Tulips popping up in a garden are a long-awaited, welcome sign of spring. But these glorious flowers are incredible vulnerable to being eaten by a variety of critters – deer, chipmunks, groundhogs – and my personal garden nemesis, rabbits! I decided to fight these garden pests by declaring war and trying out a homemade rabbit repellent for tulips.
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UPDATE
I originally wrote this post April 2021 when the tulips were first sprouting. Honestly, this recipe didn’t work as well as I hoped. BUT it might work for you so don’t click back to Google search results quite yet….
My advice? Still give this recipe a try. Perhaps I have extremely tough, hungry urban bunnies. Or perhaps I didn’t apply enough of the homemade repellant.
Backstory
In the fall of 2020 during the height of the pandemic, I went a bit crazy and bought over 100 tulip bulbs and planted them in a garden bed that runs along the side of my house. This garden bed only measures about 2 ft by 14 ft, so admittedly it’s A LOT of tulips in one location.
It was probably a reaction to the pandemic and being unable to travel. As my neighbor noted when she saw me planting, “You can’t go The Netherlands, so The Netherlands are coming to you!”
Fast forward to spring time and the bulbs are sprouting! But then I noticed something – the young tulip shoots had ragged edges. It looked weird. To determine if animals were nibbling on them, I set up my nightcam (like this one). And sure enough, bunnies popped up at night munching happily on the leaves. Apparently young tulip leaves are the “caviar” of bunny cuisine. UGH!
(Sidenote: I feel a little odd that just last week was Easter and I talked up the Easter bunny to my kids. And now, I’m declaring war on rabbits in my garden….. I’m not a bad person, right????)
I mean, sure, I love bunnies. But I’m NOT looking to offer my garden (flower, vegetable nor herb) as an open salad bar to them….
Related Post: 10+ Veggies and Herbs Rabbits Won’t Eat (Free Printable)
Homemade Rabbit Repellent for Tulips
First I did some research and determined that there are 3 Ways to Protect Tulips from Critters:
- Physical Barriers (i.e. fencing)
- Repellants
- Companion Planting
I decided to first try the second method, repellants. And while there are a host of repellants, from commercial options like Liquid Fence to natural options like human hair, I leaned towards trying a homemade liquid option.
After researching online, I was inspired to create my own homemade repellent inspired by recipes from America’s Master Gardener Jerry Baker and Tips Bulletin. What I love about this recipe it that it uses ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen! And it’s cheap to make!!!
Rabbit Repellent Ingredients
- 1 gallon of water
- 5-6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper (crushed red pepper will also work – the hotter the better)
- 1 ounce of hot sauce
- Small squirt of dishwashing liquid
- Optional: handful of chopped onions
Rabbit Repellent Instructions
The instructions are incredibly simple. First, fill a clean milk jug almost to the top with tap water. Add remaining ingredients to the milk jug. Cap and shake jug. Place the jug outdoors for 2 days in the sun to marinate.
(If you don’t want to wait, you can use Danielle at The Rustic Elk‘s strategy of grinding the solids and marinating overnight in a small amount of water).
After 2 days, you have the option to pour the homemade rabbit repellent directly on and around the tulips. Or apply with a spray bottle.
If you go the sprayer route, to avoid solids from clogging up the sprayer tip, strain the rabbit and rodent repellent through cheesecloth. For added deterrent bonus, dry the solids and sprinkle them around the border of your garden.
Downside to Homemade Rabbit Repellent for Tulips
There is one negative to using a homemade rabbit repellent for tulips. It must be reapplied on a regular basis or after a rain event. New growth that emerges after applying is not protected and rains wash away the concoction.
Is a Homemade Rabbit Repellent for Tulips Effective?
Good question. In my experience it had limited effectiveness. Perhaps my mistake was that I used the spray bottle route and it wasn’t as potent as the direct pour. Perhaps I should have sprayed every day (versus every other day) but the concoction left such a strong garlic and pepper smell it seemed effective (which BTW left me craving Italian food… ?).
So after spraying, I set up a night camera to video what happened at night. And what did I see? At first, rabbits taking a wiff of the repellent and stepping back. Some backed away completely (yippee!) but others didn’t. Instead they twitched their ears and nose as if thinking about their next move. And then they must have decided the smell wasn’t that bad becuase they leaned in and started munching on my tulips. UGH!
I considered changing my strategy and going bolder with a direct pour. But I was too scared to try and lose more greenery. Ultimately I ended up using a physical barrier – deer mesh – which was incredibly effective. I talk more about it in this post 3 Ways To Protect Tulips from Rabbits.
I hope this recipe works better for the bunnies in your garden! I’d love to hear your experience!
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