Sauk County Gardener: Deterring rabbits, deer from your garden
“This is a fierce bad rabbit look at his savage whiskers, and his claws and his turned up tail.” ~Beatrix Potter
A couple years ago, I went to Holland, MI with family to their annual Tulip Dig. It was a chance to get a large quantity of tulip bulbs for a very low price. Holland has their annual Tulip Festival around the first weekend of May. The tulip dig is a month later and participants can dig tulips that bloomed during the festival in designated public gardens to be replanted in their gardens. For the low cost of $10 per five-gallon bucket, you could dig as many bulbs as you wanted to fit in your bucket (we brought several buckets). We piled garden forks, buckets, and ourselves into our big truck and drove six-plus hours to Holland. They promised a “shot-gun start” so I was excited about the idea of a bunch of people racing toward tulip fields armed with pitchforks and shovels. I was sure I would win the race – I am quite competitive. It turned out that there wasn’t a race with pitchforks (we got to line up at the end of tulip row and stake out what row we wanted to dig in first), but I ended up with ten five-gallon buckets of a variety of beautiful tulips. At home, I dried and sorted them by color and then later that fall, planted over 1,000 tulip bulbs. Last spring, my garden looked like my own version of Tulip Fest – I was so happy.
This year was a different story. I live where there are lots of bunnies and deer and I noticed that something had been sampling my tulips and other garden plants. I knew we had to address the problem, but I thought I had more time. Unfortunately, that evening, I swear the entire bunny population in Sauk County came and ate off most of my tulips. No mini-Tulip Fest at my house this year.
I hope you learn from my mistake. It’s important to take action BEFORE you see nibbling on your garden plants. There are several options you can consider depending on your situation. First, determine what you are dealing with. Deer don’t have upper teeth so they will tend to tear the leaves and the stems will have a ragged cut. They may also leave hoof marks and larger scat in your garden as well. Rabbits will make a clean 45-degree cut and will have smaller scat.
Consider installing a garden fence. If your problem is rabbits, it doesn’t have to be very tall as they can’t jump high. A one- to-two-foot-high fence should be enough. Don’t ignore the bottom though, as bunnies will crawl under. Deterring deer is similar except if you decide to use a fence, you’ll need a much higher fence.
If you have individual plants, you can create smaller individual cages to stop the bunnies from nibbling. You’ll have to protect the tops if your problem is deer. Planting in raised beds and taller containers can also protect your seedlings and garden plants from rabbits.
Rabbits and deer have sensitive noses, so you consider using repellants such as predator urine, blood meal, or a liquid fence. This may be a better option if you have large areas to protect and fences are not an affordable option. These products do have to be reapplied every so often and after rain, but they can cover a larger area quickly and more easily. Read the labels carefully, especially if you have children or pets that roam freely through your yard. There are a variety of home remedies that folks will use; if you decide to go this route, try it in small amounts and make sure you’re not adding something harmful to your soil.
In years past, I used mothballs. However, I’ve since learned they are harmful to pets and young children and the chemicals can leech into the soil. I have a 1-year-old grandson and a dog, and I don’t want either of them to accidentally ingest a mothball. My husband found an organic liquid fence product that works well for both deer and rabbits, but only when we remember to use it.
Deer and rabbits dislike flowers and other plants that are strongly scented or have a fuzzy feeling foliage.
They may sample your plant, but they probably won’t eat the entire plant. My squash was on the outer perimeter of my raised garden last year and the deer avoided my garden after a couple bites. Visit https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0145/8808/4272/files/A3727.pdf for a list of plants that deer tend to dislike. Cats and dogs can also help keep deer and rabbits at bay if you are able to let them roam freely in your yard. Finally, you can decide to just learn to live with the deer and rabbits and maybe even plant some things they really like. I greatly dislike having them eat my prized tulips, but I enjoy watching theme eat the clover in my yard.
Remember to contact Extension Sauk County if you have any gardening questions. Please send an email to haley.weisert@saukcountywi.gov or call the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Sauk County office at 608-355-3250.
Jeannie Manis is president of the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association (SCMGA).
