Rabbits are cute little creatures that children and adults find adorable.
They make great pets and produce cute and playful kittens.
However, bunnies might not be your buddies if you grow crops. Rabbits are voracious feeders that can destroy an entire field.
Since rabbits produce good meat and reproduce fast, killing them is nonsensical and wasteful.
It’s also inhumane. Unlike other farm pests, harmless methods are the best way to get rid of rabbits.
Luckily – There are several remedies for destructive rabbits, and you don’t have to kill them. Here’s how to eliminate rabbits without killing them.
Table of Contents
Natural Repellents
The most effective way of eliminating rabbits from your farm without causing injury or death is by using natural repellents.
These are substances that deter rabbits through their scent or taste.
Most are non-toxic to humans and animals, reducing the risk of food poisoning.
It’s worth noting that rabbits have a sharp sense of smell. As a result, most natural repellents work by producing unpleasant odors.
The following are examples of the best natural rabbit repellents.
Coffee Grounds
Most people love the smell of brewing coffee.
However, it’s unpleasant to many farm pests, including ants and rabbits.
Coffee grounds are easy to access and can help fight rabbit infestations. You only need to scatter the coffee around and see immediate results.
Chili Powder
Chili powder is a potent natural rabbit repellent. Besides its hot taste, it has a strong scent.
So whenever rabbits invade your farm, the stinging chili scent ensures they don’t attack your crop.
Add chili powder to your plant’s leaves and fruits to keep rabbits away.
You can also sprinkle some into the mulch so that rabbits don’t track the plants’ lower parts.
Chili and Garlic
Alternatively, you can combine chilies with garlic to make a more powerful rabbit repellent.
You must use chili fruits and ground garlic cloves or garlic powder here.
Then, mix them in water and leave the mixture for two days.
After the second day, pour the mixture into a spray bottle and head to your garden. Spray the mixture such that it soaks the leaves.
Its sharp smell is enough to keep rabbits away. You can add washing detergent to the mixture to make it more potent.
Eggs and Garlic
The smell of eggs irritates rabbits.
You can capitalize on this by using eggs as a deterrent against rabbit attacks on your farm.
Break and whisk a few eggs in a big bowl. You can add some garlic powder to strengthen the smell.
Then, pour the mixture into smaller bowls and distribute them across your garden.
Heads Up! Please avoid pouring the beaten eggs onto the soil since this results in loss of smell.
Onions
Onions are infamous for making people cry.
They also have a pronounced smell that irritates humans and rabbits. However, you can peel a few bulb onions and scatter them around your garden.
Alternatively – You can plant a few onions around the rest of your crop. Growing onions are as effective as peeled ones in keeping rabbits at bay.
Also, planting is convenient because you won’t have to apply repellents repeatedly.
Vinegar
Vinegar is an excellent rabbit deterrent.
You can use it to eliminate the rabbit problem in your garden. However, its application is different from other repellents.
Experts advise against spraying vinegar on plants, as it harms some species.
Instead, soak dry maize cobs in vinegar and scatter them around the garden. This will get rid of rabbits.
Commercial Repellents
Consider commercial options if you don’t have the time or resources to prepare natural repellents.
These are readily available at your local pest control dealership. You can also order them online.
Like natural repellents, commercial options rely on rabbits’ acute sense of smell to function.
As a result, they produce unpleasant odors that deter the pests from attacking your garden.
Despite their effectiveness, commercial repellents have some disadvantages.
First, the scent might be too intense that it affects your crops’ aroma and flavor.
Sometimes, it might contain harmful chemicals that cause food poisoning and other stomach complications.
Generally – Water-soluble repellents are easier to use than other types. However, their effects wane faster because of irrigation or rainwater.
Always adhere to the instructions when applying commercial repellents. More importantly, be consistent with the application to get desirable results.
Motion Sensors
Rabbits are targets for many predators due to their tiny bodies.
Examples of animals that prey on bunnies are badgers, dogs, hawks, owls, raccoons, and snakes.
To protect themselves against these predators, rabbits have strong senses.
They have excellent vision and a superior sense of smell and sound. Imitating a predator can trick a rabbit into running away as a farmer.
You can mimic a predator by providing stimuli that trigger the rabbit’s senses. The best equipment for this mimicry is a motion sensor.
When installed, a motion sensor detects the animal’s movement and triggers deterrent stimuli.
Most motion detectors produce a sound or switch on lights. However, motion-activated sprinklers are the best in fighting against rabbits.
Once a rabbit enters your garden, the sensor activates a sprinkler that sprays cold water on the unwanted animals.
The unexpected showers prompt the rabbits to panic and flee. Unfortunately, light and sound-based motion sensors are unsuitable because they distract humans.
Install a Fence
Fencing your garden prevents rabbits from entering and attacking your crops.
When choosing a fence, ensure a rabbit can go through its openings.
It should be 4 feet high during installation, so the animals can’t jump over it. More importantly, bury its base ½ foot into the ground.
Chicken wires fences are ideal because they have small openings. If you have more money, you can install a wooden fence. Walls act as a barrier that prevents rabbits from accessing your garden.
It’s worth noting that rabbits don’t usually go far from their shelter. So if your garden is prone to their attacks, it means that they live nearby.
After erecting a fence, inspect your farm surroundings for rabbit holes and fill them.
In Addition – Seal any holes and gaps in structures close to your farm. Rabbits tend to relocate to such areas when you destroy their primary habitats.
If you don’t block such places, they’ll breed and become an intractable problem to your garden.
Live Traps
Live traps curb rabbit attacks through restraint – they restrict the animal until you free it.
Traps are easy to build using everyday household items like wood, wire mesh, and nails.
Buy a readymade unit from your local pest control dealership if you can’t make one.
After acquiring a trap, you’ll need bait.
The most obvious bait choices are:
- carrots
- cucumber
- raspberries
You can also use herbs to lure the bunnies.
Next, you’ll need to set the trap and bait in areas accessible to rabbits. The bait will lure them, and the trap triggers the spring door to shut once they reach it.
Once the trap shuts, the rabbit can’t run away.
Trapping is an effective way of curbing rabbit destruction without killing the animals.
Dogs
As mentioned earlier, rabbits have a superb sense of hearing and respond to the slightest noise.
Therefore, a dog’s bark can scare them from entering your garden and destroying crops.
Moreover, dogs prey on rabbits, which makes the animals terrified of their presence.
However, dogs aren’t entirely reliable as a rabbit deterrent.
Barking can only scrape away the pests for some time.
Dogs Tire Quickly – And that’s when rabbits capitalize and attack your crops. They also sleep at night and can’t precisely recognize the scent of rabbits.
Regardless, dogs are among the most convenient ways of preventing rabbit attacks.
This is because most people have them, and it’s an excellent way of keeping them active.
Compound Hygiene
Rabbits are relatively intelligent animals that know how to hide from human beings and potential predators.
They like hiding in tall grass, holes, and abandoned structures.
If your compound has these, rabbits will likely convert them into hiding spots, putting your garden at a higher risk of attack.
You won’t notice their presence until they damage your crop.
It’s essential to keep your compound clean. Ensure that the grass never grows more than an inch above the ground.
Clear any overgrown bushes and get rid of anthills and abandoned sheds. By removing these potential hiding spots, rabbits won’t feel comfortable roaming around your yard.
Wrapping Up
Prevention is always better than treatment. The ideal way to deal with rabbits is by making your surroundings unsuitable for survival.
Ensure that your compound has mowed grass and is free of overgrown bushes. If holes are present, seal them.
Once you apply the preventive measures, you can start using repellents, dogs, traps, and fences.
It’ll be much easier to control the rabbits since only a few can travel the distance from their habitat to your garden.
