How to Keep Rabbits Out of Your Garden

Rabbits may famously be known for nibbling their way through a carrot patch, but a bunch of bunnies can wreak a lot more havoc than that on your garden. So it's no surprise that pretty much anyone with a yard seeks out tips for how to keep rabbits out of the garden.

Fortunately, there are strategies you can use to help keep your precious plants from becoming your neighborhood rabbits' next feast. Try these expert-tested strategies to help keep rabbits out of your garden for good.

What Do Rabbits Damage in the Garden?

The short answer: Rabbits can do a lot more damage in your garden than you'd expect. They can gnaw away bark and snap off small lower branches from trees and shrubs—including berry bushes and fruit and nut trees, which can lead to major damage to them. Rabbits are also known to chew away the leaves and sprouts from plants and flowers, and of course, enjoy some of your vegetable garden—particularly peas, beans, beets, and carrots. If you love to plant spring bulbs, look out, as tulip bulbs and sprouts are a particular favorite, as are crocuses.

Rabbits also need to gnaw to grind their teeth down—and may end up chewing at wood or plastic fences—or even parts of your house.

How to Plant a Rabbit-Resistant Garden

One strategy for ensuring your garden doesn't become a bunny smorgasbord: Don't put out a spread of all their favorite plants. Your plant selections can be a big factor in whether your garden thrives despite bunny interference.

Surround their favorite plants with deterrent plants

If the rabbits tear into your lettuce or nibble on your tulips, planting flowers and plants that they hate could help keep them at bay. Rooney says that plants with a strong fragrance, such as cilantro, parsley, creeping thyme, lemon balm, lavender, and mint can help protect your plants. Marigolds, onions, and alliums are also undesirable to rabbits.

But the secret is to plant deterrent plants en masse. "Plant them close together, so they make a statement," says Theresa Rooney, master gardener for Hennepin County in Minnesota and author of The Guide to Humane Critter Control: Natural, Nontoxic Pest Solutions to Protect Your Yard and Garden. "If you plant one marigold every foot, they can hop right in between marigolds and get to your lettuces. If you plant them closer together, it's more of a fragrance barrier."

Skip plants you know they'll feast on

Yeah, you may love tulips and crocuses, but picking bulbs and blooms that rabbits actively dislike could make it more likely that you get to see them bloom. Try daffodils, hyacinth, and snowdrops—and of course, all the deterrent plants listed above are beautiful and won't get nibbled by rabbits.

Some other flowers that rabbits love to eat include hostas, impatiens, and roses—so you'll need to protect them well.

Opt for native plants

Native plants may be palatable to many pollinators and other wildlife, but Rooney says that they're old news (and so not as enticing) for rabbits. "Those will be less palatable since they’ve all evolved together," Rooney says.

Rooney says that doesn't mean that you have to forgo new varietals and rabbit favorites entirely. "If there's a brand new rose you love, go ahead and plant it—just remember to protect it."

How to Keep Rabbits Out of Your Garden

Keeping rabbits away from your garden can allow you to enjoy all the plants you love, without worrying they'll get eaten. The secret to keeping rabbits out of the garden, Rooney says, is to think like a bunny. "If things are easy to get to, they’ll eat it. Rabbits are out there 24/7, and you're not."

Install chicken wire and fencing

Chicken wire and fencing can be your best friend by keeping the rabbits at bay. "Real gardeners use chicken wire," Rooney says. "It's so much easier to fence them out." She recommends installing fences around bulbs when you plant them in the fall, and the trunks of trees and shrubs. Fencing should be at least two feet tall to prevent fence hopping.

Opt for raised beds

Raised beds are another option for putting a barrier between your garden and your rabbit neighbors. Look for the taller beds, as shorter ones can not only be easy for rabbit to hop into—they may actually provide a safe little spot for a nest.

Plant a clover lawn

Clover lawns are beneficial for so many reasons—they're easy to care for, enrich the soil, and feed pollinators. And they're also a mainstay of a rabbit's diet, so planting a clover lawn will encourage the rabbits to nibble there (and not on your prized petunias).

Try some of the other rabbit deterrents

Temporary deterrents can be strong smells, such as blood meal or fox urine; fear-inducing visual deterrents like owl figurines, strips of mylar, tin pie pans, or pinwheels; or even motion detectors that set off water sprinklers or flashing lights when an animal gets close.

Mix up your game

Putting out an owl figurine can be effective—but eventually, even the dumbest bunny will realize that the owl hasn't moved for a few days. "It'll work for a little while, but then they’re going to get used to it," Rooney says. "Move it around, take it away for week or so, or use something different instead. That keeps them unsettled—and you don’t want them to get complacent."

Use a multi-layered approach

The more barriers you put up for the bunnies, the more likely that your plants will thrive. So go ahead and place the chicken wire cloche over your tulips, plant daffodils around them, and sow yourself a clover lawn far away from your bulb garden to keep them distracted. "They have a limited amount of energy," Rooney says. "If it's too difficult to get that food, they're going to go someplace where they know there’s food."