Rabbit Eating My Plants

As other suggested, Liquid Fence works great but it's expensive. I've started sprinkling ground Cayenne Pepper at the edge of my flowerbeds and directly on my plants and the rabbits haven't touched my flowers since. It's cheaper than Liquid Fence, but you have to reapply after rain also.

Blood meal
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For blood as a food for animals, see Hematophagy.
Blood meal is dried, powdered blood used as a high-nitrogen fertilizer. It is one of the highest non-synthetic sources of nitrogen and if over-applied it can burn plants with excessive ammonia. Blood meal is completely soluble and can be mixed with water to be used as a liquid fertilizer. It usually comes from cattle as a slaughterhouse by-product. It can be spread on gardens to deter animals such as rabbits,[1][2] or as a composting activator. It may also be used as an animal food supplement.[3]

Blood meal, bone meal, and other animal by-products are permitted in certified organic production as soil amendments, though they cannot be fed to organic livestock. In the United States, fear of BSE (mad cow disease) and the related Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease prompted Demeter International, which certifies biodynamic farms, to fully prohibit use of bone meal and blood meal, since these could be routes of infection for BSE.

Blood meal is different from bone meal in that blood meal contains a much higher amount of nitrogen, while bone meal contains phosphorus.

Nitrogen is more typically missing from soils than the other elements provided by most fertilizers (phosphorus and potassium). Plants grown in soil lacking proper amounts of nitrogen will yellow from the leaves down due to nitrogen deficiency. Applying blood meal will help plants become green again

We have lots of rabbits in our area. I can tell you, as a person that loves gardening, that I am surprised at what your rabbit is eating!!! I have hydrangeas and shasta daisies that have not been touched by any of the rabbits in the 10 years we have lived in our house:) I did however, plant two shrubs last year that are no longer with us, since the rabbits thought they were delicious. If you go to a local nursery you can get advice for free. There are plants that rabbits don't like and they will give you a lot of good advice on this. It may mean that you have to do a bit of planting, but in the long run you will be happy and the rabbits will move on to other pastures :)

N.

ps....stella d'oro lilies are beautiful, flower for much of the summer and I think they are plants that rabbits may not like. You can buy them in small containers for a low price at meijer and they will get quite wide in just 2 years. Hope that helps.

Window boxes? If they're ground level the rabbit can get them. Raise up your flower beds or get window boxes.

We have had the same problem, only ours is with deer. They will mow down every hosta in the yard! We have gotten sprays at Home Depot that are supposed to keep them away. It works as long as it doens't rain...you have to stay on it and spray after it rains every time. I'm sure there is one for rabbits too. A friend of mine told me to put human hair trimmings in the landscaping, like after you have had your hair cut. I haven't tried that one yet. I feel your pain!

Try putting in some marigolds near your other flowers. They give off a very strong odor. It has kept chipmunks away from my flower garden. Also I read somewhere that if you place human hair clippings in your garden that also keeps rabbits and chipmunks away.

I have killed ALOE before, so I'm certianly no green thumb. However, I've heard that sprinkling ground black pepper on your flower beds can keep rabbits away. Apparently, the pepper makes them sneeze!

Meijer has a rabbit repellent that you sprinkle in a border around the plants. It has to be done again every time there is a hard rain, but not too bad at $7 for a big bag. I can't remember the name, but it is a yellow, purple, and white bag. I think it comes in a spray too.

D.,

Human hair works wonders. I cut my son's and husband's hair and put it around my holly bush. The rabbits were eating it down to the last two leaves and once I started putting the hair around it they have left it alone.

Good luck!

-C..

I feel your pain...after many years of having the same problem I pretty much just gave up. By the way, I was always told that they won't eat marigolds; in my case this wasn't true. They chomped them completely down to the stem, every last one of them. I have minimal flowers now because I wasted a lot of time & money over the years. I hope you have better success. I wish I had a suggestion. I'm just here for support, basically, LOL.

There is a spray that has cayenne pepper in it. Or I thnk youcould proably just get some fromteh dolar store and sprinkle it yourself! My dad used it by his sunflowers to deter the squirrels and it worked. Since they are both rodents, I assume it would work with rabbits. Good luck!

hey D.,

my DH and i just discovered a wonderful product called Liquid Fence. you spray it directly on the plants. it is completely natural, no chemicals and perfectly safe. it just makes the plants so distasteful that the rabbits find other feeding areas. we got it at english gardens but i am sure any garden shop stocks it this time of year.

good luck!

S.

My FIL sprinkled our dog's hair/fur around his plants and the rabbits stopped eating them. We just saved our vacuum bag for him, did the trick!

D.,

Sadly, I too lost several lillies (not daylillies) to the rabbits this year! For some reason they thought they looked really tasty. These are the ones that grow on a single stalk like plant and bloom at the top.

I went to Home Depot and asked for him because I didn't want to hurt the little bunnies just to get them to leave my plants alone. They recommended a plant spray. It was around $20 for a small bottle but does seem to be helping. It does have to be reapplied after it rains but makes the plant taste yucky and therefore not so appealing.

I hope this helps. Good luck and hang in there. I know I will be prepared for the little buggars at the beginning of the season next year! :)

C.

My MIL found that peeling Irish Spring bar soap with a potato peeler works Sprinkle the shavings in your flower beds They don't like the smell of it

I have the exact same problem. I use Liquid Fence and it works. It smells AWFUL, but it seems to work. I spray it on the flowers just before I'm going in for the night. I make sure all the windows are closed and I'm wearing gloves. If it's windy, make sure you're not standing where the spray will get on you. It stinks SOOOOO bad.

Good Luck!
C. S.

I was once told rabbits don't like Marigolds. I know it is very late in the season, but maybe you could plant a border of marigolds and that would prevent them from getting to your other flowers. Just a thought.