Any ideas?

[CCsGarden]

I would like to know if any of you have any ideas on how I can keep rabbits and other plant eating critters, out of my garden? I'm talking about around 1/2 an acre of lettuce and veggies. I'm doing all organic and don't want to use any poisons, so maybe any plants that might deter them?


Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions!

 

[azygous]

Let me know if you find any. I've been at war with rabbits and deer and squirrels for thirty years, and I'm not winning.

My chickens aren't exactly blameless, either.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Fencing is a no go because they dig? I don't know if NiteGuard would work on them...

What about marigolds? Plant them around the perimeter and see if that works? They supposedly deter deer.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Not a practical solution, but can you convert some areas to raised beds with hardware cloth at the bottom (so nothing can did under)? This is the only thing that's worked for keeping the groundhogs away. If I can't make the bed tall enough (like 24+ inches), I use a makeshift cover with PVC framing.

 

[neo71665]

Traps and lead is what I use

 

[kattabelly]

Fence them out and eat or otherwise remove as many of the ones outside the fence as you can.

 

[CCsGarden]

Fencing is a no go because they dig? I don't know if NiteGuard would work on them...

What about marigolds? Plant them around the perimeter and see if that works? They supposedly deter deer.

That what I've heard as well! I should try the marigolds!

Not a practical solution, but can you convert some areas to raised beds with hardware cloth at the bottom (so nothing can did under)? This is the only thing that's worked for keeping the groundhogs away. If I can't make the bed tall enough (like 24+ inches), I use a makeshift cover with PVC framing.

Good idea, I'll have to see how much it cost and maybe I can do this...

 

[thecatumbrella]

Good idea, I'll have to see how much it cost and maybe I can do this...

You can make a decent sized bed using the same method as my dig box article. That's actually the intended purpose of those planter blocks. I've stacked them as high as 4-tiers in the chicken run, but I'm sure you could go up to 5 or 6 without a problem. I just hammer rebar through the holes in the middle to secure them in place and prevent toppling.