If you live close to fields and hedgerows, you may have rabbits visiting your garden from time to time! These adorable little creatures can be interesting to watch, but they can cause so much trouble in the garden, especially if you're growing edibles. The good news is that there are humane ways to rabbit-proof your garden and keep your plants and veggies intact.
What attracts rabbits to your garden?
Rabbits are constantly on the lookout for a safe food-source and if you live close to fields, farms, woodlands or one of those or a large hedgerows the chances are that rabbits are in close proximity. Your garden will also be a safe-haven from predators with some great variation of food for them to eat, it's the perfect place to grab a tasty meal.
What do rabbits eat?
Yes, they eat carrots, but they will also munch their way through all of your edible greens, herbs, peas, pansies, roses, most young tender plants or seedlings, and many more. No wonder Mr McGregor was fed up with rabbits in his garden. The good news is that they also like nettles, chickweed and dandelions so will help you out with any weeds and will even trim the lawn for you!
How to spot if you’ve got a rabbit problem?
There’s a few ways to spot if you have a rabbit problem in your garden...the first is that they will leave you little reminders that they have visited in the form of rabbit droppings. If you have long grass and hedgerows around your garden, in the summer months you may see some little pathways that have been trodden/hopped down, you may notice plants and shoots have been gnawed down to ground level and of course rabbit holes in hidden areas or sandy banks. Or, you may spot them unashamedly enjoying your garden!
How to protect your garden from rabbits
There are some practical ways to rabbit-proof your garden from those wild critters humanly by using either raised planters to increase the height of your crops and plants or by planting certain varieties that they won't eat.
Plants to deter rabbits
There are a number of plants that you can include in your garden that will help to deter them, here is a list of 45 species. However, whilst there's a wide variety of readily available species listed it's your garden and you may not want to include these plants. Thankfully there are other ways to rabbit-proof your garden.
Marigolds (Calendula)
Alliums
Californian Poppy
Aquilegia
Rabbit-proof planters
Use tall raised beds to protect your edibles and plants from rabbits. Raise the height of your planting to above 0.50m, as some rabbits can still reach plants by standing on their hind legs. Our raised beds can be built at a number of different heights and we recommend opting for heights between 0.55m and 0.95m for raised beds and borders that are in need of protection from rabbits. Building raised beds and planters at these heights will ensure protection and also complete ease of access for you as you will not need to bend to plant, tend and water your plants and vegetables.
Our high raised beds are also fantastic for deterring other pests such as slugs and snails too, the combination of the height and the rough-sawn wood makes for a great deterrent.
After speaking with our customers, we have designed the perfect Rabbit-Proof Planter Kit. Standing at 0.65m tall, L 3m x W 1.125m this pair of raised beds will protect against rabbits and provide plenty of room for growing lots of tasty veg and fruit. Need a different size? You can also design your own tall raised bed using our Raised Bed Calculator.
Raised beds with crop protectors
If you’d prefer not to have a high raised bed you could consider adding crop protectors to your raised bed for protection. Our galvanised steel protectors can be used to clip a net all the way round to protect against all garden pests including rabbits, slugs, snails, cabbage white butterflies, black fly and garden birds.
By using crop protectors you can create protected raised beds of any height and shape. Try our Raised Bed Calculator for standard raised bed shapes - rectangles, squares, circles, L-shapes and octagons or browse our wide range of pre-designed kits.
Raised garden borders
If rabbits are a problem in your garden, borders can be raised too! Raised garden borders are extremely attractive and using WoodBlocX allows you to add additional features too, such as different shapes, curves and seating.
Again, we would recommend opting for heights from 0.55m to completely rabbit-proof them. There are three quick and easy ways to get a WoodBlocX garden border, you can use our handy Garden Border Calculator tool, browse our Garden Border Designs, or use our Free Design Service. The latter is extremely popular for garden borders as they come in all shapes and sizes and by using this service, you can also add extra design features such as angles, curves or seating. See how our customers have raised their garden borders below.
The benefits of using WoodBlocX to rabbit-proof your garden
Choose the height and shape to suit you
Go high for the ultimate rabbit protection or low with crop protectors to keep the little pests at bay. Our Free Design Service gives you the freedom to create something that suits your space perfectly.
Quick and easy to build
Everything you need is cut to size, and there is absolutely no cutting, screwing or drilling needed to build with WoodBlocX; all you need is a lump hammer. Watch our How To Build video to see how easy it is.
Build anywhere
Our lightweight components are easy to transport around the garden, and you can build our structures on all surfaces, including grass, soil, tarmac, paving and concrete. All you need is a level surface!
Strong, durable and long-lasting
Our structures are super strong and will not crack, warp, or rot. They're built to last 15 years, and lining your raised bed or border will preserve it for even longer.
