Getting Rid of Nuisance Rabbits

Getting Rid of Nuisance Rabbits

Rabbits can be extremely destructive to outside property, whether it is eating your flowers and vegetables, or burrowing under the stairs of your deck. There are a number of safe and humane ways to get rid of rabbits without posing a threat to your own pets.

Remove Areas of Shelter

Rabbits will burrow and hide in places the provide shelter from the elements and from predators. Trimming long grasses and weeds, and other places where vegetation may provide good hiding and resting places is a good first step toward discouraging rabbits away from your property:

• Keep your lawn mowed and raked, pay attention to the edges and use a trimmer if needed.
• Don’t allow areas of weeks to become overgrown
• Trim bushes away from the ground
• Clean up piles of branches and other things that can provide shelter

If you can identify rabbit holes, fill them with gravel and make sure they are rabbit inhabitable as possible by removing long grasses or other items that may provide any protection to the burrows.
They may be cute, but some of the damage rabbits cause includes:

• Eating flowers
• Eating grass, clover, and almost any ground cover
• Eating vegetable gardens including lettuce, beans, and carrots
• Digging in your yard
• Chewing on woody branches, wood furniture, or wood decks to keep their teeth short

Controlling Rabbits

There are a variety of ways to get rid of rabbits, once you have eliminated areas of shelter and tried to eliminate food sources. Depending on how many rabbits there are, a few of the methods combined is probably the most effective way to get rid of them for good.

Rabbit Repellent

A couple different types of rabbit repellent are available for purchase and can be very effective when used properly. Most repellents use odor and taste to repel the deter rabbits from your yard:

Spray Repellents – Rabbit MACE spray on repellents for rabbits can be applied directly onto plants that they have been eating. Repellents with active ingredients like pepper or citrus are safe to use on food plants, but may alter the taste, so read instructions.

Granular Repellent- Rabbit MACEgranular products with the same active ingredients as liquid sprays are also available, and can be sprinkled in wider areas on the property or garden perimeter to keep rabbits out of

Used in combination, the methods outlined above should safely and quickly rid any yard of nuisance rabbits in a safe and humane way.