Items you will need. On many trees and shrubs, rabbits have removed the bark completely around the trunks and stems, effectively girdling them. Answer Save. My guess is you have rabbit problems. Ideas for discouraging rabbits and deer from eating your plants. Rabbits like to have cover from predators; they like to hide in places like low-growing shrubs, tall grasses, and brush piles. Rabbits must always be on the lookout for predators as they are hunted by every meat-eating animal under the sun; scattering used kitty litter throughout the garden plays into this instinct, as it suggests the presence of carnivorous cats. Ideally fences should be of 2.5cm (1-1¼in) wire mesh and 120-140cm (48-54in) in height. Think Like a Rabbit. Ramsey County Minnesota. Rabbits chew the barks of trees, ornamental plants, and shrubs. Bookmark. Rabbits eating garden Question: ... Landscaped yards provide excellent rabbit habitats, accounting for the prevalence of rabbits in most suburban and urban areas. It may look crazy, but it works. In the spring, the clematis would grow waist high, then the leaves and stems would be dead. Oven racks. Coffee filter. They are herbivores, which means they eat plants. Their diet includes grass and shrubs, willows and oaks, forest and garden berries, parsley and even coriander. Homeowners can find creative ways to prevent rabbits from eating their grass, including fences and foul-smelling products. What to Use to Keep Rabbits From Eating Your Cherry Trees. Trees. The challenge with rabbits is to simply keep them from eating the things you don't want them to eat. Slender deutzia (Deutzia gracilis) is a sun- or light-shade-loving deciduous shrub that bears clusters of small, fragrant, bell-shaped flowers in late spring. Learning how to keep rabbits from eating the lawn or garden can seem impossible. Rabbit damage on twigs and shrubs appear as clean cuts at a 45 degree angle. What Can You Do To Control Rabbits . Will these shrubs regenerate? Commercially processed animal blood. Start forking your garden to prevent those big tooth eaters from eating away your food. Should I worry about rabbits eating the bark on my trees? Rabbits will eat some shrubs and not others it depends on their taste. Do I need to do anything to encourage regrowth? If yes, will these shrubs no longer get eaten if I protect them when young and leave exposed when older? There are no applications that will mitigate the effects of rabbit damage or save severely damaged trees. They are made of metal or plastic and can be easily cut to use as a DIY around the house. Rabbits happily nibble on any plant they can find, which often means wreaking havoc on your vegetables in summer. One thing rabbits must spend a lot of time thinking about is making more bunnies. They are active year round, feeding in the summer on succulent green plants and in the winter on buds, twigs, and bark of trees and shrubs. i have put moth balls around the base. I've since wrapped all the trees with chicken wire which seems to be working but I have a dozen or so shrubs that I'm not sure what to do with. Only time will tell. Occasionally, rabbits eat the growing plants in home gardens. Rabbits do breed very rapidly, and if you allow a family to live in or near your yard, you can soon have a much bigger problem. Some of them even consume fir-needles. Deer, rabbits, squirrels, and most animals are discouraged by aromatic plants like strong herbs (basil, rosemary); plants with spines like Prickly Pear; plants with tough leaves (lamb’s ear); or plants with milky sap, like Milkweed. So as with any counterintelligence effort, let's start by getting to know the other guy. Depending on the species, these may be 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch in size. Plants Rabbits Will Eat. Recently, my husband and I were babysitting my cousin's kids, so we dusted off my husband's complete set of Looney Tunes DVD's and put it on to watch. Sheds, porches, and low decks are another favorite spot, for hiding and burrowing. Use these deterrent plants near your more tempting plants and animals may leave them alone. Q: My eunoymous shrubs were completely eaten by rabbits over the winter. Plant flowers known to repel rabbits around your impatiens. Garlic powder. Goldenberry Northeast, IL(Zone 5b) Apr 02, 2008. Cayenne pepper. I hate those rabbits, they started eating on shrubs before we had any snow - and then they ate stuff they normally don't even touch. “This year I have seen more rabbit damage in lawns than ever before,” Jeff Disler, plant health care consultant. Do be sure to keep them watered. It seems the over population of deer is altering the ecosystem in the parks. The only answer is a fence, we have wild rabbits visiting our garden and have tried various plants which "rabbits never eat" but all have been nibbled to some extent. To think I ran out and … Flowering shrubs add much to the ornamental garden, and some repel rabbits. How do you keep rabbits from eating your shrubs? Rabbits can cause considerable damage to trees and shrubs in the winter and are active primarily at night. It is also equally great if you have a cat that likes to dig. The bottom 30cm (1ft) is sunk below ground level, with the lower 15cm (6in) bent outwards to stop rabbits tunnelling underneath. Teddy12b Senior Member Posts: 112 Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2013 9:12 pm Location: North East Indiana. Post #4745638. Today he shares two tips on how he deals with rabbits. Some methods to keep rabbits from eating your plants are listed below. Rabbit Repellent: How to Stop Rabbits from Eating Your Plants A rabbit will surely try almond, apple, cherry, plum, pistachio, strawberry and raspberry, if it will be able to reach them. There are countless inter-related variables affecting what rabbits will eat in any given year. All growth above the girdled areas will eventually die and for most home gardeners, replacing the girdled trees is the best course of action. Pets with run of the landscape can also be good for deterring rabbits. The first step is to determine if it is rabbits eating your garden by looking at the evidence. If the damage is above two feet from the ground, it is more likely from a deer. Euonymus Shrubs Eaten By Rabbits. Any suggestions about rabbit … Mon Sep 23, 2013 6:47 pm. This may not be a convenient solution to the rabbits eating your plants, but having a dog that spends a lot of time out in the yard can be an effective deterrent. 3 Responses to “Stop Rabbits (and Deer) from Eating Shrubs in Winter” Shirley Weese Young Says: January 24th, 2010 at 4:36 pm. Hardware cloth could be used to wrap it around the bases of trees and shrubs to get rabbits away from digging the holes. I learned two things from this. Ask Login. Image credit: maydreamsgardens.com. Succulent vegetables, colorful flowers, and woody trees and shrubs can provide a buffet for a hungry rabbit. A variety of annuals, perennials, shrubs and ground covers are known to sometimes keep rabbits away. 5 Answers. Q: Rabbits had a feast on some of my newly planted shrubs over the winter, especially viburnums and a dwarf variegated abelia. Relevance. Traps (cage) Rabbit-resistant plants. Rabbits reproduce at an extremely fast pace. The first tip is how Krebs uses wire mesh to protect his clematis. Forget-me-nots, asters, vinca and rosemary, among others, are often effective in preventing rabbits from getting near and destroying impatiens. Rabbit Resistant Perennials and Shrubs. Rabbits hop but they don’t jump very high, so a 2-foot fence can keep them out. This summer, Ron Krebs of Lancaster told us how he filled his landscape with trees and shrubs he picked out of the trash. How to stop rabbits from eating shrubs and trees They've completely devoured a couple small shrubs and the lower branches on a tree. Use chicken wire or “rabbit wire” that has smaller openings near the ground. The rabbits have just decimated the bark of all 5 of my Hemlocks and 2 Chamaecyparis and and are now starting on the yew hedge, the … “Especially in south … Chicken fence. Rabbits usually enter gardens from adjoining common land, farms or woods. New Posts; Logout; Register; Should I worry about rabbits eating the bark on my trees? If they are always at risk, is there a different hardy, native fruit bearing shrub that I can grow that will not entice rabbits (and deer)? Muddylou, I never equated crows with rabbit control until I saw a crow attack a baby rabbit. They love eating. I mainly worry about trees having any permanent damage. The park system in Cleveland, Ohio has had so many problems with deer eating all of the under brush in the parks that they claim the rest of the creatures that inhabit the parks are in danger. 12 posts • Page 1 of 1. It is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. #2 Offer a Hot Treat. Where this is the case, the erection of rabbit-proof fences and gates should be considered. How to Keep Rabbits From Eating Outdoor Plants. Here is our list of 20 ways to deter rabbits from eating your garden #1 Fork and Beans. Favorite Answer. This requires more brains than brawn. Various Methods. 1 decade ago. Image credit: buzzle.com. Some are questionable while others work very well to get rid of rabbits. As for vegetables, they prefer broccoli, beets, beans and carrots, peas and lettuce. It can be quite cumbersome to sift through the seemingly endless amount of rabbit deterrents on the market. Is this a case of rabbits eating tasty young branches? Deer? There are many methods, suggestions and home remedies available to control rabbits and get rid of them in your garden. Spray bottle. Today we will be teaching you how to keep rabbits away from the garden! How to Keep Rabbits Away from the Garden: Stop Rabbits from Eating Plants! Also, help answer other questions about General Gardening and Garden Pest Control, and plants at GardeningKnowHow.com Aside from grass, they’ll munch on young, tender veggies, annuals and perennials and the stems of low-growing shrubs and young, thin-barked trees. Dish washing soap . Any ideas to discourage rabbits? One very reliable sign of marauding rabbits is when you see the area scattered with coarse, round, fecal pellets—the scat (poop) of rabbits. 1 Response. Help answer a question about rabbits eating shrubs - Gardening Know How Questions & Answers. Trees, Shrubs, and Hedges. Hardware cloth is a small, sturdy mesh sized product, available in rolls at the local hardware stores. 5 – Get a Dog. Anonymous. 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