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Rabbits: Keep out, this means you

Thursday, April 26, 2007
BY BILL HLUBIK
For the Star-Ledger

How do I keep rabbits out of my vegetable and flower garden ? I have used several repellents but they have not been effective.
-- K.T. Belle Meade

Sometimes rabbits seem to appear out of nowhere and quickly locate their favorite plants in your landscape for their version of an all-you-can-eat buffet. Rabbits will eat many vegetables, including broccoli, beans, lettuce, peas and the tops of beets and carrots. They also will devour many spring flowers including spring tulip shoots. Rabbits can cause a great deal of damage as well by chewing the bark, buds and stems of woody plants.Repellents

After teaching the Master Gardener program for 17 years, I believe I've heard almost every home remedy for repelling rabbits. Homemade repellents include everything socks packed with human hair to soap on a rope. Others have sprayed vinegar around plants or scattered cotton balls around their garden. Some people even use urine from humans, pets or other potential predators around the edge of the garden. Some of these remedies can work for a time in one location while having very little effect in another.

One repellent that has worked well in many situations is dried blood. The dried blood, available at garden centers, eventually breaks down and provides nutrients to the surrounding plants. There are many other repellents on the market that are sprayed on the leaves of desirable plants. These repellents must be reapplied after a certain period of time or after rainfall in order to be effective.

Select repellents that are safe to use around children and pets. Some of the safest repellents include black pepper and bone meal applied directly to the rabbits' favorite foods. These simple repellents will need to be reapplied more often in the beginning, but rabbits will then develop a habit of feeding elsewhere. Repellents should be applied late in the day as rabbits will often do the bulk of their feeding at night.

Fences

One of the best ways to keep rabbits out of your garden is to use a fence of 2- to 3-foot chicken wire or any wire with inch-wide openings. The fence should be buried 3 to 6 inches below the soil surface. The bottom of the wire can be bent outward at a 90-degree angle away from the garden. This technique will prevent even the most tenacious of invaders from getting in your garden. Many rabbits will dig and crawl under the fence, if they cannot jump over it. Some rabbits enter around garden gates or any openings where the fence is not secure or buried.

I use the plastic coated green wire which lasts longer and blends with the garden. The standard non-galvanized less expensive wire can rust and present a hazard to gardeners.

In flower gardens, some gardeners will put up a temporary fence until the flowers become established. Once the flowers are mature, the fence can often be removed. In some cases, dried blood or other repellents can be used on or around more vulnerable plants.

Tree protectors

In order to keep rabbits chewing off bark at a tree base, create a cylinder of wire 2 feet high around the tree. Keep the outside of the cylinder 1 to 2 feet away from the tree. Use 1/4-inch hardware cloth or tightly woven fence. Be sure to bury the base of the protective cloth or wire fence at least 3 inches below the soil surface.

Trapping

I do not recommend traps for controlling rabbits. Rabbits have a tendency to injure themselves when trapped. In many areas it is illegal to release trapped rabbits and it is unwise to handle wild rabbits due to diseases that can be transmitted to people. The other problem is that people will often set traps and forget to check the traps. Animals left in traps can suffer needlessly and even die in the traps if left for extended periods.

Modifying habitat

In some cases, the rabbit population may be too high for you to tolerate. Take a look at your landscape to see if you have created the perfect habitat for rabbits. Rabbits need cover for protection. If you remove thick brush, excess vegetation around fences and ditches, rabbits will move away to find better cover. Clean up debris or low lying branches under shrubs which can be used for cover. Seal off areas under storage buildings, decks or steps which can also provide cover.

Rabbit-proof plants

There are few truly rabbit proof plants. If the rabbit population is high and food is scarce, many plants will be on the menu. Some plants will be eaten when young but avoided once mature. There are some plants that rabbits (and squirrels) will avoid if there are alternative food sources. Some deterrent plants include the following: Annuals: Ageratum, Campanula, Impatiens, Forget Me Nots, Scabiosa and Cineraria.

Perennials: Achilleaa (Yarrow), Amaryllus, Aqualegia (Coral Bells), Artemesia, Aster, Tuberous Begonia, Campanula, Cyclamen, Dahlia, Dicentra (Bleeding Heart), Digitalis (Foxglove), Echinacea (Coneflower), Ferns, Gaillardia, Hemerocallis (Daylilly) Iris, Monarda (Bee Balm) and Verbena.

Groundcovers: Bougainvillea, Hedera (English Ivy) Lantana, Pachysandra, Solanum (Potato Vine) and Vinca

Shrubs and Herbs: Buddlea( Butterfly Bush), Boxwood, Camellias, Holly, Juniper, Lantana, Lavender, Rhododendron, Rosemary, Salvia, Mexican Sage, Lilac, and Viburnum Trees: Maples, Cedar, Redbud, Ginko, Magnolia, Spruce, Pines and Oak. Living with Nature: Many people enjoy sharing their landscape with rabbits, squirrels and birds. It is wise to strike a balance with nature in your landscape. Having small patches of clover in the landscape will provide a favorite food source for rabbits to deter them from eating more desirable plants. The right combination of fencing, repellents, deterrent plants and habitat modification can effectively reduce damage to landscape and garden plants.

Visit www.ifplantscouldtalk.rutgers.edu or www.rce.rutgers.edu for a complete list of rabbit deterrent plants and a wealth of gardening information for New Jersey.

Bill Hlubik is a professor and agricultural and resource management agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension-The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University. He is also a host of the "If Plants Could Talk" television series on NJN Public Television.

Send your garden inquiries to Plant Talk, The Star-Ledger, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, N.J. 07102-1200.

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© 2007 The Star Ledger

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