What do you saywhen your 5 year-old hands you a headless rabbit?
Yeah, I was tongue-tied too.
We were out working in the yardwhen I pointed out to Prairie Girl that her barn cat was carrying a freshly-caught bunny in its mouth.
A split-second later, I heard “Here, Mommy” and turned around to see her holdinga decapitated rabbit by it’s hind legs.
Followed by, “Hang on, I’ll get the head too…”
I stuttered for a minute beforequickly explaining the rabbit was beyond the point of saving. Prairie Girl begrudgingly returned the bunny to the annoyed cat, and I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of my blonde-headed little girl wrestling a headless rabbit from the mouth of a hungry kitty. She seems to have inherited her mama’s strong stomach.
But that brings us to the topic of rabbits.
We have a rabbit epidemic…
It wasn’t so bad when we had our two athletic dogs, but ever since they passed away, the bunny population has sky-rocketed. Our remaining dogs (an old, fat one, and a big, slow one) just aren’t cutting it, and although the barn cats will grab one here and there, they still aren’t making a dent.
Truthfully, the rabbits wouldn’t bother me much if they would just stay away from my vegetables. We have a fence around the garden (hog panels plus chicken wire at the bottom), but I think they are still squeezing in somewhere.
And they have done a very thorough job of eating every.single.one of my cucumber plants down to the nubs.
I’m not impressed.
Because I want pickles.;
I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on rabbit repelling sprays, and versions of this liquid fence recipe get rave reviews. The key is to make it stinky… Very, very stinky.
So I mixed up a BIG batch of this homemade liquid fence recipe and have been spraying it religiously.
Some folks say it works for deer too, but since we don’t have deer problems in our garden, I can’t vouch for that.
Homemade Liquid Fence® Recipe
- 2 eggs
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoondish soap (I use this kind– affiliate link)
- 10-20 drops clove essential oil — optional (my favorite essential oils)
- 1 gallon water
- Pump sprayer (like this one)
Crack theeggs and combine them with the garlic and water in a bucket (use an old bucket you don’t mind getting icky).
Cover the mixture, and set it outside in the sun for 24-48 hours. Yup, that’s right. We want it to ferment and fester and get really, er… strong.
After it’s had time to get nice and smelly, strain out the garlic chunks, then mix in the soap and clove essential oil.
Place the liquid fence mixture in a sprayerand spray generously around any area of your garden or yard that is being overtaken by rabbits.
I spray mine around the perimeter of my garden, in between the rows that are having the most problems (cucumbers!), and even on some of the plants.
Reapply after heavy rains or watering.
Notes:
- WEAR GLOVES with you apply this stuff! This liquid fence recipe stinks like crazy and the garlic makes it hard to wash off your skin completely. It doesn’t burn or anything. It just stinks.
- I use a garden sprayer for myliquid fence recipe. It makes the application process much easier, as compared to using a small spray bottle. Although, if a small sprayer is all you have, it’ll still work, your hand just might get tired.
- As with any spray I might be using on my plants, I try to apply this in the evenings and avoid the heat of the day. Sometimes a spray, combined with the sun’s rays, can “burn” a plant’s leaves a bit. I haven’t had any problems thus far, but just FYI.
- You can totally cut this liquid fence recipe in half if you want to make a smaller amount.
- I let my sprayer sit a few days before cleaning it, and the egg residue clogged it up a bit. It’s best to use a full batch and then clean everything out between uses, if possible.
- Have old eggs or even slightly rotten ones? This is a great way to get rid of them! The stinkier, the better…
- If you don’t have clove essential oil, you can add 10-15 whole cloves to your liquid fence recipe and allow it to steep with the garlic before straining. Or, just omit the cloves altogether.
MY OTHER TRICKS FOR NATURALLY BATTLING PESTS:
- Organic Pest Control Spray for Gardens
- Homemade Fly Spray Recipe
- Natural Strategies for Fly Control in the Chicken Coop
- DIY Bug Bite Relief Stick
- 20+ Natural Insect Repellent Recipes
