How can I stop my naughty rabbit eating my plants?!

lauranurse

I have a spoilt little rabbit who likes to run free around my garden when it isnt raining. I dont let her out when Im not there, and I do try and keep an eye on her, but she is obsessed with eating some new plants I have bought, and every time I chase her away she is back again 2 seconds later!

At the moment, it is mainly campanula and aubretia she is munching on, but I have been growing some other stuff, including cosmos to plant out later and last time I did this the rabbit I had at that time ate the head off of every single one!

I have seen some stuff called "grazers" that is supposed to deter rabbits but is harmless to them, but I have only seen it in a massive bottle which was quite expensive, especially as I dont know whether it would work! Has anyone used it successfully?

Or does anyone know of anything else that will stop her munching?

Putting her in a caged run is not an option as she is so happy when she runs free, and I would hate to have to put her in such a small space just to save the plants!

Thanks for your help!

Rummer

Instead of putting her in a run could you put a removable shield round the plants like garden netting or use cloches when your girl is out in the garden just to protect your plants?

potsofmoney_(I_wish)

I have exactly the same problem. My bunny is free range in the day and has discovered my new herb garden and enjoyed some newly planted sweet peas. I have been trying to barricade new plants with a little success. It is frustrating as I love seeing him run around but I am very protective of my garden, I can sympathise with Farmer Mcgregor in Peter Rabbit! Good luck.

Lotus-eater

lauranurse wrote: »

I have a spoilt little rabbit who likes to run free around my garden when it isnt raining. I dont let her out when Im not there, and I do try and keep an eye on her, but she is obsessed with eating some new plants I have bought, and every time I chase her away she is back again 2 seconds later!

I'm going to be harsh here and probably get moaned at for doing it, but realistically what do you expect to be told? You have an animal that eats the things you are trying to grow, either get rid of one of them or stop the two meeting.
You could try that grazer stuff, let us know if it works if you do.

Alias_Omega

We have a free range rabbit, to the point that the hutch is open 24/7 and he runs around the garden. The problem we have is that all the plants we bought, have all gone, it got to the point that he was eating the roots too. So now we are flowerless.

The good news is that he eats the broad dock leafs & dandi-lions we get.

The down-side to this is the amount of poop it puts out, and its always in the same place. In the middle of the lawn. So we have to brush it off the grass with a stiff yard brush.

kazwookie

get some fencing around your plant beds.

lauranurse

Alias_Omega wrote: »

We have a free range rabbit, to the point that the hutch is open 24/7 and he runs around the garden. The problem we have is that all the plants we bought, have all gone, it got to the point that he was eating the roots too. So now we are flowerless.

The good news is that he eats the broad dock leafs & dandi-lions we get.

The down-side to this is the amount of poop it puts out, and its always in the same place. In the middle of the lawn. So we have to brush it off the grass with a stiff yard brush.

Lol, we dont have that problem really as the garden is so big!

I used to have a problem with escaping rabbits though, I had two and they were such a naughty pair, they made me think of the chickens on chicken run! One would keep watch for me coming while the other dug a hole under the fence into the industrial estate behind my house! Then they would both disappear - I lost count of the hours I spent chasing bunnies in there! They were friendly in the garden but once they got a smell of the great outdoors they wouldnt come near me lol! This one doesnt dig luckily!

I am tempted to buy some of the grazers stuff, it is £13 though which is quite a lot to fork out on something that might not work! Hasnt anyone used it?

Lotus-eater

If your garden is so big, why don't you fence off a nice big area for the rabbit to play in?

chinup_3

show it the frying pan,bag of flour, bag carrots etc- soon get the message [very bright rabbits...unlike humans apparently]

theoretica

Do you have any cheap pepper sauce around? I wonder what that would do put on the plants.

tanith

Please take care when allowing your rabbits free run of your gardens... my daughter keeps rabbits and has bred them but has even had to stop putting them out in a run unless she is sat right beside them as a fox jumped her 5' garden fence , bit through the wire of the run and badly injured one of her does , she had to rush it to the vet to be put down... this happened at lunch time in broad daylight..Foxes will easily jump fences and kill rabbits , several times foxes have been in the garden whilst she is in the conservatory, trying to get into her rabbit house where she keeps them safely locked in their hutches... this was in West London in a very built up area by the way...