Nothing brings out your inner Elmer Fudd more than seeing a meticulously planted bulb garden picked clean by marauding bunnies. Here are some things you can do to so you won’t be singing “Kill Da Wabbit! Kill Da Wabbit!” come springtime.
Plant Resistant Bulbs Here we must emphatically repeat the caveat that no plant is completely "rabbit-proof." Hungry animals are determined and unpredictable. If other food is scarce, rabbits will scarf just about anything they can get their mitts on. But there are some types of bulbs that the critters tend to avoid more than others. These bulbs are unpallatable for a variety of reasons – some like, allium (which is a member of the onion family) have an unpleasant smell, some are bitter and some are even poisonous. Choosing these bulbs, or at lease mixing a few in with your tulips (a favorite rabbit snack), can help keep those bothersome bunnies out.
Repellent The traditional rabbit repellent for bulbs is bone meal or blood meal. This not only deters rabbits (the smell of processed bone and blood send the message “Danger”) it also helps add beneficial nutrients and organic material to the soil to help your bulbs thrive.
If you haven’t had luck with bone meal, there are a variety of other natural and organic repellents. Most repel rabbits by taste, touch, smell or sometimes all three. Some natural repellents our customers have found effective include such lovely ingredients as castor oil, predator urine and a little thing called putrescent egg solids. Sure sound repellent to us!
Fencing You know what they say, “good fences make good neighbors.” If those pesky rabbits can’t be persuaded to leave, you might consider fencing in your bulb garden. A small fence of chicken wire 4’ high is usually enough to thwart any hungry hares. Choose wire with holes that are are smaller than a rabbit’s head because they can squeeze through small spaces. And be sure to bury the wire at least 6” underground to deter rabbits from burrowing underneath.