I have had successful with sprinkling blood meal on the ground around the perimeter of the garden. The smell scares them away.

Well, my heart goes out to you. It's tough to have your efforts ruined by the wildlife in your area. My garden is protected by removable fencing, and has never been compromised by an animal. However, I understand that most gardeners aren't willing to take such drastic measures for protection.

EG

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden blog

ahh. I have a "rabbit friend" in my yard most days and I just set up my sfg! I will be following this thread carefully but unfortunately I have nothing interesting to contribute at this time. I have some chicken wire in my garage I will set up tonight but I have not had any rabbit problems yet to compare the results with. He/she seems content with the weeds around the perimeter of my yard so far.

Blood meal can be used but theres one thing you must know with using it. It creates a "scary" situation that animals MAY not want to enter. For instance say you see a room full of blood, are you going to go in it? Some may some may not, but same goes for animals, if its desperate for food he will risk the smell of blood to get it, then once he finds out its fake, its over.

You can use plants to keep rabbits away, garlic pants give off a very strong smell that is to potent for rabbits to endure so they retreat at the smell of it. Should also prevent them from even smelling the veggies.

As far as groundhogs go. Your only hope is to build raised beds with hardware cloth below each bed. It is basically the only thing they cant chew through. I am not able to think of a few other things I have heard to keep rabbits out and avoid the use of chicken wire etc but the wife knows the rest of that. I will update you if I find out some more but I am guess garlic pants are best to keep them away. Do some research on your own if you like.

Best of luck, and I posted a pic of our garden to show u what we had to do to keep the groundhogs out.

https://picasaweb.google.com/heather.willens/HeatherMikeSGarden?authkey=Gv1sRgCNmn2JD4_ea_ZA&feat=email#5604470852918695490

A big dog in the yard is a nice organic solution to critter problems. But that's not practical for many people.
Fence is your solution. Either around the yard or around the garden. I wouldn't fuss with putting fencing around each square.

I got lucky that my husband works at a "chicken farm" These are caged chickens that provide eggs to the onsite breaker operations. To all who disagree with the idea of caged chickens: THEY ARE HAPPY AND WELL TAKEN CARE OF.
Anyway, the cage floors wear out and one or two tiny wires break so they throw them away. ( they are approximately 4 ft long and 2 foot tall (wide)
I hook them together with zip ties in a circle, or fence and put them around the plants.
Not the most beautiful solution but it works. (these are a heavy wire with thinner wire rectangles inside (so the poop can fall through) If you are interested in seeing what I am talking about let me know and I will send a picture. (I don't know how to post one yet) Missy

I use a product called Liquid Fence. My house backs onto the local Arboretum and there are a million rabbits in there - I see them all over the neighbourhood all the time. I've had my garden for 3 years now, have used this product from the start and have never had a problem with my veg being eaten by rabbits. A word of warning - it smells like dead bodies when you spray it around, but when it dries it doesn't smell at all. I spray weekly for about a month, then monthly after that for the rest of my growing season.

Hope this helps,

Bel

Here is a link that might be useful: Liquid Fence - Deer and Rabbit

some stupid rabbit ate our very first tomato of the season! Grrrrr!!! It was so beautiful too!!!

LOL! MichaelTodd is hilarious. I'm sure there are some Scarface or Tony Soprano type rabbits out there who might enter a bloodied garden.

forensicmom...there are several products on the market that advertise an ability to deter or scare away pests. Some end with Scram eg. Deer Scram. I've also seen a product called CritterRidder that sold well at the hardware store near me. I've also seen it at HD. There is also predator urine products that you can buy and apply... eg Fox Urine. Others in these forums have recommended dog hair scattered around the garden or human hair. Some also have reported success spreading human urine around. Some pests are deterred by hot pepper powder (cayenne). Finally I've heard of bright lights, strobe lights, or yard sprinklers hooked up to motion sensors as a switch. If I were you I would try them all until I found one that works. For me, an occasional spreading of "recycled beer" around has worked well. I guess the only sure thing is an impenetrable physical barrier, but that also seems like the most difficult to implement.

I forgot to add that my neighbor has 2 domestic cats that help keep the pests at bay, especially at night when they roam outdoors. Occasionally they will get a bird or mouse but the rabbits are probably repelled as well. I also forgot to mention the noise makers...I've seen one that you stick in the ground and it supposedly repels groundhogs and gophers.

Depending on where you live and the local laws, plus any relevant safety considerations, consider shooting them with a 22 LR rifle. I know some will be horrified at the suggestion, but I don't intend to let the labor on our garden be wasted.

I had the same problem - rabbits wouldn't even let our transplants get started. Last year I put fence around it and they appreciated the protection it afforded so much they built a warren under my parsley. This year I was determined to win or give up. I built raised beds and at each corner pounded a piece of 3/4" PVC vertically down in the ground ending at the top of the frame and secured them with modified pipe hanger brackets so they'd go right against the corner. Then, I put 1/2" PVC in each of those and attached 24" high 1/2" plastic mesh between them, by weaving small dowels back and forth through the mesh and then securing them to the 1/2" pipe with plastic cable ties. So I have 4 separate panels for the 4 sides that come off easily for access and the rabbits are still around, but have developed a taste for my hostas and lawn - away from the garden. VICTORY!

whoops. meant to show you a pic.

Here is a link that might be useful: 3 Raised Beds