Rabbits Best If Excluded from Herb Beds

Q. I plan on planting an herb garden in the spring but have rabbits in the neighborhood. Which herbs would be most rabbit resident?

You can see the chicken wire on the outside of these vegetable beds. The chicken wire is supported with posts about 6 feet apart.

A. The University of Arizona has a publication on rabbit and deer resistant plants but they are all landscape plants, not vegetables and herbs.

            I have been growing vegetables and herbs near the desert for about twenty years. I have both jackrabbits and desert cottontails to fight with. The most effective way of controlling these plants from both of these varmints is a 2-foot-tall, 1 inch hexagon chicken wire as fencing around the beds. In other words, exclude them from the growing area. 

Basil growing in raised beds surrounded by chicken wire for rabbit protection.

            Barry the bottom edge of the fencing about an inch below the dirt so they can't get their nose under it. I keep fencing pretty tight. I have seen baby cottontails squeeze through the 1-inch hexagon holes at a dead run when they are very young. Sometimes these young bunnies hide in these beds, get fat and can't get out.

            Personally, I would not rely on a list of so-called rabbit resistant plants unless there are lots of other plants for these varmints to choose from. I have found that if they get hungry, they will eat things they normally wouldn’t.

            Rabbit resistant plants work as long as rabbits have food alternatives. So, what you're doing is forcing rabbits to go to your neighbors and avoid yours because they don't like yours as much.