While pet rabbits can be entertaining to raise and play with, you could have trouble with wild rabbits that keep coming back to your yard.
They are generally harmless, but they can spark a crisis with your plants if you happen to grow some. When you often encounter these problems, it’s helpful to know how to get rid of rabbits.
Why Are Rabbits So Attracted To Your Yard?
If you have been noticing rabbits in your yard not only for a day or two but consistent visits within the week, then there might be reasons for their visits.
While they could visit for social purposes, the fact that they keep coming back can be bothering, especially for those who raise plants in their yard. If you are curious and trying to figure out why rabbits keep coming back, here are some of the possible reasons for their continuous visits.
Weather
When the weather is hot, the wild provides little food for them. Thus, this drives them to visit local farms and yards around their area. The scarcer the food supply becomes in the wild, the more likely they are to visit gardens.
You will mostly see rabbits visit your yard during the summer as they are usually hibernating and absent during the winter.
When it’s hot, rabbits are easily dehydrated and are prone to anxiety. Several rabbits perish during these nature’s trying times. And so, rabbits are inclined to stay somewhere that’s abundant with food, and that includes your garden.
A garden provides a cool temperature and an abundance of food. Some even have a water supply for them to enjoy. During days with hotter temperatures, wildfires are common in some areas, so they are pushed to safer locations like your garden, where they can breed and feed safely.
Breeding
Rabbits are famous for their breeding habits. They could be staying longer than ever in your yard as they may have found a haven for them to breed. Aside from a safe place, your yard may be where they can get food, so, if you think about it, a garden is a good choice for the breeding place.
Rabbits and Their Quest for Safety
As much as they can bother your garden, they are only trying to live their lives peacefully. They are crucial in the environment. Rabbits are extremely important, according to researchers, because their digging and grazing activities keep the soil in a condition.
When the ground is in good condition, other species can thrive. Rabbits are prey animals, and so they are always on the lookout for possible threats around them.
These fur species are defenceless, so all they can do is run or hide. And so, gardens are one of the safest places to run to or hide as they are more afraid of the predators outside than humans.
Another reason rabbits visit your yard is the lack of security, like a gate or fence. Perhaps they are attracted to your unprotected garden making your plants vulnerable to rabbit invasion. Of course, an open garden is like a buffet for rabbits. Gardens are also home to plants and greens that are attractive to rabbits.
While it’s easy to say and opt not to plant vegetables attractive to rabbits, it’s almost always not feasible. People usually have a garden to plant food that can be cooked and used in dishes.
Most of these ingredients are edible and even considered a treat for them. Your garden most probably looks like heaven to the rabbits around. Safe and full of food? Definitely what they are looking for.
Keeping Rabbits Away: Store-bought Solutions
Fences
One of the safest and easiest ways to keep rabbits away is building a fence around your garden or yard. Chicken wire will work okay and is relatively one of the most accessible options to find in the local stores.
In installing the fence, you would want to bury it 4-6 inches deep and let it be at least 3 to 4 inches tall. Like a security fence, bend the top part of the fence for a foot outward from your garden. This way, rabbits will be unable to jump or even climb over the bent fence.
This is also one of the safest ways to treat rabbit trespassers. This way, you keep them out without harming them. With a fence, you also get to keep other animals that may feed on your plants.
Repellents
If you happen to visit your local stores, you might find rabbit repellents. These repellents are designed to urge rabbits to move to another location. However, this procedure is not guaranteed to work as quickly and effectively.
There are natural factors that can decrease the effectiveness of repellents. There can be rain, air, and weather factors that can affect the repellent’s effect.
Toy snakes
Yes, you can also prank rabbits into thinking you have real snakes surrounding your garden. A lot of stores have rubber snakes in their toy section. This might sound childish, but one of the downsides of this is forgetting you ever placed them there and scaring yourself.
Natural Ways To Keep Rabbits Away
Hair
One of the most interesting facts about a rabbit’s hate list is that they despise human hair. This is one of the reasons why they are usually alerted whenever a human is around because of their hate for the smell of their hair.
Thus, they tend to feel afraid whenever a human is around. If you don’t have extra hair to spare, you can use animal hair clippings. Perhaps you just have groomed your pet, and you can sprinkle their hair around the yard. This way, you repel the rabbits naturally and feed the soil too.
Flowers
Yes, some plants are believed to have a repellent effect on rabbits. Some of these are alyssums and marigolds. You can purchase these flowers and plant them on the corners of your yard or garden.
This method helps not only in repelling but also in adding beauty to your garden. Planting flowers as repellents is one of the prettiest ways to keep rabbits out of your garden.
Soft to medium noise
Rabbits are very alert as they are always looking for possible threats. And so, they are very sensitive to sound. Thus, even a little noise would alert them and make them leave your yard.
Sometimes, they get so startled enough not to come back. On the other hand, they could not mind the noise and still come back after a few days, so it’s essential to observe them still.
Install Nets
You can also protect only the plants and just leave them roaming around the yard. Netting your plants prevents them from being rabbit food. Just make sure to purchase a thin, lightweight net. This way, you don’t damage your plants by weighing them down and squishing them to the ground every time the net is moved.
Provide no shelter
You can make your garden less appealing by providing no space for them to stay. This procedure only requires your garden to be entirely open. An open space is less attractive for these furry creatures.
You can also look around your garden and see if there are caves, piles of leaves, or any area that they may stay in. Make sure you get rid of their possible mansions before it’s too late. Cleaning up around your yard greatly helps keep rabbits around from breeding and staying in your garden.
More Natural Rabbit Deterrents
While there are many advancements available today, natural ways are still in. One of the best ways to keep rabbits away is through natural methods. This procedure ensures the safety of both the rabbits and your plants.
Red pepper
Rabbits are not fans of spicy foods, so the strong smell of red pepper would keep them away. You can either sprinkle some pepper seeds around the yard or plant some. This way, you keep the trespassers out, and you get to have something to harvest for your kitchen.
Pungent plants
As you may have already known, rabbits are not particularly picky about their food. They are okay with most vegetables and treats. However, just like humans and other animals’ preferences, rabbits have their favorites too.
Topping the list of their “less likely to eat” are plants with pungent smells. You can plant garlic, onions, and pepper along the sides of your garden.
Irish spring soap
Several gardeners have shared stories about Irish spring soap shavings effectively keeping rabbits away. You can equip your yard by filling little drawstring bags with Irish spring soap shavings halfway and hanging them throughout your garden.
Summary
Tending a garden can be challenging with all the trials available in your yard. However, there are always solutions to problems.
As for how to get rid of rabbits, it’s best to follow a gentle but effective method of keeping them away rather than resorting to hurting them in the process. Nevertheless, knowing the whats and hows is essential.
