I'm not familiar with a spray recipe, but couldn't you substitute powdered cayenne pepper (from the spice aisle)? I have read that just sprinkling cayenne pepper around your plants will deter rabbits because they "snuffle" along the ground while grazing and they sniff up the pepper.

I'm too soft-hearted to do this myself, but then my current yard has no rabbits. I might feel differently if they were eating my beautiful coneflowers!

I am sure you maen "cayenne" pepper.....lots hotter than Jalapeno...
Buy some red pepper flakes...or habaneros or pequinos in the Mexican fresh foods department....
Woosh it up in your blender ....a few peppers in about 2 cups of water....add an egg white to make it stick.....strain it well so it doesn't clog the sprayer and spray it on your plants.
BUT...blood meal sprinkled about every 4 or 5 days or after a rain is a lot easier,cheaper and is also good for your plants.
Linda C

Yes... I meant cayenne pepper. Is there such a pepper or is this just in seed/powder form? Researching it a bit just now it seems to be a spice, not a fresh pepper.

I have been wondering about blood meal in that it states 12 for nitrogen. I read here on the forum that nitrogen is not necessarily a good thing for perrenials and that it can stop flowers from forming. Is this possible with spreading blood meal every few days?

Okay... the wife is ready to shoot me! I decided to boil the pepper and garlic mixture for a while and now the house stinks! Her eyes were burning her last night too.

Last night I sprayed the leaves of my perrenials and sprinkled blood meal all around the garden. This morning I look out and there is a rabbit right in the middle of the garden. He saw me looking and was a little nervous. He then looked like he took a nibble of a leaf and then booked. Not sure if I was making him nervous or if he did not like the taste of the leaf.

Time will tell.

Ken

Yes there is a cayenne pepper, but you might have to look for dried ones in the ethnic food area of the grocery store. I rarely see fresh ones except at a really big produce market, or a store with lots of ethnic foods.

Blood meal is a nitrogen source, but it works pretty slowly, so it shouldn't affect flowering. And if you are using a ton of it, I would conclude it's not too effective against rabbits and try something else.

Thanks Colleen mi,

I'll continue to look for cayenne pepper then.

I have a feeling the blood meal is not doing a great job as I have seen rabbits eating right where I put the stuff, but this year they are doing less damage than last and the only thing I have done different, other than now trying the pepper spray, is the blood meal, so perhaps it is helping a bit.

And if you have a dog, sprinkling blood meal around your plants is an invitation to the dog to nose in and trample them.

Cayenne pepper can be found super cheap in places like CVS or Walmart. Comes in big containers too. It is the powdered version of the hot pepper flakes one sprinkles on spaghetti or pizza.

Excellent recipe to repel dogs, racoons, skunks, cats, rabbits...heck any animal with a nose :) (recipe to be used OUTSIDE only...gardens...etc)

1 gallon of water
1 bottle of cayenne pepper (from the spice rack)
cap of dish soap

Mix it in a spray bottle, leave it for 12 hours then spray all around the area where you don't want animals to go. Spray after each rain, works wonderfully! and is cheap to make.

good luck

xroads == will this receipe work with chipmunks. I am having a huge problem with chipmunks this year digging holes and tunnels all over my garden. Also have a resident mole/mouse. He is also doing some damage. I put Critter Ridder around the worst spots but that stuff (which is basically pepper) is expensive. I have a 2 acre property although not all areas have gardens so need something cheaper.

Sharon

Habenero peppers are much, much hotter--they actually require care when you use them. They are hard to find but I know a source if you're interested. Also I would recommend not cooking the garlic, as it loses some punch. Rather, let it just steep for a few days. Easier for you and your wife! Make sure to strain the mixture with a very fine mesh or it will clog sprayers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Habenero peppers

By the way, you ought to refrigerate unused mixture. It can ferment (after all, same ingredients as in kimchi, minus the cabbage) if left outside or even indoors unrefrigerated.

I have three Cairn Terriers who seem to love to eat my Hostas down to nubs as soon as they're fully bloomed. Then once they eat them all down they wait for them to grow back fully and then do it all over again. I hoped the chayenne pepper spice would deter them but want to make sure it won't harm them at all. Want to only deter them and save my Hostas from being eaten and scattered all over the lawn. Thanks for your help and input.

Aw, man, Ken - I'd throw you out on the porch for that one!!

DH is banished to the porch when he wants to use the deep fryer, but I'd rather take that then hot pepper and garlic stew!!

Anyway, if you visit the spice aisle, sometimes cayenne is sold as 'red pepper', it's the same thing. Going that route would be expensive, though. It's probably less expensive to buy the dried chili peppers and grind them yourself.

I'd venture any hot pepper will do....some habernero will probably do the trick

Please do not use hot pepper to deter animals. Animals get it on their paws, rub their eyes and have been known to scratch their eyes out because of the pain. Find some other method more humane.

I have recently heard of something called Shake Away. Is this better for the animals than pepper? As far as I know it does not have pepper, it actually contains Fox urine. Fox urine is supposed to scare the rabbits away due to fear of harm or even death.