I have tried many products on the internet that claim to control rabbits. To date, NONE have worked. What can you tell me about “Deer Away” that makes this product any better? What guarantees do you offer? Thank you.
Getting rabbits to stop eating plants and then to have them move away with nothing more than a liquid repellent spray or granule can be a tall order to fill. No doubt we have seen our share of products that don’t work so we share your doubt when it comes to any item that relies on repellency as it’s sole method of control. In my mind, there is no repellent that can ever be 100% effective. The reason is obvious; a starving animal will eat what they perceive to be nutritious regardless of how this food item might taste. To confirm my belief, think what any human would do if stranded on an island with nothing but liver and onions to eat. True, some people enjoy this cuisine. But the fact is the vast majority of US citizens don’t much care for liver. Yet if they were on a deserted island and nothing but liver was available for food, they’d readily accept this option. So too will most any herbivore in the average yard. No doubt lots of “spray on repellents” taste bad but bad enough to cause any animal to not eat it and starve to death? I think not. So then what good is any repellent you might ask?
Liquid repellents like DEER AWAY are extremely effective when certain conditions exist. For example, if you are growing a plant which the local rabbits have targeted and you wish to stop their destructive behavior, there is a way you can gauge how successful your plan will be. For starters, look around the neighborhood. See who else is growing this particular plant the rabbits have found so inviting in your yard. If this plant is found throughout the block, chances are high your rabbits will move away from your treated plants if they can find a good “clean” supply just next door. When situations like this exist, we’re sure Deer Away will work. But if you’ve just planted pansies and no one else on the block will do the same “because the rabbit and deer always eat them all”, then I don’t think any spray will help. Pansies are both nutritious and can be a great source of water in dry climates. This makes them very desirable to most any herbivore and in the end, “need” will be stronger than “bad taste” so don’t expect any repellent to help much if such a scenario is playing out with the plants you have found rabbits to desire.
Another way to gauge how well a repellent may work is to see where your plants are in relation to the rabbit den or nest sight. Plants out in the open, say the middle of your yard, are less likely to be preyed upon compared to “peripheral” or edge plants. Additionally, rabbits prefer to feed in the dark. Lighted landscapes with spot lights glaring are far more risky for any rabbit to test and in most cases they’ll choose the dark, private setting with a less attractive entree all in the name of safety. And don’t forget to consider the age of the plants being targeted; older, more established ground cover will be second rate compared to any young, new annual that’s just been planted. And with this in mind, protecting any newly planted flower or bush with some RABBIT NETTING till the plant gets bigger and more established is a highly effective protective measure anyone should take and one we readily suggest.
Lastly, don’t forget to take into account local weather patterns. Ongoing rains will wash away bad tasting repellents leaving plants vulnerable. In some cases this can happen the night following a treatment. Be sure and keep a fresh amount of any repellent applied when such conditions exist. And if all else fails, consider live trapping. One of the most effective ways to control any nuisance animal is to trap them out of a given location. Rabbits can be live trapped and since their range is typically small; removing 1-2 can have a huge positive impact on your personal landscape. We have lots of effective rabbit traps and lures all featured and explained in our RABBIT CONTROL ARTICLE. And remember, we always try to accomodate customers who feel they must return a product when expectations aren’t met. If you got Deer Away – or any other product for that matter – and were unsatisfied with it’s performance, we’d refund or exchange the value of your purchase so you’ll be covered one way or the other. Also, we feel confident we’ve narrowed the field to the 1-2 products that do work so if you want to try repelling them with something, this is a good option. Give us a call if you still have questions or concerns on our toll free 1-800-877-7290 and remember to keep us book marked for any pest control related problem.
Direct links to the products mentioned in this post are here:
DEER OFF CONCENTRATE FOR DEER, RABBITS, SQUIRRELS AND OTHER PLANT EATING ANIMALS
Jonathan www.bugspray.com
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