LOL Tom. My yard is full of circles of fences too. And when spring comes, I must fence my perennial gardens. Doesn't matter how many rabbits I remove, when you live in rabbit heaven. I had a 21 year old dwarf Minima Hemlock killed by mice eating the bark a few years back. It was worth a lot more than $80, if that can make you feel any better. At least I don't have problems with people-varmints.

Scanning a few other forums, a poster from Ohio says that Arm & Hammer Carpet Deodorizer is an effective deterrant for squirrels, rabbits and deer. Apparently all fragrances were tried and all worked - although the smellier the better was noted in one post.

They're all pretty smelly, especially the one to eliminate pet odors. Pretty inexpensive too - something like $1.50 for a big carton at Wal-Mart. I picked some up since anything's worth a try.

type Arm & Hammer Carpet Deodorizer in the search box and check all forums and you should get 3 references to this product.

When I first started gardening (many years ago) I watched chipmonks come through and eat every single tulip bud just before they bloomed. Then the rabbits came in and munched happily on all my newly planted apple trees. After that the mice came and ate every single african marigold I had been growing for two months in my greenhouse. It was time to fight back! We now have two labs patroling the grounds during the day, and I use rabbit and deer repellent around the base of any new trees, and around the borders of all my flower gardens. It smells like an old outhouse when you first apply it, but once it dries, the odor is hardly detectable, and I've not lost a plant that I've sprayed in a couple of years. The best part is that I was able to remove all the chicken wire I had all over the yard, and the stuff only needs to be applied about every couple of months. It's expensive, but it seems to work. I think the active ingredient in the one I use is coyote urine. Good luck.
Colleen

Do repellants work on bark and stems in the winter? This seems to be my greatest problem. For example, my spirea and potentilla are eaten to the ground in the winter, and my burning bush is nearly girdled.

I should think they might work over winter - it's the odor of the repellants that deter critters; supposedly confuses their olfactories and they get "trained" to leave things alone... and the odor is not supposed to dissapate with rains, etc. I've used Liquid Fence for deer with good results. But I start that program in the spring when plants are just emerging. I have lost crocus, pansies, growth tips on lilies, etc. to rabbits and use chicken wire now since that kind of disappears into the foliage when things really get going. This season I'm trying the carpet deodorizer and won't throw out the chicken wire just yet.

On a tree or shrub that has any kind of trunk to speak of, you might try a burlap wrapping to discourage girdling by rabbits, mice or voles.

The repellent I use is for both rabbits and deer. I spray my trees and shrubs in late fall, and it does seem to work. If I lose any of them, it's only because I forget to reapply after two or three months. My flower gardens all have borders of rock, railroad ties, etc, so I spray those instead of the stems or the ground. Maybe that's why they leave the beds alone.

I hesitate to be the one to inspire fits of jealousy, but I have never been bother by either deer or rabbits, despite the fact, that our garden is the middle of a 300-acre farm. The garden has been growing for eight years, and although I have seen both deer and rabbits here, there has not been any damage and I have never used any form of protection. That said, I do have a landscape customer in the Twin Cities who was as demoralize as most of the posters here. I ordered her some "coyote urine" four years ago and she hasnÂt had a problem since. They sell little bottles with cotton wicks in them that you place on the edge of your garden  no more chicken wire guards! Go to http://www.predatorpee.com/