Argh! Rabbits!
Posted on April 23rd, 2008 – 1:27 PMBy Jaime Chismar
In the dewy dawn, ravenous rodents terrorized my tulips — nibbling the tender shoots to a sad little nub.
I hope you enjoyed your breakfast — Leaves, buds and all. Next time, please stop by the house. I’ll brew you a cup of coffee and introduce you to our four cats (who would probably purr and lick you to death).
Anyone have a good recipe for rabbit?
Argh!
14 Responses to "Argh! Rabbits!"
I’ve always referred to tulip bulbs as Squirrel Food.
My Rabbit Recipe: dogs. Preferably barky, quick-moving dogs. I’ll rent out mine if you need her.
Greengirl,
Have you tried bonemeal, bloodmeal, human hair or any of the stinky sprays (commercial or homemade)? They typically have to be applied after every heavy rain. I had luck with one commercial spray, but it smelled so bad it kept ME out of the garden.
How about pepper spray?
I’ve found dried blood (bloodmeal) works quite well and adds nitrogen to the area…. not too much or it will burn the foliage - it also works great for bunnies or deer that like young hosta shoots!
I’ve also tried to place dog hair (from our spring brush out) in the garden , but even if it works, it makes the garden look like the corners of my house in the winter!
Ha! Don’t get me started on cat hair, Jenny!
Bloodmeal kinda weirds me out… Does it smell beefy?
It doesn’t smell too bad. It’s just sorta grainy. Like bonemeal, it’s only gross if you think about it . . .
I agree with Geri.
Recipe: Four St. Bernards and one mutt = population control for tree rats, rabbits, and mice. (Sugar Magnolia is especially proficient at catching mice, better than a cat.) Also, the one deer that crossed our 11 acres two years ago got the surprize of his life when the main man, Rex, almost caught him until the fence at the end of the property forced a sudden stop. I’ll gladly pay for dog food versus college any day!
I haven’t found anything that really really works. Blood meal does seem to weird them out too!It adds to the soill quality.
Fox or coyote urine is suppose to scare them but who wants to have the flowers smell like THAT? p.u.
Irish Spring soap bars are also supposed to make them leave but has to be replenished after the rains.
I’ve tried it all-even moth balls. Nothing worked to keep the rabbits out. Finally my husband put a small electric fence around my flowers. Not enough electricity to hurt anyone and it isn’t even noticable if your grounded with shoes but it did work on keeping rabbits out.
I’ve tried the pepper sprays, the dog hair, the soap, the preditor urine and the dog. In the urban core the dog worked until the critters realized I wasn’t willing to leave him out overnight. The rest worked temporarily. I had lunch with a fellow gardener this past week. He tried DeerScram and was raving about it.
Gaiam has a new strobe light product I’m wondering about and they have ultrasound products too. I’d love to test these especially as I don’t relish surrounding my veggies with chicken wire this summer, but these gadgets are not cheap so I’d like some kind of guarantee or some way to test before spending that kind of money. I used one of those stupid motion sensitive Big Mouth Billy Bass fish one year that was given as a gag gift and that scared them away, but it only worked in one area, and it was loud at night (we have racoon issues too) and scared the living daylights out of the mailman one day so I wouldn’t recommend that.
I’ve got a natural concoction that me and my sisters have been using quite effectively to deter rabbits. Mix together 1 beaten egg, 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco), squirt of dish soap in 1 gal of water. Apply to plants with a watering can. Works very well. You do have to reapply but not as often as you’d think. A light rain won’t wash it all off as the oils in the pepper remain.
Hope it works for you.
Thanks Elaine! You may have save my last three tulips… Grrr… I guess new plants always bring new challenges .
Greengirls Jaime Chismar, Connie Nelson, and Robyn Dochterman are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
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