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Rabbits are cute creatures, hopping around twitching their noses, wiggling their tails, and looking harmless. Unfortunately, these adorable fuzzy-tailed mammals also have a voracious appetite, which is why it helps to know which plants rabbits won’t eat.
These hungry nibblers will find their way into your garden at night and eat your lettuce and other edible goodies. They’re also impressive jumpers, so they can get into areas you wouldn’t expect.
Keep them at bay by planting stuff that they won’t enjoy. You can even use these plants as a natural fence to keep your yummy produce safe.
15 Plants Rabbits Won’t Bother
Rabbits adore lettuce and other tender greens, but they’ll ignore the following plants entirely. Why are these plants not of interest to rabbits?
Bunnies don’t love strong-smelling plants or ones with oddly textured foliage. Rabbits will also leave anything with prickly stems or foliage alone. They’re also smart enough (mostly) to stay away from anything toxic.
By the way, be cautious when interplanting edibles with poisonous plants. You don’t want to end up harvesting young rhubarb leaves along with your kale!
1. Onions
Onions are one of the most important tools in a chef’s toolkit. This ingredient adds a ton of flavor to dishes and pairs well with any type of cuisine. The pungent, onion-ey quality of this plant is what makes it so unappealing to rabbits. They don’t like the smell.
2. Leeks
Leeks, like onions, are also in the allium family. The strong smell is a deterrent for many small mammals. In fact, any plant in the allium family is unattractive to rabbits, including green onions and chives.
3. Peppers
Sprinkle hot pepper powder or pepper flakes around your garden to keep rabbits from eating your precious plants. They also won’t bother with mature pepper plants since they’re not fans of this fruit. You’ll need to keep your seedlings protected since rabbits might munch on the tender stems.
4. Rhubarb
Aside from the ripe stems, the rest of the rhubarb plant is toxic to humans and rabbits don’t like it either.
5. Summer Squash
It’s likely the prickly stems of summer squash that keep rabbits away. I could do without the barbed stems myself, but I appreciate that they represent built-in protection from hungry small mammals like rabbits.
6. Basil
Highly fragrant basil is an herb that will keep rabbits away. Instead of planting your basil, among other herbs, interplant it with rabbit favorites like lettuce and carrots.
While basil is one of those plants that rabbits won’t eat, you can also use it as a compost. The smell can help deter rabbits from your other garden plants, as well.
7. Mint
Every morning when I check on my garden, I tussle the tops of my herb plants to dislodge the delicious scent of this easy-to-grow perennial. I love the smell, but rabbits aren’t too keen on it.
Don’t forget that other plants in the mint family, like catmint and catnip, are unattractive to hares.
This pollinator-friendly plant is appealing enough to attract bees and hummingbirds, but rabbits don’t love it.
9. Black-Eyed Susan
Another eye-catching perennial, this yellow mini sunflower-esque bloom is super easy to grow and tolerates a variety of soils. They also attract a variety of pollinators, but rabbits aren’t interested.
10. Poppies
Rabbits aren’t fond of these delicate perennial blooms, so substitute them for other rabbit favs. The flowers burst with color and put on a vibrant show all summer long.
11. Yarrow
Interestingly, many of the plants that rabbits dislike are plants that entice pollinators to visit the garden, including yarrow.
Yarrow is a wildflower that attracts butterflies and other buzzing beneficial insects. The delicate white flowers return every year and require little maintenance.
12. Sweet Alyssum
This is another flower that rabbits don’t care for that tolerates poor soils and spreads to form carpets of tiny blooms. It’s a great flower choice for drought-prone gardens and rock gardens.
13. Marigolds
Before I say what I want to say, I’ll knock on wood to avoid jinxing myself. In my experience, marigolds are one of the most indestructible flowers in existence.
They’re incredibly easy to grow from seed, and once they’ve found their footing, the explosion of blooms doesn’t stop until frost arrives. They’ve even survived a slug-pocalypse that killed off a ton of other flower seedlings. Rabbits, too, are not fond of these golden-hued blooms.
14. Sunflowers
Rabbits might munch on sunflower seeds and leaves, but they rarely touch the blooms. Thankfully, even if rabbits become interested in your sunflower plants, it’s easy to deter them from these hulking flowers. Plant pungent crops around the base of flowers or spread potent smelling powders to keep rabbits away.
15. Milkweed
Milkweed is an important food source for various pollinators, notably monarch butterflies, whose only source of food is milkweed. The perennial contains toxic sap that is dangerous for dogs and rabbits alike.
16. Ageratum
Ageratum has pretty round, purple flowers that attract bees and butterflies while sending rabbits hopping away.
17. Lantana
Hummingbirds can’t get enough of pretty lantana flowers. Rabbits? Not so much. You can plant them in containers and intersperse them with some of your other ornamentals to keep the little hoppers away.
18. Vinca
Vinca is a reliable groundcover that you can use to fill in those partially shady spots. It’s also one of those plants that rabbits won’t eat. You could use it as a sort of floral barrier around your vulnerable plants and not only will you have a pretty garden, but a protected one as well.
Geraniums are a popular garden plant for a good reason. They bloom reliably all season long in vibrant pink, red, yellow, and orange. It’s just a bonus that rabbits (and deer) leave them alone.
20. Begonia
Begonias make gorgeous houseplants, but if you intersperse them around your garden you can ensure that you’ll have some color that even the hungriest bunny won’t bother.
21. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are delicious, nutritious, and not too hard to grow. On top of that, rabbits won’t give them a second look. That’s likely because they’re part of the nightshade family, the leaves of which are toxic.
22. Globe Thistle
Globe thistle is a drought-tolerant option when you want something that looks a little different in the garden. The purple, round blossoms are eye-catching and attract butterflies and bees while keeping rabbits and deer away.
23. Wormwood
Good old mugwort – also known as wormwood – has been a medicinal garden staple for centuries. While it has been used to treat a range of stomach issues (not to mention to make absinthe), rabbits don’t dig it.
24. Lavender
Lovely lavender is a plant that you can’t go wrong with, not least because bunnies won’t touch it. The classic scent and stunning flowers are worth the little effort it takes to grow this garden staple.
25. Tarragon
Tarragon is related to sunflowers, so it’s no surprise that rabbits don’t like it. This classic green herb has a subtle anise-like flavor that goes perfectly with eggs, chicken, and fish.
26. Thyme
Thyme is part of the mint family. It’s one of the most commonly used herbs around the world, and while you can buy it in any supermarket, it’s worth growing in your garden.
Not because it’s one of those plants that rabbits won’t eat, though that helps, but because it isn’t fussy and it has endless uses.
27. Sage
Sage – also a member of the mint family – is a Mediterranean herb that has found a way into gardens across the world. Rabbits avoid this plant so much that some people sprinkle dried sage around their vulnerable plants.
I’m not sure this technique is super effective, but it’s worth a try if you have extra leaves.
29. Sedum
This gorgeous succulent, sometimes known as stonecrop, is gorgeous whether it’s blossoming or not.
These plants come in a range of sizes and shapes, so there is certainly one for any garden where you want to add a little texture while keeping rabbits away.
How to Deter Rabbits
So you’ve planted plants that rabbits won’t eat, but the little critters are still making a meal of the other goodies in your garden. Is there anything you can do?
First, let’s establish whether your plants are being eaten by rabbits or something else. The easiest way to figure out what’s eating your crops is to catch the nibblers in the act.
If you have an outdoor camera on your property, catching a nocturnal feast in action is super simple.
If you’re camera-less, there are other signs that rabbits are near including:
Rabbit droppings. These round, ultra-hard pellets are evidence that rabbits are in the vicinity.
Clean cuts. Unlike some insect pests, rabbits don’t cut little tiny holes in plants. They cut foliage clean off. If you spot tender seedlings cut off clean at the base of the stem, you may have a rabbit problem.
No tunnels. If you spy holes around your garden, the damage you see might be the work of groundhogs or woodchucks and not rabbits.
Different Techniques to Try
Aside from planting stuff, they’ll turn their noses up at, here are a few other solutions for keeping rabbits out of your garden:
Sprinkle pungent dust. Rabbits have a great sense of smell, so sprinkling things like hot pepper powder around your garden can help keep them away.
Install stem protection. To keep your seedlings from being bitten off at the base, use collars to protect the vulnerable plants once they’re transplanted outside in the spring.
Usehumane traps. Sometimes getting them out entirely is the best way to solve the problem.
Put up a fence. Whether you use good ole’ chicken wire or something more aesthetically pleasing, a fence that’s at least 4-feet high can keep rabbits away from your garden.
Use other types of barriers. Cold frames can protect tender winter-grown lettuce from hungry rabbits.
Clear debris around your property, and especially near your garden, to discourage rabbits from making a home in your yard. They don’t typically go too far from their burrows to find food, so try to reduce possible hiding spots, and you’ll make it harder for them to nap between meals.
Why You Should Keep Rabbits Away
They’re so cute! It doesn’t matter if they munch on a few leaves of lettuce, right? Wrong! Rabbits don’t just eat edibles. They can decimate ornamental crops, too.
Also, if you see one rabbit, there’s likely a family—and it’s a growing one. Rabbits reproduce like…well…rabbits!
That said, they’re not the worst pest to have around. With a few simple adjustments and careful plant selection, you can deter midnight snacking and coexist with fluffy bunnies.
A Few Words of Caution
Some store-bought rabbit repellents are not safe on edible plants, so be sure to read the packaging carefully before applying any.
Be careful when planting toxic plants, especially if you have children or dogs. Don’t plant poisonous plants near the border of your property (e.g., along the sidewalk or near your neighbor) since not everyone is likely to know whether a plant is toxic or not.
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Plants that rabbits dislike include lavender, penstemon, artemesia, hyssop, sages, shasta daisy, gaillardia, common butterfly bush, blue mist spirea and columbine.
Some herbs are safe for rabbits, and many are found in local stores or backyard gardens. These include basil, oregano, parsley, dill, cilantro, caraway, rosemary, sage, tarragon, lavender, peppermint, lemon balm, comfrey and clover.
Geraniums are thought to deter rabbits with their pungent smell, although gardeners enjoy varieties with a citrus, rose or other appealing fragrance. Zonal geraniums are bushy plants that typically bear soft, rounded leaves marked with a dark band.
Rabbits have a strong sense of smell, which they use to find accessible food sources. You can take advantage of this trait by using scents they dislike, such as garlic, vinegar, chili powder, predator urine, sulfur, blood meal, chives, lavender, geraniums, and wax begonias.
Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus ) is a slightly toxic plant, so the rabbits completely avoid it. It makes a good screening shrub, able to take a reasonable amount of sun along with dense shade. The fruit-scented flowers make a good presence in the summer garden, and they are reasonably fast-growing.
The smell of the coffee repels snails, slugs and ants. You may also have success using coffee grounds to repel mammals, including cats, rabbits and deer. Research published in September 2014 in the journal Science showed the caffeine in coffee plants evolved as a natural pest repellent.
An edging of marigolds may deter rabbits. Plant deterrents. Onions, garlic, marigolds, lavender, catnip—many plants are credited with being deterrents to rabbits. What they all have in common is a strong scent.
The egg shells sprinkled around them do wonders for preventing those cute furry fuzzballs from munching on the leaves. Rabbits dislike the smell of eggshells so they will avoid the area.
Hydrangeas are one type of flower that rabbits enjoy eating, but they eat many others including pansies, petunias, marigolds, and more. Rabbits also like to eat like to snack on clover, dandelion, carrots, celery, vegetables, plants, and other flowers and leafy greens.
Does cinnamon keep rabbits away? While there is no strong evidence to support the fact that cinnamon keeps rabbits out of the garden, it is possible. Due to its strong aroma, cinnamon may be able to fend off rabbits like other natural spices, such as garlic and chili peppers.
When food is scarce or rabbit populations run high, rabbits, like deer, will eat almost anything, including your prized geraniums. Rabbits are most likely to eat your plants in the early spring.
Yes, rabbits love eating roses, just like hostas. They have a particular taste for plants that are parts of the rose family called Rosaceae. They love eating ornamental flowering plants, including Cinquefoil, Goatsbeard, Pearlbush, Burnet, and Avens.
Rabbits dine out all year. They are herbivores and can make a quick meal of your garden. They will devour tender shoots in spring and gnaw through bark in the winter. ... Rabbit-Resistant Vegetables
Use chicken wire with 1-inch mesh or smaller to create a fence around your garden or garden beds. If you do this, keep in mind that rabbits are diggers, so you'll need to dig down a little so that the chicken wire is at least 6 inches below the ground level. Check your barriers often for holes or signs of nibbling.
Rabbits can eat lavender [1][21]. It is one of the safe, aromatic shrubs you can give this pet. It is not toxic or harmful. Other similarly safe herbs include safe, dill, parsley, oregano, basil, peppermint, lemon balm, among others.
Most rabbits absolutely hate being held. The experience of having all four feet off the ground and being trapped in someone's arms can make a rabbit really scared. If your primary way of interacting with a rabbit is to pick them up, then they will start to run away from you whenever you come near, to avoid being held.
A homemade mixture made with hot peppers sprayed on your garden plants will repel the rabbits because the peppers contain capsaicin. This chemical is responsible for the spiciness of the peppers, says the National Pesticide Information Center, and it keeps away rabbits without causing damage to your plants.
Hostas are decorative, flowering perennials often used as landscape plants. These plants are especially attractive to rabbits that will eat all the leaves and even the stems. If it is a new, young plant, rabbits may eat it down to the roots. Often, the destruction that rabbits cause ends up with the death of the plant.
Bright, colorful impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) attract rabbits to your flowerbeds and containers, but they'll quickly eat all of your hard work. Impatiens are a genus of over 850 species that bloom from spring until winter.
The most effective way to prevent rabbit damage to trees and shrubs in the home landscape is to place chicken wire fencing or hardware cloth around vulnerable plants.
But do rabbits eat marigolds? Wild rabbits do eat marigolds, especially the leaves. Rabbits mainly eat grass and weeds, then supplement this with flowers such as marigolds. A hungry rabbit will eat all parts of a marigold plant including the flower, leaves, and stem.
Black-eyed susans, aster, lupine, coreopsis and purple coneflower planted among, or bordering, vegetable crops help repel deer, rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks. Alliums, such as nodding wild onion, and plants in the mint family, such as mountain mint, can also do the trick.
A raised garden bed of 24 inches or higher is sufficient to deter cottontail rabbits. If jackrabbits (or the mythical jackalope) are the problem, the raised bed should be at least 36 inches high. Your back will thank you for the raised bed! If you have an in-ground garden, fine-mesh fencing is the best bet.
But don't run to the store for repellant just yet—vinegar is an easy way to deter rabbits from stealing your veggies! Simply soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and place it in a small jar or canister with holes poked in the lid. Place these around the garden, and the vinegar scent will help to keep the rabbits at bay.
Mint is a healthy herb that can be fed to rabbits in small amounts. Not only is it tasty, but it has many health benefits. All parts of the mint plant can be eaten, including the leaves and stems.
Like lantanas, begonias are annual flowers that keep some rabbits away. All rabbits are different and while some rabbits may dislike munching on begonias, others may enjoy snacking on them once in a while.
Cayenne pepper spray is a taste repellent. It is applied to the plant and when an animal tries to taste it, it is repelled by the hot pepper taste. Spraying cayenne pepper on plants will keep deer, rabbits and squirrels as well as stray animals from eating them.
This one is quite simple to prepare and use. Get some chili pepper, grind them until they form a fine powder, and then sprinkle them at the base of your garden plants. Rabbits hate the scent chili pepper and will scamper once they smell it. Garlic when used alone can effectively keep away rabbits.
To make this rabbit repellent, first fill a one gallon container, such as a milk jug, with water. Crush 5 garlic cloves and add then to the water. Add a teaspoon of crushed red peppers and 1 tablespoon of dish soap. Shake the container very well and then place in outdoors in the direct sun for two days.
Rabbits love tulip leaves almost as much as deer like the flower buds and rodents like the bulbs. It's almost a miracle when tulips survive all of that to bloom. Other than fencing off the area (the least ornamental option), you can protect the tulips with repellents.
Daffodils and snowflakes are avoided by rabbits due to the fact that they contain a poisonous substance called lycorine. Ornamental onions (Allium spp.) aren't poisonous, but their taste is unappetizing to many animals.
Rhododendrons, including azaleas, are beautiful plants that are highly toxic for rabbits. This applies to all parts of the plant, including the flowers, leaves, stems, and roots.
They love spending time with you, and they love the attention you're giving them. It also shows that they're not afraid of being picked up every time you interact, since most rabbits do not like being held. Rabbits will lay down next to you if they trust you.
You may have heard of using moth balls to keep rabbits and other pests out of your yard. However, this is not a good idea. Not only is it an ineffective method, but moth balls are incredibly toxic when used outdoors.
There are quite a few flowers that are good for rabbits as delicious treats, and pansies are a particular favorite of rabbits. What is this? They can eat all parts of pansies, not just the petals, so they are plants they can eat directly from the ground without worry, as long as the area is pesticide-free.
Common zinnias (Zinnia elegans) and lower-growing creeping zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia) are among the plants that rabbits avoid. Both are sun lovers and flower in every color except true blue from summer through frost.
Fuschia. This is another plant that is perfectly safe for rabbits to eat in moderation. The flowers, leaves and stems are all edible and are not poisonous to rabbits.
Hibiscus is reputed to help support the immune system, plus it's high in natural vitamin C and rich in antioxidants too. Ideal for Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and other small animals.
To discourage pesky rabbits, try dusting your plants with plain talcum powder. Since rabbits are such great sniffers, powdered red pepper sprinkled around the garden or on targeted plants may keep them out.
Known for their huge blooms, peonies are as rabbit-resistant as they are beautiful. These long-lived perennials are resilient as long as you stake up their heavy late springtime flowers to keep them from spilling on the ground after a heavy rain.
When food is scarce or rabbit populations run high, rabbits, like deer, will eat almost anything, including your prized geraniums. Rabbits are most likely to eat your plants in the early spring.
An edging of marigolds may deter rabbits. Plant deterrents. Onions, garlic, marigolds, lavender, catnip—many plants are credited with being deterrents to rabbits. What they all have in common is a strong scent.
Black-eyed susans, aster, lupine, coreopsis and purple coneflower planted among, or bordering, vegetable crops help repel deer, rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks. Alliums, such as nodding wild onion, and plants in the mint family, such as mountain mint, can also do the trick.
Rabbits like to eat hydrangea plants and can damage them. But, they eat hydrangeas only when hungry or smell any hydrangea near them. Rabbits assimilate the leaves, bark, and flower buds of hydrangea plants. During the winter season, rabbits gnaw on the woody stem of hydrangeas.
Hostas are decorative, flowering perennials often used as landscape plants. These plants are especially attractive to rabbits that will eat all the leaves and even the stems. If it is a new, young plant, rabbits may eat it down to the roots. Often, the destruction that rabbits cause ends up with the death of the plant.
Yes, rabbits love eating roses, just like hostas. They have a particular taste for plants that are parts of the rose family called Rosaceae. They love eating ornamental flowering plants, including Cinquefoil, Goatsbeard, Pearlbush, Burnet, and Avens.
Bright, colorful impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) attract rabbits to your flowerbeds and containers, but they'll quickly eat all of your hard work. Impatiens are a genus of over 850 species that bloom from spring until winter.
Place a wind chime or some cans on a string so that when the wind blows there is noise made. Rabbits are sensitive to noise and should they hear even the slightest sound will run.This might even scare them from coming back.
The egg shells sprinkled around them do wonders for preventing those cute furry fuzzballs from munching on the leaves. Rabbits dislike the smell of eggshells so they will avoid the area.
Does cinnamon keep rabbits away? While there is no strong evidence to support the fact that cinnamon keeps rabbits out of the garden, it is possible. Due to its strong aroma, cinnamon may be able to fend off rabbits like other natural spices, such as garlic and chili peppers.
To make this rabbit repellent, first fill a one gallon container, such as a milk jug, with water. Crush 5 garlic cloves and add then to the water. Add a teaspoon of crushed red peppers and 1 tablespoon of dish soap. Shake the container very well and then place in outdoors in the direct sun for two days.
The Old Farmer's Almanac says sheets of aluminum foil can be stretched over the top of container plants to keep the creatures at bay. Old CDs placed in the garden can also drive squirrels away. A burst of water from a sprinkler can give squirrels an unpleasant surprise if they venture too close to your plants.
Daffodils and snowflakes are avoided by rabbits due to the fact that they contain a poisonous substance called lycorine. Ornamental onions (Allium spp.) aren't poisonous, but their taste is unappetizing to many animals.
Rhododendrons, including azaleas, are beautiful plants that are highly toxic for rabbits. This applies to all parts of the plant, including the flowers, leaves, stems, and roots.
Butterfly Bush is one of the woody plants that rabbits tend to avoid. Butterfly bushes die back to the ground in temperate climates, but quickly send out many new vigorous shoots when the ground warms in the spring.
Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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