How To Keep Rabbits Out Of Your Yard

Signs Of Rabbits In Your Yard

Before we discuss how to repel rabbits, here are a few signs of rabbit activity.

Bite Or Gnawing Marks

Rabbits love vegetables and younger plants. They especially like the following plants:

• Plants in the rose family
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Apple trees
• Maples
• Sumac
• Dogwood

So if you happen to have any of the above in your yard, be aware they may attract rabbits. Usually, rabbits won’t eat the bark of trees, like maple, until it’s the middle of winter and they have nothing else to eat. However, they won’t have a problem switching from berries to bark if they get hungry enough. Rhode Island’s cold winters — with limited ground-level food sources from December through March — can push hungry rabbits to gnaw bark they’d otherwise ignore.

Rabbit Pellets

This is a polite way of saying “rabbit poop.” Rabbit poop looks like hard compacted pellets – like raisins but rounder. If you see these pellets in your garden, you’ve got rabbits. See our post “cleaning up rabbit droppings“.

Tufts Of Fur

Rabbits shed their thicker winter coats in the spring, so if you see tufts of fur caught on the edges of fence lines, plants, or branches, it’s often an indicator of rabbit activity. In southern New England, this shedding typically picks up in March and April as temperatures begin to rise.

Rabbit Control Methods

The Do’s

Put Up Fences

Chicken wire and hardware cloth both work very well at keeping rabbits out. If you’re not familiar, hardware cloth is a wire mesh that looks like a window screen, but the square holes are larger. You can fence in an entire area, like a vegetable patch, or surround a specific tree or young plant that needs protection. Make sure the wire is about two feet high. While rabbits can’t climb, they can jump. You can also fence in your yard, but you may need to dig down a foot or so and install a solid barrier if you choose this option. Otherwise, the rabbits can squeeze beneath the fence.

Use Smells Rabbits Hate

There are many plants and things that you can put down to keep rabbits away. And as it happens, many of these natural rabbit repellents also repel Japanese beetles, which, if you didn’t know, are the bugs that produce the white grubs that eat turfgrass. So by repelling rabbits, you may kill two birds with one stone and repel some grubs as well!

These plants repel rabbits and are easy to find at your local nursery:

• Onions
• Lilac
• Marigold
• Zinnias
• Daffodils
• Lavender
• Basil
• Parsley
• Oregano
• Peonies
• Japanese Maples

You can also put down these organic compounds:

• Onion powder
• Garlic
• Powdered red pepper
• Dried blood

Dried blood is usually made from the blood of cows that would normally go unused during the slaughtering process. This compound is dried and is sold at nurseries and hardware stores. In addition to repelling rabbits, it’s also a great natural fertilizer. So you can nurture your plants as you protect them!

The Don’ts

Noises And Lights

Rabbits are indeed skittish creatures. They have a right to be. They are the target of practically every predator in North America. They may run away from loud noise or sudden light at first, but they will learn that this is something to be ignored. Consequently, it’s a waste of time to rely on noisemakers or leave patio lights on in hopes of scaring them off.

Fake Predators

You may have seen figurines of owls, snakes, hawks, or foxes placed strategically in yards with the hope of keeping rabbits away. Like the noises and bright lights, rabbits will catch on to the fact that these are not real animals. Don’t waste your money on these dupes.

Poison

As we discuss in the next section, it’s illegal to poison rabbits in this state. Many people falsely believe that since rabbits are a type of rodent, they can use mouse or rat poison to kill them off. This is not the case. And in fact, not only would you break the law, you likely won’t affect the rabbits. You’re more likely to harm neighborhood pets.

Trapping

This may seem like the humane option, but unfortunately, that leaves you responsible for dealing with the animal. Rabbits may carry diseases, so it’s not recommended that you trap rabbits yourself. And since rabbits are considered an agricultural pest, it’s not advisable to catch-and-release because doing so may move the problem from your yard to someone else’s. And as for killing rabbits, it is illegal to do so in Rhode Island. It’s really best to leave rabbit control to the professionals.

Get Professional Rabbit Control From 4everGreen Turf Management

The team at 4everGreen Turf Management brings over 50 years of combined lawn and landscape experience to every property we service. We offer professional deer and rabbit repellent to homeowners and property owners across Rhode Island, Connecticut, and southern Massachusetts. Every engagement begins with a free property analysis — one of our technicians walks your yard to evaluate soil and grass types and identify any weeds, pests, or diseases before a single product goes down. We’ll protect your landscape from rabbits while keeping your turf nourished through our lawn care services.

We use an eco-friendly, pet-friendly product that lasts even through summer rain. It does not emit an offensive odor, nor does it harm the rabbits. It keeps rabbits out without killing them — a win-win for all. And we can easily add it to a lawn care plan, so you can nurture your plants and protect them at the same time. If you’re ever less than satisfied, we’ll work to resolve the issue — that’s our guarantee.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most reliable signs that rabbits are damaging my yard?

The three most common indicators are clean, angled bite or gnaw marks on young plants and shrubs, round compacted pellets (rabbit droppings) scattered through garden beds, and tufts of shed fur caught on fencing or low branches. In southern New England, watch for bark gnawing on maples and fruit trees during the winter months when other food sources are scarce.

Which plants naturally repel rabbits in a Rhode Island garden?

Several common, easy-to-find plants discourage rabbits through scent and taste. Good choices include lavender, marigolds, daffodils, zinnias, peonies, and herbs like basil, parsley, and oregano. As a bonus, many of these also help deter Japanese beetles — the pest responsible for the white grubs that damage turfgrass roots in late summer.

Is it legal to trap or poison rabbits in Rhode Island?

Poisoning rabbits is illegal in Rhode Island, and using common rodenticides is unlikely to affect them while posing real risk to pets. Trapping is technically possible but creates problems: rabbits may carry diseases, and relocating them simply shifts the issue to another property. Professional repellent treatments are the safest and most legally straightforward solution.

Can 4everGreen add rabbit repellent to my existing lawn care plan?

Yes. The eco-friendly, pet-safe repellent 4everGreen applies can be incorporated directly into your lawn care program, so your turf gets the nutrition it needs while your plants stay protected from rabbits — all in a single scheduled visit. Every new customer starts with a free property analysis before any products are applied.