Rabbits usually don’t like strong and concentrated scents. If you want to deter a rabbit from entering your garden, you can try using essential oils like peppermint, rosemary, and lavender.
Peppermint does help put off rabbits when you don’t want them to explore a specific area of your home. It is one of the safest essential oils to use for this purpose, in addition to lavender, fennel, and eucalyptus.
If you want to know how effective peppermint is in keeping rabbits away, what is the best way to use this oil, and how safe it is for these furry creatures, keep reading on.
How Does Peppermint Deter Rabbits?
Rabbits are inquisitive by nature, and they like to explore each and every corner of the house. However, there are certain areas in a house where the presence of a rabbit may cause havoc, such as the garden or a particular flowerbed you have just prepared.
People use various safe essential oils because of their strong scents to keep rabbits away from these places. Rabbits cannot stand these highly concentrated odors and therefore leave the place immediately.
However, not all essential oils are safe for rabbits. You should never use tea tree, clove, or anise oil to keep rabbits at bay. And while it’s safe to plant oregano in your garden, it’s not recommended to use its essential oil to keep bunnies away from your garden.
Rabbits not only love a few veggies like lettuce, cucumber, and carrots, but they can also devour some flowering plants in your garden. These include sunflowers, zinnias, clematis, phlox, and tulips – only to name a few. If these flowers are in your garden, be prepared to see your furry friend munching on them.
On the other hand, there are some plants that rabbits hate. Try planting them if you don’t want your rabbit to create havoc in your garden. These include marigolds, sage, bee balm, catnip, and periwinkle.
How to Use Peppermint to Deter Rabbits?
If you wish to discourage rabbits from eating or going near some plants, you can use peppermint essential oil for this purpose. Take a cotton ball and drop four to five drops of peppermint oil onto it. Now place this ball near the plants that you need to protect from bunnies.
Other than peppermint, you can also use lavender, orange, eucalyptus, and fennel essential oils for this purpose. Some people also blend several essential oils to make the smell even more potent. Make sure you use only safe oils if you want to make a blend.
Remember, essential oils are very concentrated, and they have an extremely powerful smell. If you’re worried your rabbit will inhale the fumes and get sick, dilute the essential oil in water and then soak a cotton ball in this solution to use for keeping rabbits away.
Alternatives to Peppermint for Keeping Rabbits Away
There are many other rabbit deterrents that you can use if you don’t want to use peppermint or it isn’t available handy. Here are some of the other options you can check out;
Mint
If you don’t want to use essential oil, you can plant mint and a few other herbs in your garden. Rabbits will avoid going near these planted herbs because of their strong odor. Other than mint, herbs that you can plant to deter rabbits include oregano, basil, garlic, rhubarb, parsley, and tarragon.
Rosemary
Although rosemary is a healthy herb, and it is recommended that you add it to your rabbit’s diet, only a handful of bunnies might be interested in ingesting it. Rosemary has a strong, pungent odor somewhat similar to eucalyptus and camphor. You can use its essential oil to keep bunnies away from your garden.
Coffee Grounds
Another one of those strong smells that rabbits don’t like is that of coffee grounds. It’s also one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to deter rabbits. All you have to do is sprinkle some coffee grounds around plants that need to be protected.
People use coffee grounds in several ways to deter rabbits and other animals like squirrels from entering their gardens. Sprinkling coffee grounds on the soil around flowering plants boost the growing power of these plants. Even used coffee grounds can be used for this purpose, and by using them, you can also protect your plants from insects.
Talcum Powder
If you want to protect your plants from troublesome rabbits, try sprinkling a little talcum or baby powder on the plants. It has been seen that bunnies don’t like this powder’s taste or smell and therefore don’t go near those plants.
However, it’s only a temporary solution. A little breeze or rain will wash the powder away, and you will have to sprinkle it again.
Vinegar
White vinegar is again a safe and effective remedy to deter rabbits. When peppermint or other repellents are unavailable, you can always use a little vinegar to protect your veggies from being attacked by the furry creatures.
Take a cotton ball and soak it in white vinegar. Now place this ball in a jar with holes in it so the smell would spread around. Rabbits will not go near these jars because of the smell of vinegar coming out from them.
Home remedies such as the ones discussed above are safe and effective. Using any commercial products to keep rabbits away from your garden is not advisable. These products may contain harsh chemicals and other substances that may harm your bunny’s health.
Is It a Good Idea to Use an Electronic Rabbit Repellent?
While all the above methods to keep rabbits away from your garden, including peppermint, are tried and tested, some people find them difficult to use. Moreover, they might not bring permanent results.
Many people also use electronic rabbit repellents readily available on the market. They are not very expensive devices and are pretty easy to use. They help keep rabbits away and many other animals like rats, cats, raccoons, and squirrels.
Yes, rabbit-repellent devices are totally safe to use. You can always try this method if you are tired of using home remedies to keep rabbits away.
Final Words
Rabbits are cute but can create havoc in a garden if left unattended. Be prepared to bid farewell to all your favorite plants that you grew with care and hard work if you plan to allow rabbits to enter your garden. However, if you don’t want this to happen, you should take some steps to keep rabbits away from your plants.
Peppermint has the ability to deter rabbits successfully because of its strong odor. It is also an essential oil that is totally safe for these tiny creatures. Using peppermint to keep rabbits away is a very easy and inexpensive way. You only need a few drops of peppermint essential oil and a cotton ball. You can also mix a few drops of peppermint essential oil with others like lavender or fennel to make the smell even more robust.
However, if you don’t want to use peppermint, there are some other rabbit deterrents that can be used. Using a commercial repellent is not recommended, though, because these chemicals may not be safe for your bunnies. It is possible to use several deterrents all at the same time for the best results possible. And finally, an electronic rabbit repellent can be used as an alternative to all these home remedies for fast and effective outcomes.