Rabbits getting into wife's flowers

[scootersrockin]

I got a problem. We purchased a house at the beginning of summer last year and this is gonna be our first spring and I've noticed tons of rabbits in my neighborhood. My wife is begging me to help her plant flowers and I knew growing up out in the country that rabbits will eat the crap out of your flowers. But I lived in the country and was able to shoot the rabbits. I obviously can't shoot them in city limits. What would you guys recommend me do to at least keep the rabbits out of our flowerbeds. Do you recommend trying to set traps and catch them? I hoping to get some cool ideas to keep them out.

 

[melensdad]

Rabbits taste good. Wife and I just had a very tasty roasted rabbit & snail stew. It was served to us in a restaurant in Barcelona, Spain a couple days ago. Walking around the open air market in town we saw fresh killed rabbits in the butcher's booths. It brought back memories of when I was a kid, there were lots of suburban homes in Indiana that had rabbit hutches in the back yards for raising, and ultimately eating "Mr Fluffy" and "Mr Cottontail" it would just take a bit of effort and we could/should return to some of those traditions.

 

[w_ADAM_d88]

Ortho makes a product called Deer Be Gone which is supposed to keep away deer, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, etc. any local hardware/farm supply store probably carries it, heck Walmart might even have it. Or you can go around to local barber shops and ask them for the hair swept up of the floor and then sprinkle that into the flower bed. Supposedly, the scent of human hair will keep wild animals out.

 

[perry]

I have them living under my deck, and they eat the crap out of my Asiatic lilies. What I wouldn't have done for a bolt action .22 and some .22 quiet's the other night. Looked out the window and two of em were under 5 yards away.

There's bunny away spray in the home improvement section at Meijer that seemed to work ok, though I didn't get it down in time last year. Used kitty litter (not the clumps, just stuff kitty has dug in) is supposed to work. Hot sauce, specifically Sirachi (nasty stuff), didn't work.

 

[mcolford]

A single shot .22 and a box of .22 shorts.. Problem solved.. Also gives ya rabbit for dinner.

 

[scootersrockin]

See I live right in a neighborhood and I definitely don't want to get in trouble. I have a .22 but I don't have shorts and I guarantee people will hear it or see it.

 

[mcolford]

Shorts are quiet..... Only takes 1 "hand clap loud sound"

 

[scootersrockin]

I thought about using one of those little crossbows. My brother has one, but I wonder if its strong enough to successfully kill a rabbit. You can get pretty close to them, at least within 30 feet.

 

[MrsGungho]

black pepper sprinkled a couple times a week, garlic powder, the same and hair.
any of these methods is supposed to work well

 

[mcolford]

Just put up a "No Bunny Rabbits Allowed" sign... It works to keep guns out of schools, malls, etc., right?

 

[bottlemaker]

Blood meal works just sprinkle around the area you want to them out of only trouble is you have do it after every rain because the rain will soak it into the ground.The rabbits don't like the smell of blood but the odor is not that noticeable to humans .

 

[NavyVet]

Surround the garden with Marigolds... They do not like the smell and it keeps them out of our vegetable garden.

 

[dyerwatcher]

Surround the garden with Marigolds... They do not like the smell and it keeps them out of our vegetable garden.

This works great. I plant them around my tomatoes.

 

[Reno316]

What would you guys recommend me do to at least keep the rabbits out of our flowerbeds.

1. Pellet gun with scope and a good aim.
2. I'll rent you my dog, Jake. He had five confirmed rabbit kills in Operation Bunny Slayer when I had rabbits tearing up my garden in Colorado.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

NavyVet beat me to the marigolds. No further maintenance, and you get even more flowers. Win win. I also have a .22 pellet rifle with a suppressor built in. Slow enough to be subsonic but heavy enough to be deadly. Been planning a rabbit hutch myself; hope to get to that this year. We may sign the 10yo up for 4H in case the north neighbor starts up again. Last frozen bunny I saw was about $9.

 

[TheEngineer]

this outta do the trick...

 

[Bunnykid68]

black pepper sprinkled a couple times a week, garlic powder, the same and hair.
any of these methods is supposed to work well

This^^^^^^ cayenne pepper too.

 

[Stschil]

Two signs that will keep Bunnies away.

 

[Bunnykid68]

That will definitely keep me out

Two signs that will keep Bunnies away.

 

[JokerGirl]

Go to your local groomer, and ask them to fill a bag of dog hair trimmings for you.

Spread it around your garden.

The smell of dog is a good deterrent for rabbits and other rodents.

The other thing you can do is to spray your plants with a cayenne pepper and garlic in water mix. It's harmless to your plants and makes them inedible to a lot of critters including insects. The only problem is you have to reapply it every time it rains.

You can also sprinkle straight cayenne pepper onto the dirt in the front of your beds. This will cause their feet to burn and hopefully teach them to stay out.

Certain bulbs are also good deterrents. I know if you surround your tulip bulbs with buttercup bulbs, squirrels are less tempted to dig them up and eat them.