Don't Let Rabbits Ruin Your FOOD Garden: 5 Expert Tips for Deterrent

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

LINKS to Videos Referenced : How to make Pepper Spray Animal Repellent kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zqe6c5Slg7amb80 How to Install Garden Fence | Rabbit Proof kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnyrZoiDbdGVibc

[@trulylynn9941]

My husband uses that type of wire and it doesn't rust. It does a great job. Hello to my sweet Nancy. You are amazing dear!

[@itwasagoodideaatthetime7980]

A natural humane method to get rid of rabbits. Is to try fox, coyote, wolf or bobcat urine. These are forbidding predator scents & are sold online as rabbit repellents. You can easily find them if you Google them. Sometimes but not always these can be synthetically made. So double check the contents before you order. This method will also help to keep groundhogs & deer out of your vegetable garden as well. Good luck!

[@333horses4life]

When our resident rabbit started chewing down my new bush bean seedlings, I gave my German Shepherd a good brushing and then spread his hair around the base of each plant.Voila! My beans went untouched the rest of the season.🐶

[@margaretwillie3630]

I will try this! Thanks for the tip!

[@elainemarie1473]

Wonder if cat hair will help me at all 😅

[@yvonneyeager7929]

​@@elainemarie1473Yes & supposedly human hair too I read but ??? Try it. If I were a bunny, I'd be way more afraid of a cat than a dog. LOL. 😊

[@scarlet10sewing]

I have a Maine Coon cat who is a fur factory. Maybe I’ll give the fur trick a try.

[@auntlouise]

I set my seedlings out on my porch one morning last spring to harden them off, and a rabbit climbed my three steps and ate them all right down to the dirt. Now I have a beagle, Frank, who love to chase rabbits. After watching this I am going to fence off my garden this year and build a table to set my seedlings on as well. Thank you!

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Frank is doing a great job🐶

[@Lewisusa11]

get a pellet gun, rabbit is tasty!

[@thirdvisiongarage9148]

As a rabbit owner, I found luck with using their waste not only for fertilizer (great for plants) but it has keep other wild rabbits away due to the waste being a territorial marker. Still keep a fence for squirrels when they decide they want to take a single bite of a tomato.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Thanks for sharing!

[@kele1264]

Oh, if there's anything that bugs me more than an animal getting at my tomatoes, it's when they take a single bite out of each one.

[@20greeneyes20]

I had no idea that squirrels like tomatoes. Thanks for that...♥️

[@Duncan1900Homestead]

I have 3 1/2 foot tall raised beds and found a couple nests of baby rabbits in them last year. I also have black snake dens in them now. We tried putting chicken wire around the bottom of the garden fence and the rabbits dug under it. I'm beginning to think the only way to keep rabbits out of the garden is to put them in the stew pot.

[@helloveevee5538]

😆sounds tasty. I’m having trouble with squirrel 😩 they destroyed my vegetable bed. My husband created a cover with screen mesh and that helped but now I have earwigs eating my plants 🤦🏻‍♀️ I can’t win

[@Duncan1900Homestead]

@@helloveevee5538 I don't like squirrels in my yard or garden. They bring ticks and flees in. Then my dogs get them. You can eat squirrel, but there's not much meat on them. I'm not sure what to do for earwigs. I never had a problem with them.

[@helloveevee5538]

@@Duncan1900Homestead I be chasing the squirrels like a mad woman 🤣I hate them on my yard too. Unfortunately I don’t have anyone with good aim, also, I live in the city 😩 it sucks for me, I just gotta protect my crops the best I can.

[@helloveevee5538]

@@Duncan1900Homestead also, I have two lovely terriers that chases squirrels too🤣🤣 a little yorkie and a jack russelXchihuahua. They never get to catch them but is funny watching them chase the squirrels.

[@elainemarie1473]

​@helloveevee5538 omg, I have so many earwigs and I despise them. They pop out of nowhere every time I try to do things and they startle me every time!😮

[@jeaniemalone5304]

I love that you go over not only what worked but also what failed. I appreciate your saving us time, money, and trouble.🥕

[@marmaladesunrise]

A wonderful video Hollis. Your calm, caring demeanor is good for the soul. Thank you & Nancy for bringing wholesome information to us. ❤

[@terifrank7393]

Thx for a great video and absolutely hilarious commentary on the rabbit war!!! My ducks got into my garden as a kid and ate everything we just planted. My dad just laughed and said let's go get some more plants! Lesson learned! God bless and so happy to see Dear Bingbing on duty!!

[@ValerieT2023]

I get a lot of rabbits in my small backyard. I name them all Hasenpfeffer. They don't get it though. I try all kinds of things every year for my very small garden area. Last year I had onions, garlic, marigolds plus nails buried upside down in the soil & they still jumped in & rested on top of it all while eating the parsley & whatever else they wanted. Hot pepper flakes help temporarily, so I grew cayenne peppers last year & will grind them to spread over the goods this year. Hope it works. I have the rabbit spray as backup. I do appreciate the piles of fertilizer they leave me.

[@ienekevanhouten4559]

I love that you made your dream come true and got real land to play with. You two are an inspiration. God bless!

[@carlaw2661]

I laid chicken wire on the ground where my lettuce, beans and spinach were planted. The rabbits 🐇 dislike walking on the wire... So far so good... Have a blessed day!!

[@ASpinnerASpinner]

That's also a good way to keep squirrels and chimpunks from digging.

[@heidipustelniak652]

So thankful my perimeter fence keeps rabbits and predators out of my backyard. My only worry is from hawks and owls. My chicken coop and run have to be like Fort Knox! Elevated beds are such a great idea! Especially as we get older.

[@taylorshomestead3934]

Same here with garden and hawks/ owls from chickens. Wish I could free range.

[@mariannefaulkner3445]

Explain please what works Herds of deer with rabbits and hedge hogs Any thoughts. Thank you.

[@conniemwhite]

@@taylorshomestead3934 I got a 10 x 12 lightweight metal structure coop from Wayfair. They make them bigger but I like this one because we move it around to fresh grass. So the chickens till the yard and fertilize it. We have meat chickens so we can use the same structure (after the harvest) for a greenhouse later. It was pretty cheap - covered in coated chicken wire. You might want to check it out.

[@marymcguire1435]

I have a beautiful 25-30' high raised bed. Two days ago a chipmunk size baby rabbit fell off the top right in front of me. I found his brother nestled in the chard rows. Mom is very able and willing to jump up and nest there. Lots of marigolds last year and no rabbits. This year I've applied bloodmeal around the plants . No further problems. Also a product (stinks) called Scoot that's effective.

[@timb7775]

I have marigolds in my flower bed and I spread blood meal and the bunnies still camp out in there.

[@iartistdotme]

I have a very small garden but rabbits take out so much and this year I wanted to do what you just showed me how to do. THANKS!

[@dremaclover9775]

I had a problem with my neighbors cats using the bathroom in my garden. I started putting slightly crushed egg shells on top of the soil. Cats paws are tender and don’t like the shells and it has worked great. Don’t know if it would work for bunnies but it’s worth a try. Plus it helps put calcium back into your soil.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Thanks for Sharing tip with our homestead family 😘 Blessings

[@rea8755]

Thanks for the tip.

[@margaretwillie3630]

Great tip & I am trying TODAY! Bad 🐈‍⬛

[@mawmawshomesteadpreparedness]

I heard forks with the tubes pointed up helps, but that didn't help. They jumped over the forks and landed in the middle of the plant, eventually killing the plant. This was both in containers and in ground. I had to give the cats away so I could grow food.

[@phoxpharms]

eggshells take about 100years to break down into available calcium for plants. So it will put calcium back into the soil for your great grandchildren.

[@cathywco]

We had to reinforce our fence against rabbits last year after they ate every single pea plant we had planted. I too, was almost ready to get the shotgun out after that! Lol Stay blessed!❤

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Sorry to hear that.

[@_evilqueen]

Same thing happened to me, all my beams disappeared in just a few days. Although I'm not sure if it was the rabbit the ground hog or a combination. I was thinking one of those motion detector water sprayers might help. The entertainment value is much higher than a fence too 😁

[@conservativetothecor]

You and Nancy and Bingbing always bring a smile to my day...thank you Hollis.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Our pleasure!

[@gitatit4046]

Sounds like all good and sound advice Hollis. We have an electric "hot wire" around our garden but it's only individual strands (mostly for deer - which it works on) but the rabbits simply go under the bottom wire or jump it and help themselves to what they want. So, the smaller "rabbit wire" of some sort will probably be our next step. Thanks for the information. God bless.

[@master11pizza63]

I have had rabbits nest in my raised Birdie containers between a marigold and cucumber ! Rabbits are sensitive to smell. I have had success spraying 30% vinegar to kill weeds as a natural weed killer and it keeps rabbits away. 30% vinegar is very potent.

[@reneethomas5548]

Thanks for telling us about onions and garlic not repelling rabbits.

[@VermiCast_Garden]

One of the better gardening channels on KZbin. Thanks for sharing!

[@gardenlady1293]

Love that BingBing looks so well. Prayers to you all.

[@Tinkergrumpybuns]

We are inundated with bunnies here. I have seen over a dozen in one evening in my yard. Add on the well entrenched woodchuck population with dens all over the ‘ hood. Right now, I have a new crop of 6 baby bunnies scampering about. I’ll only plant what they don’t like.

[@sowsweetdeborahallen7256]

Yes 🙌🏾 🙌🏾🙌🏾 we have a whole family coming around our garden 🪴 I need this information. Thank you!!!

[@MiddleEastMilli]

I love you guys so much! Thanks for EVERYTHING you do for us! God bless you!

[@marktoldgardengnome4110]

We had "A" rabbit about 3 years ago. Yeah, just 1. So, bought 1 of those motion sensing, noise making, disco flashing light miracle deterring things. That was no more than a $20 bill I'll never see again. 20x30' garden with 5' field fencing for trellising was already installed on each end, added plastic net fence along both sides with 2, 2' openings, 1 gated. No sign of digging, tracks, or droppings. Bought a trail cam and BAM, a rabbit. Bought a Hav a Hart trap. Baited it with leaves munched off and left behind. Next morning my trap was sitting on the lawn about 30' away from where I set it with a rabbit sitting in it. HUH? I checked the trail cam and it had about 15, 10 second clips on it of the rabbit being trapped, and screaming, then eventually an owl showed up and tried to fly off with the trap! I suspect the rabbit screaming lured the owl in, and between the squawking of the owl and screaming of the rabbit, the whole animal kingdom within a mile of our place was alerted, STAY AWAY! Anyway, haven't seen a rabbit since, and the Owls moved in. Love listening to them calling out to each other every night just as darkness settles in. Kinda freaks our dog out though. 😄

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

You always make such interesting comments! Thanks for sharing❤️

[@caseywright7580]

Hollis, thank you for your honest approach to solving this problem. We came to the same conclusion up in Massachusetts and appreciate all the work you and Nancy go through to produce a good crop. Bless you both!

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Thanks for sharing!

[@raydurka]

You did, indeed, give me a break from "the World"... I appreciate your candor, honesty, openness, and genuine desire to help, to share... You're a beautiful soul. Thank you. (for both the information; and the delivery...) 🌟 & ❤️

[@kele1264]

Who would've thought that such cute little animals could be so destructive. Rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and birds. Then there's the bad insects. It's like nature war in the garden. Yes, hardware cloth is very expensive, especially with as much as you needed. I hope you let us know if it works well. I remember how you laid some horizontally around the chicken house to keep anything from digging under the walls. I hope the rabbits (and everything else) don't dig underneath that magnificent deer fence, now wrapped in hardware cloth. Thanks for sharing your rabbit battle with us!

[@mariannefaulkner3445]

Tip bury the rabbit wire 8 inches. Best to you. Trench now or later. Please don’t take it out on the messenger. Take Care 🌿🌎🌿

[@vickiemullen660]

Thank you for adding the story about your daddy!

[@teresaterry1441]

Hello Holli and Nancy! I want to thank you for all of the information you gave us , it really means a lot to me ❤

[@teresaterry1441]

Thank you so much

[@johnhaug8792]

We have rabbits in our area and they do eat a portion of the garden. However, the groundhogs are much worse. And harder to deter. That rat wire that you installed would not keep them out. They would simply dig under it. To keep groundhogs out you would have to spread that wire out from your fence by at least two feet. Three feet is better. When they try to dig they hit fence and move to a different spot. After a few attempts and fails they will go to another property. The gate to get in is normally the weak spot.

[@mariannefaulkner3445]

You are on it Hope the message gets thru. Note the rabbits and ground hogs of various species are built to out smart you Deer ring my front door. Herds sleep here with rabbits 🐇 hopping and sheltered by deer. Bury the wire 🐰🐰🐰🐇🐇🐇now or later. Deer jump 12 Feet vertical. Interesting to watch. Deer stands parallel to fence and springs vertically right over 8 foot fence. Quite entertaining and out does what a human can do. It is a routine day for them. I just left chairs out for humans to watch. Vertical spring up and over landing on all four hooves simultaneously. Amazing the slim legs handle the landing. Defies physics. Mostly done late pm or early am. Take Care 🌿

[@fiorevitola880]

I was going to say, a 410ga shotgun and a Beagle at first but your dad was right! I have both Beagle and 410ga but it doesn't stop Mr. Rabbit...LOL.

[@maynmom6975]

I'm here because your name is Hollis. I am 100% sure you know what you are doing. 🙂❤

[@Mstymntntop]

An indoor/outdoor cat has helped me the most. Right now, my cat is bringing a mouse to our driveway about every other day. I’m pretty sure he scares the rabbits away as well. It’s cool watching him stalk…gets on the garage roof and just looks for something.

[@jonarment1229]

Having outside cats are great for keeping both rabbits and squirrels away. Occasionally, I'll break out the air rifle, and when I do, the cats take care of the cleanup for me. They're happy. I'm happy. It's a win/win...

[@BergenholtzChannel]

I love your story of your childhood. 💜

[@pattirodriguez2249]

I love your Bible verses at the end!❤

[@ljgerken]

Yup! I am in Seminole, Florida and I erected a four foot high half inch hardware cloth around my garden beds. I am just waiting for the squirrels to crawl up that fence now and eat my tomatoes, so I have some netting cover for the fruits ready soon too.

[@cynthiadesmarais4246]

Love your story, Brother. Thanks to you and Nancy for all the great videos.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Thanks for watching!

[@jackiehorsley9263]

I always had problems with the birds getting Into my garden and picking the leaves off of my tomatoe seeding of course I fixed that I am glad you were able to fix your problem

[@Johnnysaintrizz]

I’m so glad you all are doing well. I’ve been watching you guys for years. You’re like family- well, we being followers of The Lord Jesus, we are family!

[@katherinebelk8398]

Love your Daddy's advice!

[@caroljohnson3011]

You are a great speaker. Super easy to understand. Thanks so much for your information.

[@karenhuedepohl1705]

Such great ideas I always get from your channel! You and your wife are delightful and have several tips to pass on from planting to cooking. Thank you so much for your hard work and videotaping! Many blessings.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Thanks so much!

[@gypsygirl731]

I think the hardware cloth or the fencing is the best solution number one. You're right. You don't have to kill the animals a number 2. You don't have to spray chemicals and spend a lot of money. Not only that but it's worth the cost of fencing to grow your own food so your still saving$. Thank you for the video we have many blessings

[@smithlinda8901]

this is my second video i watched and i have subscribed on the first video right away i can tell you Sir are the pearl of a men in my world of kindness .

[@inarainyplace]

I absolutely love you guys! I’m grateful and so thankful for all you’ve taught me through the years. God bless you.

[@brendaogle-em7if]

Thank you for ALL your great advise

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

You are so welcome

[@nsmnsm8889]

Hi, with no disrespect, Jihaat Does Not Mean Victory Over Anything. But does mean Struggle , Fighting with something. Good job as Always.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

No disrespect at all. Thanks for watching ❤️. Dealing with rabbits in your garden is definitely a struggle🐇🐇🐇

[@ZenBerryz]

wow your Garden is just majestic. I am envious for sure .

[@rabbitchickencow2451]

You have such an amazing Beautiful garden and family ❤️ love you guys.God Bless you and your family ❤️

[@marley9904]

Thanks for the info regarding rabbits in the garden, but I have bigger problem with squirrels, they ate all my eggplants last summer, google how to get rid of them, didn't work, any suggestions please sir Hollis. Have a blessed day.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Nancy like the hot pepper spray

[@marley9904]

@@HollisNancysHomestead thank you so much

[@danielleboule3220]

Irish spring soap. I cut chunks out of it and place it around the perimeter. Seems to work. But you have to do it every other week because of the rain

[@laydbak46]

Love your property. Blessings to you and your family.

[@k.quilter2735]

Great information. Thanks Nancy and Hollis.....beautiful garden

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@randygreen007]

I’m sure the hardware cloth was pricey for that size of a complex. I bought a solar powered electric fence that I will hopefully be installing this season. The rabbits here in the mountains of North Carolina just love to burrow anywhere and everywhere so they will hopefully explore the perimeter of the garden and have a shocking experience enough to not want to dig underneath. I’m hoping this will discourage the woodchucks as well. I live trapped 7 of those last season. Thanks for the wonderful videos and information. Have a blessed day!

[@kennywright2227]

Always Great content Hollis and Nancy thank you for these nuggets

[@kathylane5934]

Thank you. I got some to put around my willow trees to keep cows away from them. Hope it works

[@vallis1469]

Just what I needed to see. Thanks Hollis and Nancy! xoxo

[@mossymaple]

Great tips. IS Your hardaware cloth stainless or galvanized? AND what guage is it?

[@SimonHaestoe]

Looks good! If you need to replace the hardware cloth later on, maybe you can just put a few wires onto the fence? I mean between the big holes so they are half as big.

[@beardedgranny6190]

THANKS FOR SHARE'IN

[@sixfigurebookkeeper7588]

Thank you for sharing this. Very useful content.

[@Mstymntntop]

Onions and garlic have always worked for me when planted around the perimeter. Marigolds…I had a nest of rabbits under one of the plants.

[@igoslow3342]

Great videos Hollis! Can you tell me a little bit about your perimeter fence particularly out near the main gate? I've got some varmints (2 legged & 4 legged) that I'd like to keep out. Thank you

[@susanstrickland6774]

Always enjoy your videos, and appreciate your suggestions and information.

[@jodiplock4784]

Thanks👍🏼

[@marybethham4967]

Your garden is amazing friend.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Thanks for visiting

[@Liwayputi]

Excellent tips! Thank you!

[@tomjerome2877]

Greetings from New England, I'm just a beginner when it comes to gardening but I agree that one can't change nature but rabbits are fantastic grass fed organic food. A couple of ideas like rabbit burgers, rabbit stew, rabbit tacos, rabbit pizza, rabbit Kiev, rabbit and dumplings. They really are super tasty.

[@CrazyCatWoman1]

Disgusting that you only think of a beautiful animal as food.

[@Sellers707]

Thanks for sharing this video and all the great tips

[@nicwalker2175]

Bravo. Rabbits destroyed my beautiful backyard and left their poop behind. Thanks for the tips😊

[@kathystearns9012]

Thank you Hollis and Nancy !!! It's winter here and I'm now dealing with a stray rabbit who just barked my apple tree. I'm NOT happy right now because of it 😕 We're getting a LOT of snow here and it's too high to get out to protect the fruit trees. I have them caged to prevent moose fm getting to them but the rabbit found a way in. Seriously doubt my trees will live thru what he just did

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

I’m sorry he did that. If they girdle the bark the tree will die. 😢

[@albertnett7864]

Great job as always.

[@wdennis8]

Great rabbit tale.

[@newtitan8888]

Fine story telling . Thank you.

[@SgtRudySmith31bRet]

You can use the contractor fencing it's the orange 1x1 square and it's 24in tall and plastic.

[@jmeetze]

I've tried that and the rabbits chewed right through the plastic.

[@oqwazyme4616]

You may want to consider looping that fence on the ground outward along the outside, and burying it for the burrowing varmints ! Also a plastic fence with narrow grade like what you show in the video might last longer.

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

👍

[@MemesHomeschoolHub]

I am a new subscriber to your channel! I love your content! I also love how you and Nancy show your love for the Lord! God bless you and your homestead!

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Welcome to the family ❤️❤️🐶. Have a blessed weekend

[@patriciamiller1916]

We lost a complete garden of broccoli and cauliflower to rabbits in one night (not huge 12x4) so made a bent pvc cover with chicken wire..now it is time to re-do I am too old to climb inside my “tunnel” to harvest so Re-do coming up..before summer heat (desert Southwest gets really hot)

[@brendawoods554]

Great video, thank you 🙂

[@terriwolfe7312]

Love watching your videos, and past videos. Especially planning to retire this year. Planning a larger garden. Nancy's cooking videos ....yum!

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Best of luck!

[@roncarlson8061]

Great video, very interesting

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@michelebushnik2874]

Thank you Hollis for your lovely story, and a great remedy! I too have rabbits and squirrels in my area, and I think the hardware cloth would work perfect! But I wonder if the squirrels will climb it and get over?? I'm looking for a four foot high mesh to replace current mesh that is coated. Wish me luck!!!

[@allanulen3809]

Woodchucks climb. One got in our raised bed last year.

[@tbraxton2985]

Good day from Georgia

[@loveishope4406]

I bet you were the sweetest kid.

[@katrinagarland5219]

The story you told about when you were a little boy almost had me tearing up. So cute... Glad to have these tips as I was wondering what to do about my Mr. Rabbit. Thanks

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

You are so welcome!

[@sharoncaldwell2204]

Love this!!!

[@kennethflynn2469]

Elevation works good. I would fence the garden not the whole yard. They make 1 inch fence that last long time and keeps rabbits out. Another is called critter fence. A pvc coated wire

[@johnjude2685]

You always help Thanks 👍

[@HollisNancysHomestead]

Thank you John for watching 👍

[@fightinglady52]

From years of gardening, rabbits, rats, possums and skunks all like to eat our gardens. These animals are all good diggers. In just a few minutes can dig under that small wire. A good application for that small wire is to fold at least 8,10 or even 12 inches of small wire out on top of ground and then up the post and fasten. Yes taller wire to begin with will be needed Helps out tremendously on critters digging under the fence. Now possums, skunks and rats are also good climbers. Electric wire fence is the best deterrent I know of And last: plant plenty for every body Leaf cutter ants, that’s another story

[@dameoftruth4022]

I'm looking at a bb gun and motion sensitive lighting.

[@tracyrivers8041]

How is Bing Bing doing? Sounds like he is all healed up! Thanks for the info!

[@chandramajett1290]

Would that also work for racoon and skunks

[@SherryTheSecretary]

Are the rabbits causing a new problem for you? Maybe they just discovered your garden going so well? Well I'm glad you found a solution. Thanks for sharing

[@samuelschult985]

That was a task but necessary 👍

[@robinmiller1783]

24” f raised beds is not enough….unfortunately they jump into my beds. I have stone raised beds. I have to chicken wire around their favorite crops. I have to totally cage in the squirrels favorites. I have one bed bunnies/squirrels were getting in and I chicken wired it but still they were getting in. I hung “repels all” in little sachets low on the chicken wire. I also sprinkled it on the cement edges of the bed. That worked. It’s a real struggle.

[@catherines4202]

Hello! Very timely video. I’ve been thinking about expanding outside of our 30ftx30ft fenced garden. I know you said the hardware cloth was in 100ft rolls but what is the other measurement? 2ft? 3ft? If I put that around a 1ft tall galvanized raised bed will it keep the rabbits out? There are so many here going back and forth through the property line fence, no small openings seem to deter them. Please let me know how wide it is. Thanks!