Did you take your rabbit for a walk, and they started to eat some pansies along the way? Or perhaps something got into your bed of pansies, and you want to know if it could be a rabbit?
Not only can rabbits eat pansies, but it also happens to be one of their favorite foods.
Read on to figure out how to pick out the best pansies for your pet. If you own a garden of pansies, this article will also teach you how to keep rabbits away from your beloved plants.
Pansies are safe for rabbits
Rabbits experiment with a lot of plants to see how they taste. Usually, they know which plants are dangerous for them, especially in the wild.
However, domestic rabbits sometimes lose the ability to know if plants are dangerous, so it is always best to check if a plant is okay for your rabbit to eat before letting them take a tester nibble.
There are quite a few flowers that are good for rabbits as delicious treats, and pansies are a particular favorite of rabbits.
They can eat all parts of pansies, not just the petals, so they are plants they can eat directly from the ground without worry, as long as the area is pesticide-free.
If you are buying your rabbit pansies for a treat, you can get them either fresh or dried. However, you want to make sure they are labeled as edible.
Many commercial flowers are filled with chemicals to preserve them that can harm your rabbit.
You can let your rabbit eat them just as a treat or sprinkle them on top of their hay for a little more flavor in nutrition in their meal.
Ways to prevent rabbits from eating pansies in my garden
What if you don’t own a pet rabbit but are instead trying to keep them out of your yard? When rabbits become too much of a problem in your garden, there are a few steps you can take that are safe for your gardens and the rabbits, but will keep the pesky animals away.
Raised beds
Premade raised beds or pots are a good way to keep rabbits out of your garden. They generally will not try to climb into them to grab food when it puts them in a dangerous position to be seen by predators, especially when other food is available.
However, if this is not enough to deter the pests, you can combine other pest prevention with this method to make it more effective.
Firmer fences
Sturdy fences can be an excellent option to keep rabbits out. However, the fences must be tight and firm. A rabbit can work its way through the loose chicken wire if they have enough time.
They are also able to jump over or burrow under fencing.
Fencing should be about 2-foot high and 10 inches underground to be the most effective at keeping away rabbits. Applying strong netting works as well.
Smells and chemicals
There are man-made chemicals out there that are meant to deter rabbits. They can be sprayed around the garden and will usually last a month or two at a time.
This makes them easier than homemade repellents, which usually have to be reapplied every few days.
However, the benefit is that the homemade version does not use many harsh and sometimes harmful chemicals that can injure animals that they aren’t intended to, like a family pet or even a child.
Homemade ones can be found online but usually involve ingredients like dish soap, garlic, and spicy peppers.
Blood meal and sulfur are items you can buy to sprinkle around your garden and can actually provide some nutrients into your soil.
However, blood meal is dangerous to dogs and should never be used if they are at risk of getting into it.
Another natural way to keep rabbits away is urine. You can buy urine from common rabbit predators online and pour some of it around your garden and yard occasionally.
Some of these will repel multiple types of animals, so if rabbits aren’t your only issue, then look into multi-purpose options, allowing you to keep out multiple pests with one solution.
Plants that repel rabbits
There are certain plants that attract rabbits and ones that repel them. It is important to learn about both to know what you are getting into.
For example, pansies are a flower that rabbits love to eat and will often bring rabbits to your garden. There are other plants like violets, greens, beans, and root vegetables. These will all bring rabbits to your garden.
When you are planting them, it would be wise to go ahead and apply some anti-rabbit protection to keep them safe.
You can also plant them with plants that repel rabbits to help keep them away. These are plants like azaleas, marigolds, and onions.
As with the sprays, some plants can also repel insects, deer, or other pests, which can make it a great way to keep your garden safe.
Sudden motion or sound
Rabbits are easily frightened and very cautious of their surroundings to avoid predators. For this reason, motions or loud noises are often enough to scare them off, at least for a while.
At night, using motion lights around your garden can be enough. During the day, having motion water guns or noise boxes could be enough. The sounds could be just any loud noise or a bird of prey.
For the water gun, it can just be a harmless shot of water, not enough to harm them, but just to startle them.
If one of these methods doesn’t end up working for you, try a different one, or even a mix of two or more. Just make sure to do your research to ensure nothing is toxic to any people or pets you will have in your yard.