The most reliable way to get rid of rabbits without killing them is to combine physical barriers with habitat changes that make your property unappealing. No single method works perfectly on its own, but layering two or three approaches, like fencing your garden, removing hiding spots, and using repellents, will push rabbits to settle somewhere else.
Confirm That Rabbits Are the Problem
Before investing time and money, make sure rabbits are actually causing the damage. Rabbit feeding leaves a distinctive clean, angled bite on stems and branches, almost like a diagonal snip from pruning shears. Deer, by contrast, tear and break stems, leaving a rough, shredded edge. Voles can also girdle bark on young trees, but vole damage extends all the way down to the soil surface, while rabbit damage starts above the snow line in winter. Look for pea-sized round droppings scattered near the damage, along with well-worn trails through your beds or along fence lines.
Install the Right Fencing
A properly built fence is the single most effective non-lethal solution. Use welded wire or chicken wire with openings no larger than about 4 centimeters (roughly 1.5 inches). The fence should stand at least 90 to 100 centimeters (about 3 feet) above ground, which prevents rabbits from jumping over.
The critical detail most people miss is burying the bottom edge. Rabbits dig, and a fence that sits on the soil surface is easy to breach. Bury at least 15 centimeters (6 inches) of mesh below ground level, angling the buried portion outward in an L-shape if possible. This underground “foot” stops rabbits from tunneling beneath. For individual trees or shrubs, you can wrap the trunk with hardware cloth in a cylinder, keeping it a few inches away from the bark and extending it high enough that rabbits can’t reach over, even when standing on packed snow.
Remove Hiding and Nesting Spots
Rabbits stay where they feel safe. They nest under decks, inside brush piles, beneath low-growing shrubs, and in tall weedy patches. Removing these sheltered areas makes your yard far less attractive. Start by clearing brush piles, mowing tall grass, and pulling weeds along fence lines and building edges. Fill in any existing burrows you find in your yard.
If rabbits are nesting under a deck, porch, or shed, enclose the gap between the structure and the ground with hardware cloth or lattice backed by wire mesh. Before sealing it off, give the rabbits a few days to leave on their own. You can encourage them by placing a repellent inside the space first, then closing it up once you’re confident the area is empty. Nesting season runs roughly from March through September for most cottontail species, so check carefully for baby rabbits before sealing any den site during those months.
Use Repellents Strategically
Repellents come in two categories: scent-based products that create fear or an unpleasant smell, and taste-based products applied directly to plants. Scent repellents include formulas made from predator urine, soap-based compounds, garlic, or eggs. Taste repellents typically contain capsaicin (hot pepper extract) and make treated plants unpalatable.
The biggest limitation of any repellent is longevity. Taste repellents in particular break down quickly and need reapplication after rain, sprinkler irrigation, or whenever new plant growth appears. Scent repellents last somewhat longer but still fade. Plan on reapplying every one to two weeks, or more often during rainy stretches. Repellents work best as a supporting tool alongside fencing or habitat modification, not as a standalone fix.
Skip Ultrasonic Devices
Ultrasonic pest repellers are widely sold online and claim to drive animals away with high-frequency sound. The evidence behind them is extremely weak. Researchers at McGill University reviewed the available science and concluded there is simply not enough evidence that these devices work. Some animals appear to habituate to the noise quickly, while others don’t react to it at all. The limited studies that do exist often lack proper controls, making it impossible to confirm the sound caused any change. Save your money for fencing or repellents.
Live Trapping: When and How
Live trapping can remove individual rabbits, but it has practical limits. In summer, rabbits reproduce quickly and food is abundant everywhere, making it hard to lure them into a trap. Winter trapping is more effective because natural food is scarce, especially during snow cover, and rabbits are more motivated by bait.
The best baits for live rabbit traps are carrots, apples, dried corn, and dried clover or alfalfa. Place traps directly along visible rabbit runs or trails rather than in random spots. Check traps at least twice daily to minimize the animal’s stress.
Before setting any trap, check your local and state wildlife regulations. In many jurisdictions, you cannot relocate a trapped rabbit to public land, including state parks and wildlife management areas. Wisconsin’s rules, for example, explicitly prohibit releasing captured animals on state-controlled land, and require landowner permission for release on private property. Similar restrictions exist in many other states. Contact your local wildlife agency to find out what’s legal in your area. Releasing rabbits in unfamiliar territory also carries risks for the animal, since they may not find adequate food or shelter and face increased predation.
Plant What Rabbits Avoid
Replacing vulnerable plants with rabbit-resistant varieties won’t remove rabbits from your property entirely, but it reduces the food reward that keeps them coming back. Rabbits tend to avoid plants with strong scents, fuzzy or prickly textures, or toxic compounds. Good options for sunny spots include lavender, thyme, yarrow, lamb’s ears, butterfly weed, blanket flower, wormwood, yucca, and sea holly. Blue flax and red-hot poker also rank well on resistance lists from Penn State Extension.
No plant is completely rabbit-proof, especially when food is scarce in late winter. But a landscape built around these species gives rabbits less reason to visit. If you’re growing vegetables they love, like lettuce, beans, or peas, protect those beds with fencing and surround them with herbs and flowers rabbits dislike.
Putting It All Together
The most effective approach layers multiple methods. Fence your most valuable beds with properly buried wire mesh. Clear brush piles and seal off spaces under structures. Apply a scent or taste repellent around the perimeter during peak growing season and reapply it regularly. Shift your landscaping toward plants rabbits avoid. If a persistent individual keeps returning, a live trap in winter with fresh apple or carrot bait, placed along its trail, can remove it from the equation. None of these steps requires harming the animal, and together they make your yard a place rabbits simply choose to leave.