Bee Balm (Monarda) is a perennial herb native to North America, widely cultivated for its distinct, colorful flowers and aromatic foliage. It is a popular choice for gardeners seeking to attract pollinators like bees and hummingbirds. Monarda species are generally highly resistant to damage from rabbits. This resistance is a natural defense mechanism based on the plant’s strong aromatic properties.
Is Bee Balm Palatable to Rabbits
Rabbits typically avoid Bee Balm due to volatile essential oils concentrated within the plant’s leaves and stems. The Monarda genus is chemically rich in oxygenated monoterpenes, which are responsible for its pungent, mint-like scent and bitter flavor. These compounds, specifically thymol and carvacrol, act as a natural deterrent to foraging animals.
The concentration of these oils gives the plant a taste and smell that rabbits find extremely unappealing, causing them to select other, more palatable vegetation instead. For example, Monarda punctata essential oil can contain thymol as a major component, sometimes over 75%, providing a powerful biological defense. While a rabbit could theoretically consume Bee Balm, the overwhelming scent and bitter taste ensure it is rarely eaten under normal circumstances.
Understanding Rabbit Foraging Habits
A rabbit’s diet is primarily driven by its need for large quantities of forage, and they constantly seek the most tender and nutritious plants available. Wild rabbits are selective feeders that use scent and taste to identify preferred food sources like clover and young annuals. This innate selectivity explains why they pass over strongly scented plants like Monarda.
A rabbit’s foraging habits can be altered by environmental stress, leading to “desperation eating.” Factors like severe drought, deep snow cover, or high local population density can reduce food options and compel rabbits to eat plants they would normally ignore. Under these conditions, the natural resistance of Bee Balm can be tested, and some browsing damage might occur. This demonstrates that no plant is entirely rabbit-proof when the animal is sufficiently hungry.
Garden Strategies for Rabbit Deterrence
Gardeners should use Bee Balm’s natural resistance as part of a multi-layered strategy to protect the entire garden, including surrounding plants that rabbits find more appealing. The most reliable method of exclusion is a physical barrier, such as low fencing.
Fences should be at least 24 to 36 inches tall, constructed with mesh no larger than one inch, such as chicken wire or hardware cloth. To prevent rabbits from burrowing underneath, the fence material must be buried at least 6 inches into the ground, with the buried portion bent outward in an “L” shape away from the garden.
Supplementing physical barriers with repellents offers an additional layer of protection. Repellents often utilize taste or scent compounds, such as capsaicin or putrescent egg solids, applied directly to the foliage. These sprays require reapplication every two to four weeks, especially after heavy rain or when significant new plant growth emerges, to maintain effectiveness.