It can be heart-warming to see rabbits hopping around your garden but seeing your veggies ruined just before harvesting is not so great.

You may even have raised your garden a bit to help prevent rabbits from getting a hold of all your vegetables.

Still, that may not be enough to keep these little nibblers out.

Will Rabbits Jump Into Raised Beds?

A rabbit in a raised bed

Yes, rabbits will jump into your raised beds and eat the vegetation that they like if there is no repellent or physical barrier to stop them from doing so.

Rabbits will not jump into your raised beds if a canopy or mesh is covering them or a fence erected around them that is at least 2 feet tall.

Rabbits usually won’t jump over anything taller than 2 feet.

Without a fence or repellent, most rabbits will jump into your raised beds for a nosey around.

In this article, we look at why rabbits are attracted to raised beds and all of the very best methods for keeping rabbits out of your raised beds.

Why Do Rabbits Jump Into Raised Beds?

If rabbits are coming back to your raised beds you are no doubt growing things they love to munch on.

Rabbits especially like green plants, such as clover and lettuce.

They also like carrots and fruits, like blackberries and raspberries.

If you have a lot of these plants in your garden, rabbits are likely trying to get to them.

Another reason why rabbits jump into raised beds is that they provide a little bit more safety.

Rabbits are prey animals.

If they are higher up, they can hide from their predators better.

This is especially true if your garden has a lot of lush vegetation, providing them even more areas to hide.

If you have items like hollow wood and other things that rabbits can hide in, they are even more likely to spend time in your yard and hop on into your raised bed.

Related Article: Will Squirrels Eat Pepper Plants? (And How To Stop Them)

How Do You Fix Damage Caused By Rabbits?

If you have ever looked at a rabbit’s mouth, you know that rabbits have really big teeth.

Their teeth and claws allow them to cause some serious damage to your garden and its vegetation.

If you pay attention, you will probably notice that most damage occurs in the fall and winter.

Prevention is better than cure.

The best way to fix damage caused by rabbits is to prevent it from occurring in the first place.

This can be difficult because rabbits are pesky critters.

Below, we will look at some of the most effective ways to prevent rabbits from jumping into your raised garden bed.

Remove Dead Plants

If you notice that a rabbit has caused so much damage that it is causing the plant to die, it is best to remove the plant and replace it.

That way, the other plants have the best chance of survival since they don’t have to compete for water and other nutrients.

For example, you will not be able to repair a tree if a rabbit has gnawed on it so much that sap can’t flow through the damaged area.

In this case, you should remove the tree and replace it with a new one.

Make sure to implement preventative measures afterward.

How Do You Prevent Rabbits From Jumping Into Your Raised Garden Beds?

To prevent rabbits from jumping into your raised garden beds (or at least stopping them from getting at your plants), there are a few things you can do.

Have A Clean-Up

Firstly, make the yard so that it does not attract rabbits.

As mentioned, rabbits like luscious vegetation that includes green vegetables and fruits.

They also like tall grass, overgrown areas, and wood logs to hide in.

Take a look around your garden and remove any of these.

By removing all the hiding places for rabbits and exposing them to open space, they will be much less confident entering your garden.

Grow What Rabbits Don’t Like To Eat

Rabbits usually don’t go for vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, corn, chives, or Swiss chard.

Growing these types of plants in your garden will make a big difference because rabbits just aren’t interested in them.

Install Fencing

You can lay fencing over the top of raised beds so that rabbits cannot get into them or you can install fences around the beds that rabbits cannot jump over.

You can even install little mesh cages around individual smaller plants that are more at risk of rabbits.

When it comes to using fencing or mesh you can get creative as long as the plants are covered and protected from rabbits.

You can even use little plastic containers with a stone on top to place over individual tiny plants.

A container with holes in it.

Something as simple as a container that grapes or strawberries might be kept in the supermarket.

It may also be worth considering putting a fence around the perimeter of your garden.

As long as the fence is at least 2 feet tall and undamaged, it should keep all rabbits out of your garden altogether.

This will keep the rabbits outside of the garden, even if you have vegetation that attracts them.

Fertilize Your Plants With Blood Meal Or Bone Meal

Blood and bone meal are natural fertilizers that make great deterrents for rabbits.

Rabbits are herbivores and are not fans of the smell of blood or crushed up bone.

They will not fancy digging in soil that has been fertilized with blood meal or being anywhere near the scent of these slaughterhouse by-products.

You can also try sprinkling a little dried red pepper flakes around your plants – rabbits are not a great fan of these either.

Use Soap To Deter Rabbits

There’s an ingredient in many soaps called sodium tallowate and rabbits and other herbivores really do not like it.

They don’t like this for the same reason they don’t like blood meal or bone meal.

Tallow is animal fat that is used as an additive to make soap.

Most bars of soap will do (such as dove), just look at the ingredients for sodium tallowate and you’re good to go.

Use a knife to cut the bar of soap into chunks.

Then use some fabric or cheesecloth to tie up a couple of pieces of the soap and then place them around the outside of your garden beds.

You can also use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to cut thin slivers off the bar of soap and place them directly around the outside of your raised bed gardens.

Use Rabbit Repellent Spray

You can also buy rabbit repellent which comes in the form of a spray.

This spray is harmless to plants and animals but contains ingredients that repel herbivores.

You can spray this around your raised beds and it should do a good job of keeping rabbits out.

Provided there is not much rain, you’ll usually have to spray an area about once per month for the deterrent to remain effective.

To get the most out of these types of sprays, only apply them during dry weather.

Final Thoughts

Even though it may be lovely to watch cute rabbits bouncing around your yard, they can cause quite a bit of damage in a short amount of time.

To prevent rabbits from eating your plants, it is best to raise the garden bed and place a 2-foot fence around the perimeter of it.

This fence will prevent rabbits from getting inside your garden so that they cannot eat your vegetation.