In general, animals are discouraged by:
- Very aromatic plants
- Prickles and spines
- Tough, leathery leaves
- Toxic plants
- Milky sap
No list is foolproof. A hungry animal will eat just about anything, including poisonous plants.
Newly transplanted plants are more likely to be eaten – especially those just bought from nurseries, but even those recently moved within a garden. Bigger plants are more able to withstand nibbling.
Cultural controls such as removing brush piles or other protective cover where rabbits and ground squirrels hide and nest may help. Provide open areas in the landscape – small mammals tend to avoid open spaces that make them vulnerable to predators.
Many odor repellents are ineffective with rabbits, so read labels carefully before buying them. Something that works for deer may not work with rabbits. Some products are labeled for both. What works in one persons’ yard may not work in another person’s yard.
Fencing with chicken wire fencing, hardware cloth or flexible netting at least two feet high, buried 4-8 inches under is fairly effective against rabbits.
Deer can be prevented with fencing at least 8 feet high. Raised beds with hardware cloth (1/4” squares or less) tacked to the bottom can keep pocket gophers out of gardens. Encircle trees and shrubs with hardware cloth (buried an inch or two under the ground) to prevent voles from girdling the trees.
Consider planting “deterrent plants” surrounding the more delectable plants.
Critter-Resistant Perennials And Bulbs
Alliums, Allium spp.
Basket of Gold , Aurinia saxatilis
Bee balm, Monarda spp.
Black Eyed Susan , Rudbeckia hirta
Blanketflower, Gaillardia spp.
Bleeding Heart , Dicentra spectabilis
Blue Flax , Linum lewisii
Clustered bellflower, Campanula glomerata
Catmints, Nepeta spp.
Chives, Allium schoenoprasum
Cleome, Cleome serrulata
Columbine (marginal), Aquilegia spp (especially bad when newly planted!)
Golden smoke, Corydalis aurea
Creeping Oregon Grape Holly , Mahonia repens
Creeping Phlox , Phlox subulata
Daffodils * , Narcissus spp.
Creeping baby’s breath, Gypsophila repens
Delphinium , Delphinium spp.
Dianthus, Dianthus spp. (flowers are sometimes eaten)
Dragon’s head , Dracocephalon spp
Engelmann Ivy, Parthenocissus quinquefolia engelmannii
Golden Banner, Thermopsis divaricarpa
Goldenrod, Solidago spp.
Hardy Geraniums, Geranium spp
Irises, Iris spp.
Jacob’s Ladder , Polemonium caeruleum
Kinnikinnick , Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Lily-of-the-Valley , Convallaria majalis
Locoweed, Oxytropis
Lupine , Lupinus spp.
Mexican Hat , Ratibida columnifera
Monkshood , Aconitum spp.
Paintbrush, Castilleja spp.
Pearly everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea
Penstemon , Penstemon spp.
Piqsqueak , Bergenia spp.
Poppies, Papaver spp. (flowers sometimes eaten, esp. Iceland poppies)
Pussytoes , Antennaria
Sagebrushes, Artemisia frigida and ludoviciana
Salvia , Salvia spp.
Sea Pink , Armeria maritima
Sedum, Stone Crop
Showy daisy, Erigeron spp.
Snow-in-Summer , Cerastium tomentosum
Trailing soapwort , Saponaria ocymoides
Sulphur flower, Eriogonum umbellatum
Tansy aster, Macaeranthera tanacetifolia
Thyme, Thymus species
Veronica, Veronica spp.
Yarrow, Achillea spp.
Ornamental Grasses
Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca)
Blue Avena Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens)
Deciduous Shrubs
Alpine Currant (Ribes alpinum)
Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa)
Boulder Raspberry (Rubus delicious)
Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius)
Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster lucidus)
Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii)
Potentilla (Potentilla spp.)
Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus)
Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Tall Western Sage (Artemisia tridentata)
Three Leaf Sumac (Rhus trilobata)
Golden Currant (Ribes aureum)