Any natural, non-toxic rabbit repellants that work?

Question

A friend is having trouble with rabbits eating her tulips. Here is what she has tried already: critter repellent, but they don't seem to mind. Hot sauce on the leaves (don't do this, but bunnys don't mind, and it kills the leaves),dog hair around the plants, garlic around the plants. Bear in mind that she has children and pets, so can't use anything toxic. Are there any home remedies or natural solutions to keep the rabbits out of her garden? Thanks!

Answer 1

Q: I am having trouble keeping rabbits from my shrubs and flowers. I have used liquid fence in the past. It seems to help, but it is so darned expensive. I read about using hot pepper spray on your Web site. Could you please e-mail your recipe for this spray? (e-mail reference)



A: Red cayenne, Jalapeno or habanera fresh peppers can be used in the preparation, but be careful if you use habanera because the capsaicin concentration is high enough to cause serious damage to the preparer! Jalapenos should be hot enough to keep the bunnies away. The quickest way to come up with a concoction is to take three fresh peppers and run them through a food processor with enough water added to create a liquid. Pour the liquid through a cheesecloth mesh into a glass quart jar. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive or other vegetable oil, a squirt of Elmer’s glue and a drop or two of liquid dishwashing detergent. Use one part of the concentration to 10 parts water. Shake well just before application. This should discourage the bunnies without hurting them. If not, then make the concentration stronger, to 30 percent, or just go up to the cayenne pepper for extra heat. Be sure to reapply after new growth appears or after a good rain.

Answer 2

Four suggestions:



1. If your friend lives anywhere near a zoo, tiger (or presumably any other big cat) dung. Of course, that might attract the kids as much as it repels the rabbits (and maybe her pets).



2. Companion planting: there are some plants like alliums (onion family) that repel certain animals by their smell, and by interplanting those with the tulips the rabbits might be put off. Unfortunately I don't know which ones work with rabbits.



3. An active, hunting cat will certainly keep the numbers down. However it might also bring home trophies.



4. A physical barrier, such as a fence. My father, a retired market gardener, discovered the hard way that to succeed with a rabbit-proof fence it must extend at least 18 inches under ground - any less, and the rabbits will simply dig under the fence.

Answer 3

Use hot pepper wax spray, is non toxic, or just leave dogs and cats outside at night.

Answer 4

Wallace and Gromit latest movie. Duuuh.

Answer 5

Try sliced up Irish Spring. Yes, it sounds weird, but we have found that it works for deer who seem to love hostas.