Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
macnang

Rabbits vs. bulbs

macnang
18 years ago

We get quite a few rabbits in our yard during the winter and early spring. Last year, they ate the tops off of my irises. This year I have added daffodills and I am worried about them destroying those as well. Any sugestions for warding them off before they start nibbling on the new sprouts?

Comments (15)

  • lizzyvann
    18 years ago

    I'm actually on my way to the nursery to get something for this exact problem. I use a spray--I think it's called "Ro-pel" and spray all new growth. Doesn't harm the plant and coats it with something that tastes terrible to the bunnies (and whoever else!) This product has worked very well for me in previous years. I reapply it every 2 weeks or so. One bottle usually lasts me one season. Once I'm back from the store today I will repost if "Ro-pel" isn't the name of the product. Good luck! Lizzy

  • remy_gw
    18 years ago

    Hi, They may drive you crazy eating tulip foliage and other plants, but they won't touch your daffodils.

  • macnang
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I have never seen "Ro-pel." It is available in nurseries?

  • lizzyvann
    18 years ago

    Yes, I've bought it at the nursery before. Couldn't find any today though, so I bought a Green Earth product for bunny and critter repellent. Hope it works! Found a few chomped on tulips yesterday morning. I also sprayed my honeysuckle and virginia creeper which they'd been pruning for me...

  • callalilykris
    18 years ago

    I use Liquid Fence to keep rabbits away from my plants and it works great! Our local news station did a review on it and they found that rabbits would not cross the boundary where they had sprayed it. It smells really bad (eggs and garlic) but the odor doesn't linger, at least to the human nose. The Liquid Fence Plus has a fertilizer in it that encourages plant growth. Try it!

  • jessay3
    18 years ago

    I was looking for something to prevent rabbits from eating my glads! They have eaten almost all the shoots off of them! Thanks for the great advice!

    Jessie

  • macnang
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I haven't been able to find Ropel or Liquid Fence. (But then, in the boondocks where I live, it's often hard to find a lot of things.) I did see something interesting on the Weather Channel, however. They said to make a tea out of garlic cloves, hot pepper flakes, and hot water. You let it steep for a week, then add a couple of drops of dish soap, and spray it on the foliage. I think I'll give it a try. We'll see what happens...

  • pitimpinai
    18 years ago

    I sprinkle bloodmeal around the bulb shoots to keep rabbits and squirrels from munching them. It worked well for me last year. I have been doing that ever since I saw any tulips coming up.

  • kath_inseastpa
    18 years ago

    Does it make sense that the rabbits are only chewing on the shoots of newly planted crocus and daffodils and leaving alone the shoots of daffodils, tulips, croci that are 15 years old and 8 feet away? It makes me hesitant to plant anything new . . .

  • lizzyvann
    18 years ago

    Doesn't make sense to me....For one thing daffs are poisonous to the critters so I've never seen them chewed before. I've never had them ignore "food" in my gardens because it was planted years earlier than other things. They DO much prefer new growth--meaning the shoots themselves are new, not the planting.

  • pitimpinai
    18 years ago

    Last year squirrels chewed up every new shoot that came up including Daffodils and Colchicum. They also dug up any newly planted bulbs. Rabbits went for tulips and crocus shoots. This year I was a bit late applying bloodmeal, so a few tulips had been chopped off. I have been sprinkling bloodmeal a few times now, so, so far so good. No new damage.

  • janetr
    18 years ago

    I've had daffs chewed by squirrels before. Just enough for them to find out they didn't like them and to ruin the flowers.

  • kath_inseastpa
    18 years ago

    Thanks for the tip PITIM. I bought my bloodmeal today - will be sprinkling it tomorrow.

  • oak_st
    18 years ago

    Rabbits eat almost everything in my garden, not just bulbs. I have to use actual fences. I use the stuff that comes in a roll and stands up by itself.
    Marianne

  • lifelover1972
    17 years ago

    I intermix dwarf daffodils with my other bulbs and then hang vented bottles filled with predator urine. This works very well for me. Last year I lost nearly everything to our crackhead squirrils and rabbits. This year I only lost 1 tulip.

Sponsored
Closet America
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars133 Reviews
Northern Virginia, Baltimore & DC Metro's Closet Organization Company