What Is The Best Rabbit Repellent For My Garden?

Rabbits might be fun to look at and cute, but if you’re not careful, they will eat your garden in no time. I often wondered what the best rabbit repellent for my garden was, especially after they came and ate all my young watermelon leaves in one hit! Here are the results of my research.

I only want to use nontoxic repellents: while I don’t want the rabbits in my garden, I also don’t want to kill them. With that out of the way, let’s look at a few of the ways to deter rabbits from destroying your garden.

Best Rabbit Repellents To Use In Your Garden

I’ll start with my favorite method: a homemade solution (actually a few of them) that will just let the bunnies know your garden is off limits.

Best homemade rabbit repellent recipes

There are several homemade recipes you can make that are not only effective but also very inexpensive.

Quick note: These are temporary measures that need to be repeated every couple of weeks, and after it rains.

Egg wash recipe

Put a couple of raw eggs in a blender for 30 seconds. Then, add them to a garden sprayer and fill it with water. Go spray this mixture on your plants, and by the end of the day, rabbits will avoid your garden, as the stench of the rotting eggs is too much for them.

Of course, you might not like those veggies either once you cover them up in egg wash. So, use this on vegetables that need peeling.

Garlic solution

This one is really simple to make. Simply crush a few cloves of garlic in a gallon of water and let it rest for a few hours. Strain, add a few drops of dish soap, and spray on and around your plants. 

Cayenne pepper mixture

Fill a gallon bottle with water, sprinkle a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or any other hot pepper), and leave it in the sun for an afternoon. Strain, add a few drops of dishwashing liquid, and spray on your plants.

As you can see, all these homemade recipes for repelling rabbits are simple 2 or 3 ingredients from your kitchen.

Plants That Repel Rabbits

You can always keep rabbits out of the garden by cultivating plants rabbits hate. Create an entire rabbit-repelling garden by planting flowers and herbs rabbits hate. 

Here’s a short list of rabbit repellent flowers:

• lantana
• sweet allysum
• pot marigold
• cleome
• geraniums
• wax begonias
• vinca
• snap dragon
• poppies
• sunflowers
• salvia
• milkweed
• catmint
• peppermint
• lavender
• tarragon
• thyme
• sage
• echinacea
• honeysuckle
• columbine

The plants above are beautiful to look at, and many of them smell amazing! What a great way to keep these little pests away from your flower beds!

Other plants rabbits don’t like:

• garlic
• onions
• tomatoes
• peppers
• rhubarb

You can try a perimeter of these plants around your other vegetables in your garden that they do like (as long as they are good companions) and minimize the damage they do.

Liquid Fence Rabbit Repellent

If rabbits are already in your garden, in spite of your efforts, you might need to go to the next level and try a commercial rabbit repellent alternative. One of the more popular products is the liquid fence rabbit repellent. You can find it at your local garden store, Walmart, or order it online.

It comes in either a gallon or 32 oz. concentrate, and it works like a smelly barrier bunnies don’t like. Make sure to apply it to dry plants, as applying to wet foliage will dilute the solution and won’t work as well.

Other Favorite Bunny Repellents

Here are a few of the other solutions gardeners use that can be found in stores and online: 

• organic rabbit repellent spray
• bobbex rabbit repellent
• shake away rabbit repellent

Ultrasonic Rabbit Repellent

When all else fails, you can try an electronic rabbit repellent like the ones below. They might cost a bit more, but are very effective! 

You can also set up automatic sprinklers that spray when they get too close to.

Plant Their Favorites in Raised Beds

While you plant the flowers and vegetables they don’t like in the ground, consider throwing all their favorites in a raised bed if you want to keep them to yourself. Make it high enough that they won’t be able to hop their way in.

Add a Rabbit Garden

Now, like I said, rabbits can be cute to look at. If you have enough space in your yard, create a rabbit haven with all the goodies they love to eat:

• carrots
• lettuce
• clover
• collard greens
• parsley
• black eyed Susan
• clematis
• marigolds
• pansies
• petunias

As you can see, you have lots of vegetation you can plant just for the bunnies.  Add a water source and some shelter, and you’ve got the best of both worlds. Your children will LOVE seeing rabbits hopping around in their garden, and YOUR gardens will be safe!