How to protect your plants from rabbits and squirrels

Photo by Albi748

There's nothing worse than putting so much work into caring for your plants only to find them destroyed by the wildlife. Even though I love the squirrels and rabbits, they can be a pain to deal with! If you’re like me, and have had enough of the damage, take a read of my 6 points that could help you.

 

Photo via Pinterest

1) Cover with wire mesh

Wire mesh shaped around the top of your pots will create a barrier between your plants and anything that wants to dig in it. If you don’t like the look of wire over all your pots, you can put wire under the soil and it will still work!

 

Photo via Good Housekeeping

2) Plant natural repellents

Squirrels hate the smell of garlic, onion, dandelion, hyacinth, marigold, and lily of the valley – planting these around your plants will put them off. For rabbits, try the above and peonies. For some rodents, chives might help.

 

Photo by the Gardening Cook

3) Mix in natural repellents

Mixing in (or spraying around pots) peppers, vinegar, peppermint or garlic can deter animals as they have a strong ‘offensive’ scent – make sure you don’t overdo it when mixing it in your soil. You can also poke thorny plants like bramble or rose stems into the soil.

 

Photo via Pinterest

4) DIY some squirrel deterrents

Squirrels are frightened easily. So hang some old cds/dvds from string, tie beads to a soil cake tin, or even spike pinwheels in your plant pots. The noises from the beads and movement of cds or pinwheels should be enough to scare them away.

 

Photo by New College Farm

5) Fence in your plants

In my garden, I’ve build a fence with a mesh dug into the ground to discourage any rabbits. The mesh is deep enough to make them not bother, and high enough so they can’t jump over. My fence panels are also relatively close together so they can’t easily slip through the gaps, even if they could.

If you wanted extra protection, you could consider building a thorny border around your fence.

 

Photo via Pinterst

6) Plant decoy plants

For rabbits, plants like nettles, dandelions, and daisies are much more nutritious for them than trees (what they eat in my garden), so they’ll go for them instead of your prize plants! For squirrels, opt for a stash of sunflower seeds, peanuts or dried corn for them to snack on.

 

 

I hope this post will help you with battling wildlife! 

 

 ----> Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, Nate.