a large dog????

ken

Liquid Fence.

It's unlikely that it's squirrels. They may dig at the roots, but it's highly unlikely they'll eat the leaves themselves.

Liquid Fence stinks like rotten eggs, so don't use it in the wind and definitely do not spray while you're downwind of the sprayer.

ya know.. if you kill the grass.. and put in clover.. i will bet the rabbits never go back to yucky hosta...

for flavor i add dandelions and plantain ... and some yarrow ...

the weeds are the only things that stay green in july and aug .. lol

i call it a meadow.. rather than a lawn

though i still have a lawn mower.. and not a meadow mower

ken

I second the Liquid Fence. I spray it for the deer, but I rarely see rabbits it my yard, so it must work for them too. If it is rabbits, and not deer, eating your hostas, try sprinkling garlic powder on the leaves. But definitely get the LF. I spray at the end of the day when I know for sure I'm done for the night. It's highly odorous.

And don't spray on a windy day.

Another vote for Liquid Fence. Great stuff.

JR

Cheap/practically free liquid fence:
Dissolve 1 tsp. garlic powder in a gallon of warm water. Put in a spray bottle or one of those pump sprayers if you have a lot of hosta.

I've said it before. You all up north must have some voracious rabbits! There are rabbits all over the woods where I live,and they have yet to eat a hosta,here in my garden. I have seen them eating grasses and weeds,however. Sorry,I can't help you on keeping away rabbits! phil

phil....

i truly believe it is purely related to the monoculture Kentucky blue lawn ...

you NEVER see the rabbits out in GRASS ...

but that salad bar i referred to earlier... they love it ... and leave the plants alone ..

or you could do the old calvin [and hobbes] method ...

phil.. do you have a lawn on your mountain top???? or a cornucopia of meadow weeds that they prefer????

ken

When I asked Master Gardener out here in Seattle,WA she said coffee grounds(make a ring around the plant. It also keeps away squirrels and slugs from what she said.

I also read it somewhere so I am starting to collect all of my coffee grounds,even though I have most of my hostas in pots, but we have LOTS of rabbits where I live!

In answer to your question,Ken. I have no lawn at all,just a narrow strip of grass by the road that goes by my house,that I mow and weedwhack near the fence. The rabbits up here have plenty of weeds and other grasses to eat,and believe me we see rabbits every morning! Phil

Last year we had a lot of clover in the lawn and I had very little bunny damage. This year DH has gotten the lawn in better shape. So far I've had three coneflowers, two toad lilies and two phlox eaten down to nubbins. I've been spraying everywhere with a generic Liquid Fence (Lowes didn't have the real thing last year). I just hope it works while I still have a garden left. Between the bunny and the frost damage to the Pentas that were supposed to be the backbone of my front garden this year, it just isn't going to be very pretty around here.

Totally Confused

Hand-scattering milorganite 1-2 times a month and Liquid Fence seem to help - but if they get hungry enough it won't stop them. Last year I had lots of rabbit damage in one of gardens, this year very little so far - no idea why. I haven't used any LF this year yet - but will soon as preventative.

Paul

When I see signs of rabbit damage, I set a rabbit trap out in the area. I've had fairly good luck with that and simply give the rabbit a new home somewhere else.

esox what do use for bait?

TIA
Paul

Paul,

Lettuce. Tried several things, but lettuce seems to work just fine. I've found that it's usually one or two rabbits that are causing most of my problems, and I've got a pretty big yard. Catch the right rabbit, and things will get better.

Paul, I've only got a tiny bit of damage.
My friend said it's cuz spring sprung early and they had their choice of yummies.
The bad side of it is that with the early spring, it means they'll likely have 3-4 litters rather than 2-3.
THAT sucks!

One year a rabbit was persistently eating my impatiens. I sprinkled them with cayenne pepper, and that was the end of the buffet.

I've also had good luck with a product called Shake Away sprinkled around the garden.

Deanna

I tried the garlic powder idea and it worked. I just need to know how often to apply the garlic

If you use garlic, you should rotate it. The idea is that they will get used to garlic, pepper, Irish Spring soap, Milorganite...

Making a concoction of eggs, vegetable oil peppers, garlic will work. Almost or all manufactured deer and rabbit sprays contain putrefied egg. Studies have shown rotten eggs mimic the smell of well fed wolves. If you want a strong deterrent let the egg mixture 'age' for a while, just make sure you keep it in a well sealed container.

I used to 'make my own', but have found concentrated Deer Fence reasonably priced and now use that as it is economical in the concentrate. Deer Fence has been found to be the best in comparison studies. It has an ingredient that coats leaves and is said to last 3 months.....with mild rain. I don't know about that, but it works well.

Jon

To answer your question redo the garlic when it rains.

have you tried moth balls?

Do the moth ball work and you put them,around areas of your hostas, if u have lots of hostas.

I hate to say but my cat keeps the rabbits under control here.

We have Great Horned Owls to help with the rabbit population, but come spring the owls can't keep up.

Rabbits in our yard seem to eat one plant to the ground, and leave everything else. They like heuchera too.

(Chew-Not®, Deer Off®, Deer-Away® Big Game Repellent, Plantskydd®, Bobbex®, Liquid Fence®, Deer Solution®, Hinder®, Repellex® systemic tablets, and coyote urine) on yews (Taxus cuspidata Densiformis) at 2 different locations in Connecticut. The study included both positive (fence) and negative (no treatment) controls. We planted yews in 2 blocks at each location in the spring of 2006; each block had 12 groups of 6 yews. We randomly assigned one of the 12 treatments to each group of yews within each block. We applied repellents based on manufacturers’ label recommendations for the 2006 and 2007 growing seasons and recorded application costs. We derived a protection index based on plant size and dry needle weights at the end of the 2007 growing season. In general, repellents that required more frequent application performed better. Bobbex® ranked highest, but was the most expensive repellent treatment. Hinder® performed nearly as well at a fraction of the cost. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268445587_Effectiveness_of_deer_repellents_in_Connecticut

Thank you so much for the info yeah I'm on a tight budget I'm trying to find some kind of like home remedies and to help out with cost I'm on a disability SSI

I buy cayenne pepper by the pound.

If milorganite is available in your area you might give it a try. It’s cheap, applied with a hand spreader, has an odor but not as strong as those urine repellents. You need to reapply after a good rain. It’s a mild fertilizer, safe for pets and people. It really helped here.

Sherry

We alternate sprays . Milorganite is a fertilizer and we have never seen it as a deterrent. we use it on Hostas and daylilies. We always need spray sometimes twice a week when the daylily buds and flowers are out.

Does the hosta reach a certain stage of growth where the rabbits are no longer interested?