Keep Bunnies Off Your Lawn: Simple and Effective Tips

Don’t let a rabbit’s adorable, soft appearance deceive you. Despite being easily frightened creatures that typically serve as prey, rabbits are voracious eaters capable of decimating lawns or gardens rapidly. I adore my pet bunny, yet that doesn’t imply I wish for more. In my outdoor space or green area.

Thankfully, there are many humane tips and tricks that make your yard less desirable to bunnies (or keep them out altogether). Here to divulge their best-kept methods for keeping bunnies out of your yard are Osmar Castillero from Blades Landscaping and Amy Fedele from Pretty Purple Door.

What Do Rabbits Eat?

"Bunnies usually prefer tender young plants and veggies, along with flora having softer leaves," according to Fedele. In your garden, this indicates lettuces, carrots, leafy greens In lawns, they feed on grass, clover, and dandelions, as stated by Castillero. They aren’t limited to these softer plants; rabbits will also gnaw on and consume twigs and bark from various trees such as apple, birch, and poplar. Additionally, they enjoy eating fruits and herbs.

A rabbit’s very active digestive tract demands a nearly constant intake of food. My little bunny tips the scales at under five pounds yet consumes large amounts of hay and vegetables each day. In the case of wild rabbits, lawns or gardens serve as ideal locations for readily meeting their dietary requirements.

Primary Issues Induced by Rabbits

Rabbits can damage your crops and gardens because they feed on the vegetation. They also can strip the bark from trees and shrubs, causing damage to your plants. Having rabbits in your yard can also attract other animals and predators.

How To Prevent Rabbits in Your Yard

Try these preventative measures to make your yard less desirable to rabbits.

Regular yard maintenance

Keep weeds Maintain control of your area with neatly gathered leaves to offer fewer hiding spots and sustenance for rabbits. Ensure plants are well-trimmed to prevent providing extra food that might attract them.

Mow your grass often

Rabbits feel more secure in taller grass, hence maintaining a shorter lawn is advisable. "Avoid letting your grass grow beyond five or six inches," advises Castillero. "It becomes harder to mow at this length, plus it provides an ideal hiding and digging spot for rabbits."

Ways to Keep Rabbits Out of Your Yard

From physical barriers to unpleasant odors, these tricks keep rabbits out of your yard.

Plant onions or garlic

Here’s some positive information for those considering cultivating onions or garlic for their home garden: these crops serve as an excellent deterrent against rabbits in your outdoor space. Consider sowing them around the perimeter of your property to create a natural protective boundary. Fedele recommends using garlic and onions as companion plants alongside less resilient vegetation. Their scent tends to repel rabbits effectively.

Add some dried sulfur, crushed red pepper, or hair.

Rabbits are similarly deterred by sulfur and red pepper. Castillero has had some luck eliminating rabbits by scattering a small amount of dried red pepper around lawns or bushes.

You might also think about adding some human hair. It resembles grass, and when rabbits encounter it, they discover it has an unpleasant taste for vegetation. Realizing this "grass" isn’t to their liking, they cease jumping over.

Build a fence

"The top choice would be to set up a fence, particularly surrounding your vegetable patch," according to Fedele. However, merely putting up any type of barrier won’t suffice.

A rabbit-proof fence Should be constructed from metal wire mesh, since rabbits can easily chew through vinyl or plastic. The gaps in the mesh must not exceed one inch; thus, materials such as hardware cloth (which has 1/2-inch openings) work well. "Larger holes could allow the bunnies to escape," according to Fedele.

To stop rabbits from burrowing under the fence (as they inevitably will), ensure that the fencing extends at least 12 inches underground.

Spray rabbit repellent

Applying a rabbit deterrent regularly may prevent these creatures from coming into your yard. Predator urine-based repellents have proven effective for me. As Fedele mentions, "When bunnies detect their natural predators' scent, they tend to avoid the region." Alternative repellent options include sprays with potent odors such as garlic.

Every repellant product needs to be reapplied approximately every month or following heavy rainfall.

Grow plants bunnies hate

Strong-smelling plants such as lavender, peppermint, and marigolds are among those that rabbits tend to steer clear of. Planting these extensively throughout your yard or lining them around the edges might deter rabbits from entering your property.

FAQ

During what time of day are rabbits typically most active?

Fedele mentions that rabbits are typically most energetic during early morning and late evening because these times align with their innate feeding habits. These creatures remain active all year round since they do not experience hibernation.

What signs indicate whether rabbits are invading your garden?

A frequent indication is rabbit droppings, appearing as clusters of tiny, spherical pellets. Since rabbits are always feeding and excreting, this can be a readily identifiable sign of their existence.

Fedele notes that chewed plants, particularly soft new growths, may indicate rabbit presence.

Castillero suggests searching for burrows (also known as excavated piles of soil) not only on the lawn but also around fences or at the edges of gardens. The presence of nesting materials such as leaves and grass in your garden may signal rabbit activity.

What is the optimal season for implementing measures to prevent rabbits?

Although preventive measures can be implemented at any point during the year, specialists typically suggest targeting late winter when rabbits are most hungry. This period precedes their mating season, which occurs in spring.

About the Experts

Osmar Castillero owns Blades Landscaping Services, a lawn care and maintenance business based in Lowell, Massachusetts. With more than a decade of expertise in the field, he brings extensive knowledge to his work.

Amy Fedele is an authority on home gardening and the creator of Pretty Purple Door She provides online landscape design courses tailored for DIY enthusiasts. Possessing a diploma in Garden Design and Maintenance, she has assisted homeowners with their landscaping projects since 2014.