Keeping Bunnies Away

Oh the poor bunnies. My kids still light up with joy whenever they see them.

I am less thrilled, as cute as they are. I’ve been pretty much started to give up on my fruit bushes because I am so tired of these pests eating everything. It would be one thing if they just went for the fruit. I wouldn’t mind sharing. But they eat the entire bush. The deer are also pretty bad but it’s easier for me to physically block them out. Posts and netting are usually enough. They can’t get in under the sides.

Bunnies have sharp little teeth and they have decimated all of my blackberries and blueberries. The raspberries are a little harder to kill, if only because they put out new shoots every year that tend to get pretty tall and are generally out of reach of the bunnies. I haven’t yet tried to fence off the bushes only because that sounds like so much work. Chicken wire needs to be buried into the ground to prevent the bunnies from digging underneath.

Keeping the yard cleaned out and free of weeds and tall grass helps a bit, as bunnies don’t like to feel vulnerable. They prefer to have shelter. There are a few plants which can be planted nearby that could help to deter rabbits since they don’t like the smell. I have not yet tried this but I might. Plants such as sage and rosemary smell offensive to rabbits, but at least I like to cook with them on occasion. I doubt they would survive the winter though so I’m not sure how useful they would be. It seems like the bunnies don’t start eating my fruit bushes until the weather gets really cold anyway, if I can’t keep the herbs alive at that time they won’t do much. Garlic and onion smells can work. I’ve tried buying rabbit deterrents which smell absolutely awful.

Amazon sells them in ball form that reek of rotten eggs and garlic. The problem with them is that they only last a few months and again, Rochester winters aren’t really a time you want to be out in the garden. So I tend to forget to replace them. You also need to be extremely careful to wear gloves when handling them, or the smell will never come off your hands. The most alarming part of this practice to me is reading the Amazon reviews for these products. There is a not insignificant fraction of the purchasing population who seem to think these things smell pleasant. They do not and I question the sanity of these reviewers.

I may need to try planting lettuce or clover elsewhere in the yard. This could help lure the rabbits away. I’m a bit hesitant to try this approach though since I don’t want to encourage them in any way.

There are other repellents I could try such as predator urine or cayenne pepper. I’ve also heard Irish spring soap can work. The problem with all of these deterrents is that they fade quickly, especially when it’s raining. You also don’t want to get them directly on the parts of the plants you intend to eat. This just seems like way too much work. Coffee grounds might work, although I assume they also need to be reapplied regularly. We do live near a Starbucks that gives away used grounds so it wouldn’t be terrible to obtain at least. placing used coffee grounds or human hair around the base of the plants, as these scents are often associated with predators and may keep rabbits at bay.

I might try motion activated lights. In general those are probably good to have around the house for security reasons.

I’ve seen hawks hovering around the yard but I’ve never seen one take a dive. They don’t seem to be very effective hunters, at least not in my yard. They aren’t scaring off the bunnies at least. I might try to put in an owl nesting box at some point. I’ve also strongly considered adopting outdoor only cats. I have a separate barn garage structure and a huge squirrel problem. Cats might be an effective solution. If I put in a cat door to the garage, I can move the outdoor cat house I currently have into the top floor of the garage. I bought it years ago when a cat with toileting issues had to be moved outdoors and have kept it on my front porch in case a neighborhood stray might need it. I think if I put it in the garage it would be a very warm and dry shelter for an outdoor cat.

A local cat shelter adopts out cats who are only suitable for living outdoors for various reasons, although they adopt them out in pairs. We already have three indoor cats…going up to five cats seems like a LOT. We also live on a pretty busy road so I would worry.