{"id":129,"date":"2025-09-11T20:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T20:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/resource\/resource-3\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T21:35:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:35:35","slug":"rabbit-ground-squirrel-and-deer-resistant-plants","status":"publish","type":"resource-cpt","link":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/resource\/rabbit-ground-squirrel-and-deer-resistant-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabbit, Ground Squirrel, and Deer-Resistant Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group wp-block-pattern-longform-content is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p>In general, animals are discouraged by: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Very aromatic plants<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prickles and spines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tough, leathery leaves<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Toxic plants<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Milky sap<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>No list is foolproof. A hungry animal will eat just about anything, including poisonous plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Newly transplanted plants are more likely to be eaten \u2013 especially those just bought from nurseries, but even those recently moved within a garden. Bigger plants are more able to withstand nibbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u2013 small mammals tend to avoid open spaces that make them vulnerable to predators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019 yard may not work in another person\u2019s yard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deer can be prevented with fencing at least 8 feet high. Raised beds with hardware cloth (1\/4\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider planting &#8220;deterrent plants&#8221; surrounding the more delectable plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"\/>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-accent-1-color has-text-color has-link-color has-heading-2-font-size wp-elements-c054947f0d94a60ffac12ed828737a33\" id=\"Critter-Resistant-Perennials-And-Bulbs\">Critter-Resistant Perennials And Bulbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Alliums, Allium spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Basket of Gold , Aurinia saxatilis <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bee balm, Monarda spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Black Eyed Susan , Rudbeckia hirta <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blanketflower, Gaillardia spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bleeding Heart , Dicentra spectabilis <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blue Flax , Linum lewisii <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clustered bellflower, Campanula glomerata <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Catmints, Nepeta spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chives, Allium schoenoprasum <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cleome, Cleome serrulata <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Columbine (marginal), Aquilegia spp (especially bad when newly planted!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Golden smoke, Corydalis aurea<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Creeping Oregon Grape Holly , Mahonia repens <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Creeping Phlox , Phlox subulata <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Daffodils * , Narcissus spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Creeping baby\u2019s breath, Gypsophila repens <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Delphinium , Delphinium spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dianthus, Dianthus spp. (flowers are sometimes eaten)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dragon\u2019s head , Dracocephalon spp<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Engelmann Ivy, Parthenocissus quinquefolia engelmannii <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Golden Banner, Thermopsis divaricarpa <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Goldenrod, Solidago spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hardy Geraniums, Geranium spp <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Irises, Iris spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jacob\u2019s Ladder , Polemonium caeruleum <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kinnikinnick , Arctostaphylos uva-ursi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lily-of-the-Valley , Convallaria majalis <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Locoweed, Oxytropis <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lupine , Lupinus spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mexican Hat , Ratibida columnifera <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monkshood , Aconitum spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paintbrush, Castilleja spp. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Pearly everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Penstemon , Penstemon spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Piqsqueak , Bergenia spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Poppies, Papaver spp. (flowers sometimes eaten, esp. Iceland poppies) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pussytoes , Antennaria <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sagebrushes, Artemisia frigida and ludoviciana <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Salvia , Salvia spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sea Pink , Armeria maritima <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sedum, Stone Crop <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Showy daisy, Erigeron spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Snow-in-Summer , Cerastium tomentosum <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trailing soapwort , Saponaria ocymoides <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sulphur flower, Eriogonum umbellatum <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tansy aster, Macaeranthera tanacetifolia <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thyme, Thymus species <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Veronica, Veronica spp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yarrow, Achillea spp.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<hr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-accent-1-color has-text-color has-link-color has-heading-2-font-size wp-elements-321aaff8fea856f76768aeddf50bb360\" id=\"Ornamental-Grasses\"><strong>Ornamental Grasses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blue Avena Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"\/>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-accent-1-color has-text-color has-link-color has-heading-2-font-size wp-elements-692454d90c6006aec52e64d004a6d75f\" id=\"Deciduous-Shrubs\"><strong><strong>Deciduous Shrubs<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Alpine Currant (Ribes alpinum) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Boulder Raspberry (Rubus delicious) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster lucidus) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Potentilla (Potentilla spp.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tall Western Sage (Artemisia tridentata) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three Leaf Sumac (Rhus trilobata) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Golden Currant (Ribes aureum)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In general, animals are discouraged by: No list is foolproof. A hungry animal will eat just about anything, including poisonous plants. Newly transplanted plants are more likely&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":367,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"area_tax":[],"county_tax":[127],"global-category_tax":[163,166],"global-offering_tax":[],"global-sub-category_tax":[329],"global-topic_tax":[371],"region_tax":[385],"resource-type_tax":[388],"class_list":["post-129","resource-cpt","type-resource-cpt","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","pp_post_mime_type":"","acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-cpt\/129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-cpt"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource-cpt"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-cpt\/129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":743,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-cpt\/129\/revisions\/743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"area_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area_tax?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"county_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/county_tax?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"global-category_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-category_tax?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"global-offering_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-offering_tax?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"global-sub-category_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-sub-category_tax?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"global-topic_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-topic_tax?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"region_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region_tax?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-type_tax?post=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}