It is important to use a variety of animal repellent products. What works in someone else’s yard, may not work in yours. What works in your yard for a while, may stop working if the rabbits get used to it.
Animal repellent products work through irritating the animal’s sense of taste and/or smell. By using them you are establishing an odor or taste barrier that deters them from eating your plants. Household products that have been used to repel animals include: Irish Spring soap bars, cayenne pepper, crushed garlic, mothballs and human hair. Commercially produced natural products include bone meal, blood meal, and predator urine. The fox or coyote urine (predator urine) tricks the rabbit into thinking that there is a predator in the area. The use of blood or bone meal makes it seem like to predator killed an animal.
Commercially produced animal repellents include such names as Repels All by Bonide and Liquid Fence. The products are either liquid or granular and should be applied according to the label directions. They repel animals based on their sense of smell or taste. You may want to rotate the use of these products.
While there are no plants that are rabbit proof, there are some plants that are rabbit resistant. Here are a few examples of trees and shrubs that are rabbit resistant: alder, birch, boxwood, redtwig dogwood, cotoneaster, deutzia, hydrangea, St. Johnwort, mockorange, roses, lilac and yew. Examples of perennial flowers that are rabbit resistant include: achillea, astilbe, monarda, bergenia, brunnera, allium, coreopsis, anemone, iris, aster, tradescantia, mertensia, epimedium, geranium, polemonium, amsonia and lavender.
In addition to rabbit damage, I have seen quite a few chipmunks digging amongst mulch. They leave little divots in the mulch and eat the roots of our plants. Many of the commercial animal repellent products are also listed for use on chipmunks. There is also a product called Molemax Sonic Spike by Bonide that seems to be effective. It is similar to a tent spike that is installed into the ground. It is battery operated and emits a sound that repels burrowing animals.
To combat burrowing animals, particularly those that are digging near sidewalks or porches, you may want to use steel wool. I would fill up the hole with some of the material that the animal dug out of the hole and then use some steel wool to try to keep it in place. Backfilling with the steel wool may prevent them from digging in that particular area again.
Trying to prevent damage to your plants from animals can be a long process, but over time you should be able to change their eating habits and get them to forage for food elsewhere. Meanwhile, my habit won’t change and I will be at my local McDonald’s each day by 7 a.m.
