Squirrels and rabbits are common challenges for gardeners seeking to protect their plantings. These animals cause damage through distinct behaviors: rabbits primarily gnaw on tender greens and young bark, while squirrels are known for digging up bulbs and raiding fruit trees. Both species view a cultivated garden as a reliable source of food and sometimes shelter. Managing this wildlife requires implementing a combination of non-lethal, practical strategies. This approach focuses on making the garden physically inaccessible, sensory-unappealing, and environmentally unattractive to encourage foraging elsewhere.
Implementing Physical Barriers
Physical exclusion is often the most reliable method for protecting specific garden areas from both rabbits and squirrels. Rabbits are ground-level foragers, necessitating a fence that is both appropriately high and secured deep into the soil. A rabbit-proof fence should stand at least two feet tall and be constructed from galvanized wire mesh, typically with openings one inch or smaller, to prevent young animals from squeezing through.
The bottom edge of the fencing requires careful burial to prevent rabbits from burrowing underneath. Burying the wire six to eight inches deep is standard practice, and bending the buried portion outward at a 90-degree angle creates an apron that discourages digging attempts. For high-value areas like small vegetable patches, hardware cloth or chicken wire cages can be placed directly over seedlings until they are large enough to withstand minor nibbling.
Squirrels are adept climbers and jumpers, requiring specialized barriers, particularly when protecting trees or container gardens. To protect tree-grown fruit or bird feeders, a smooth, cylindrical baffle installed around the trunk or pole is effective. These baffles should be positioned at least four to six feet above the ground to prevent the squirrel from jumping over them. The baffle’s slick surface prevents them from gaining purchase and climbing past the barrier.
For bulbs and containers, hardware cloth offers a simple physical shield against digging. When planting bulbs, a cage made of hardware cloth with half-inch openings can be placed around the cluster and buried just beneath the soil surface. This allows shoots to emerge while preventing squirrels from detecting and excavating the bulbs. Similarly, a small piece of mesh placed just under the mulch layer of a container garden will block digging while still permitting water to pass through.
Sensory Repellents and Deterrents
Sensory-based methods utilize taste, smell, or startling action to persuade animals to avoid the garden area. Commercial repellents often employ a dual-deterrent system, combining an offensive odor with an unpleasant taste to maximize effectiveness. Many popular repellent sprays contain active ingredients like putrescent whole egg solids, which mimic the scent of decaying matter or a predator’s presence to trigger an instinctive avoidance response.
Another common repellent ingredient is capsaicin, derived from chili peppers, which creates an unpleasant taste sensation when animals attempt to consume the treated foliage. These liquid repellents are sprayed directly onto the leaves and surfaces of targeted plants. Granular repellents, which utilize similar odor-based ingredients, are best used as a perimeter treatment around garden beds to create a scented barrier on the soil.
Topical repellents require frequent reapplication, especially after rain or overhead watering, as the active ingredients wash away. Even weather-resistant formulas benefit from reapplying every few weeks to maintain a strong deterrent effect.
For a more immediate and startling effect, motion-activated sprinklers offer an excellent deterrent for both species. These devices use infrared sensors to detect the heat and movement of an animal, triggering a sudden, brief burst of water. The unexpected noise and spray startle the animals, conditioning them to associate that area with an unpleasant surprise.
Motion-activated sprinklers are effective over a large radius, often up to 35 feet, and can be adjusted for sensitivity to target smaller animals. Less reliably, visual deterrents like reflective tape or plastic owl decoys can briefly deter squirrels, but these animals often habituate quickly once they realize the objects are not a genuine threat.
Modifying the Garden Environment
Long-term management involves modifying the garden environment to reduce its appeal as a food source or shelter. Removing easily accessible food is a primary step in decreasing visits from both squirrels and rabbits. This includes diligently cleaning up any fallen fruit, nuts, or berries from trees and bushes, which are strong attractants for squirrels, especially during the fall.
For those who feed birds, switching to squirrel-proof feeders or temporarily removing feeders entirely during periods of high garden damage is necessary. Birdseed, particularly sunflower seeds and corn, encourages squirrels to linger in the vicinity of the garden. Additionally, ensuring that garbage cans and compost bins are securely sealed prevents these animals from accessing discarded food scraps.
Rabbits rely on nearby cover for refuge from predators, making the removal of nesting and hiding spots an effective environmental modification. Eliminating dense brush piles, stacks of firewood, or overgrown weeds near the garden perimeter reduces the sense of security for rabbits. Creating open spaces around the garden makes the animals feel more exposed, which discourages them from venturing into the area.
Another approach involves strategic plant selection, focusing on species that are naturally less desirable to these herbivores. Rabbits tend to avoid plants with strong scents, fuzzy or prickly leaves, or milky sap, such as daffodils, alliums, and certain varieties of sage. Planting these less palatable species around the perimeter of a vulnerable vegetable patch can deflect foraging attempts.