Garden Critter Deterrent-Bunnies in particular

My garden is well underway. Weeks of planning, preparation and coddling have brought me to this point. My vegetables are in the beautiful black earth, soaking up the nutrients from my composter. The gathered rainwater is providing the moisture and my song is providing the incentive to grow.

However, there is a devil afoot.

 


Sure, he looks cute. Sure, he’s furry. Sure, I even talked about how wonderful it was to have a bunny in my backyard.

But did you know that bunnies also like to eat my plants-the ones that I’ve toiled over, loved on and kept safe from hail storms? Bunnies love to nibble-and I will admit, they look pretty darn cute doing so-but they are destroying my garden. Something must be done!

 


Enter Garlic Salt and Chili Pepper in mass quantities. Bunnies do not like sniffing these two substances. In fact, they tell the other bunnies to stay far away.

 


I sprinkle a little of each around the base of my plants and around the perimeter of my garden.

 


As the bunny checks the wind for potential vegetable and leafy prey, the garlic and chili pepper reach their delicate noses and they take off for greener, less spicy pastures.

I reapply the spices after a heavy rain.

 


I don’t mind sharing. But after three destroyed pepper plants attributed to this very cute little bunny, I chose to go the humane route and spice it up.

Let’s not talk about the alternative offered by Biceps.

 

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42 Responses to "Garden Critter Deterrent-Bunnies in particular"

  1. The Better Baker says:

    Love these natural ideas to keep our furry friends away from our hard work! Thanks for sharing – we have bunnies all over our backyard, but no garden, so we enjoy seeing them. =)

    Reply
  2. Dee says:

    The bunny is cute. I’m sure he would feast on your garden in no time if giving the chance 🙂 I’m glad you found a way to have him more on.

    Reply
  3. Haley says:

    The bunny is SO LITTLE! I am much more used to large jack rabbits bounding away in my parts. Looks more the size of the rats around my mom’s place.

    Speaking of small, furry and adorable, as reference to the bunny not the rats above, I hope Maxwell is doing better. Poor guy!

    Reply
  4. Fishtail Cottage says:

    awe – your right so cute (from a distance)! please do share this idea over at my garden party going on right now at Fishtail Cottage! I’m sure others would love to read this! xoox, tracie

    Reply
  5. mom says:

    He is very cute! He doesn’t eat much. You probably ruined his little nose.

    Reply
  6. Kara says:

    Very helpful advice! Thanks for sharing at my party! Have a great weekend 🙂

    Reply
  7. recipes we love says:

    I WILL be giving this a try thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  8. Kim @ KimsKandyKreations says:

    Thanks so much for the tips. We have just started our garden and are doing everything we can to keep the bunnies, deer, and kids away from the plants as they grow. I am glad to have found your post to be able to help with at least one of the three…maybe even all! YEA! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  9. Christina @ Play Eat Grow says:

    I tried deterring our furry friends with a watered down chili powder-egg white mixture last year, and that didn’t work, but I bet that just straight sprinkling it on the ground would have worked. I which I would have found this tip before we bought posts and fence material. But thanks for the tip!

    Reply
  10. gail says:

    awww, cute bunny so happy you don’t hurt him. 🙂

    Reply
  11. Jill says:

    What a cute bunny!! And a great way to deter them from your plants without being cruel!!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  12. Mindie says:

    Featuring on Thursday at Bacon Time!

    Reply
  13. cynthia says:

    What a good, safe idea! I am totally trying it. I wonder if it works on snails, too? That is my biggest pest!

    Reply
    • ColleenB says:

      As for snails and slugs, scatter crushed egg shells, or lay very course sand paper or even torn up roof shingles. Anything that is rough will do the trick. Just lay at base of plant.

      Reply
  14. Tamara @ Etcetorize says:

    Awwwwww, that’s got to be the cutest little devil I’ve ever seen! So adorable…..sorry, must focus….yes, great solution. Thanks so much for sharing at Etcetorize this week!

    Reply
  15. ColleenB says:

    The little bunnies are so darn cute but can do soooooo much damage in short period of time.
    When I would have young plants growing, I would cut off top and bottoms of large coffee cans or other large cans and just put over the little tender plants.

    As for snails and slugs, scatter crushed egg shells, or lay very course sand paper or even torn up roof shingles. Anything that is rough will do the trick. Just lay at base of plant.

    ColleenB.

    Reply
  16. ColleenB says:

    Have ?
    Was looking for place to sign up to receive email newsletter but unable to find or am I not seeing it?

    Reply
  17. Tammy @ P K Glitz says:

    Thanks for this wonderful tip. We have a “bagillion” bunnies around here and they definitely love to eat my plants. In fact, I gave up gardening because of them 😉 Going to try this around some of my smaller garden flowers to see if they will stay away.

    Reply
    • Rebekah says:

      With my uber tasty plants-like Broccoli-I actually sprinkle the seasoning right on the leaves! The rest of the plants in my garden just have a perimeter of the spice around them (almost like a spicy, secret forcefield). Let me know if this helps you at all!

      Reply
  18. JoAnn says:

    I know exactly what you mean! These lovely critters along with the deer have kept our garden mowed down like lawnmowers! Thanks for the tips! I was planning a massive fenced “fortress”, but this sounds much cheaper.
    JoAnn

    Reply
    • Rebekah says:

      JoAnn-
      Human hair works great for keeping deer away. I know it sounds gross-but you can even “harvest” hair from your hairbrush, the vacuum cleaner-or better yet, a hairstylist. Spread it around your garden and the deers shouldn’t come near it.

      Reply
  19. Lisa says:

    The bunny is cute, but they do eat everything! I can’t wait to do this on our plants. Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday 🙂

    Reply
  20. the cape on the corner says:

    i am going to try this-accept my assailants are squirrels. do you think they would hate this the way the bunnies do? last year i tried ivory spring b/c someone told us that worked, but they didn’t seem to care that i shaved an entire bar of soap onto my flowerbeds. those horrible squirrels have already unearthed my petunias i put in last weekend and make divets in my whole garden. ugh. i hate them!

    Reply
  21. Tonniece says:

    Hi there
    Great tips, but do they work with squirrls? That is my biggest problem.
    Tonniece

    Reply
  22. Becky says:

    Great tips! Definitely adding them to out repertoire of natural solutions.

    Reply
  23. ColleenB says:

    If all else fails, get a male cat and that will keep your bunnies and squirrels away.Could also try using traps and then letting them go far far awayfrom where you live.
    If you have pets, be careful on using cayenne pepper or chili powder cause if they should happen to get the hot pepper on their paws and then lick their paws it could make them sick.

    Reply
  24. Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy says:

    That is an awfully cute little bunny! Thanks for linking up to Healthy 2Day Wednesday, and come back next time to see if you were featured!

    Reply
  25. Charissa says:

    Wow! I had no idea that would work. And it’s so easy. Does it work with other pests too, I wonder?

    Reply
  26. sherry says:

    This a good idea. My brother does a lot of gardening and I think he has problems with bunnies. I got to share this with him! I discovered you on The Thrifty Home and I’m now following; I would appreciate it if you could follow back. Thanks

    Reply
  27. {Junk in their Trunk} says:

    Great info to know, thank you!! This is being featured today at {Junk in their Trunk}…thanks for linking up!

    Reply
  28. Sherry says:

    The bunny is adorable but I know they can be destructive in a garden. Thanks for the tip.

    Reply
  29. Kay says:

    I was wondering if the salt in the garlic salt could possibly kill the plants?
    I love this idea and love your diy composter!
    I was wondering if there is a way to follow your blog through email?

    Kay

    Reply
    • Rebekah says:

      I’ve never had a problem with the garlic salt killing the plants and I’ve used it for years. That said, anything can happen I suppose. You can also use cayenne pepper and even garlic powder if you are concerned about the salt.

      You can subscribe to my RSS feed, but I’m not doing the email thing right now.

      Reply
  30. Potholes & Pantyhose | Planning and Planting a Spring Garden says:

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  31. Amber says:

    I use gardening as a sort of therapy for my GAD and depression, and it just makes me feel awful when all my hard work is eaten up by squirrels or bunnies. Thank you for this awesome tip!

    Reply
  32. Tori says:

    Thank you for posting! Peter Cottontail has been feasting on my peppers and green beans for a couple summers now, and I’ve been looking for a good way to keep his furry tail out of my garden!

    Reply
  33. Lindsay says:

    Does the powder stay even after watering?

    Reply
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