkle soiled cat litter around the plants in the late afternoon. The rabbits will avoid the plants when they smell the cat's feces because they fear cats.

References

• University of Nebraska Lincoln: Managing Rabbit Damage
• Patriot Ledger: Greenspace: Deter Rabbits to Protect Seedlings, Bulbs
• Please Be Kind: Rabbit Facts
• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: Living with Wildlife: Rabbits