Garden Battles with Bunnies and Borers + DIY ‘Stay Away Bunny Spray’

Find an affordable alternative to pricey commercial garden products and a DIY to deter bunnies and other critters from eating your flowers and vegetables in the garden.

Happy Thursday!

How are you dealing with this summer heat?

I think most everywhere in the U.S. is under a heat advisory,

our heat index with the humidity was 101°F on Tuesday.

I’m a hot-flashing heat wimp, so that’s way too hot for me!

My heart goes out to those without power and air conditioning in Texas, post-Beryl. 🙏

I’m sharing a summer garden update, so grab yourself a cold drink and get comfy!

Limelight Hydrangeas begin to bloom in July and are

 the highlight of our zone 8a garden in North Carolina. . . a welome sight

after the daylilies have peaked and finished blooming.

The large white hydrangeas blooms provide an illusion of ‘cool’

in the garden on hot summer days.

Unlike other hydrangea varieties, Limelight Hydrangeas are

drought tolerant and thrive in full sun . . .

 a good thing as we’ve been both hot and dry!

We’ve had our share of Bunny Battles and Squirrel Wars

over the years, as we have an abundance of both!

You’d think I’d have known better than to rescue baby squirrels,

as they grow up to be big squirrels, that chew holes in planters and chairs,

but they were helpless and pretty cute at the time.

My hubby expanded a shady area in the garden and planted some hosta about 6 weeks ago. . .

the bunnies were delighted by the new, tender hosta buffet!

I’ve used several commercial repellant products to deter wildlife, both granular and liquid,

over the years with disappointing results.

One well known product, Repels All, is not an option if you live near water

 as it states it’s toxic to aquatic life and invertebrates.

While it says it’s safe for wildlife, the safety data and PDF available for the granular product states

that may cause cancer by inhalation or damage your lungs with repeated exposure. . . yikes!

This recipe for ‘Stay Away Bunny and Critter Spray’ costs just a few dollars to make,

doesn’t have any harmful chemicals, and won’t harm animals or aquatic life with run off.

It repels through smell and taste, causing mild irritation to nasal passages of rabbits

and other critters that are sensitive to garlic, onions and hot peppers!

Here are the easy steps and ingredients if you need make a batch.

You can keep this in a garden sprayer and apply to your garden flowers,

shrubs or vegetables to deter Peter Rabbit and friends!

Here is what you need to make ‘Stay Away Bunny Spray’.

Scale this recipe up to make a bigger batch if you have troubles with raccoons, squirrels and chipmunks.

🐰 2 quarts water

🐰 1 large onion

🐰 1 head of garlic

🐰 2 Jalapeño or Serrano peppers

🐰 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper

Give your onion, garlic and peppers a rough chop;

cut your garlic bulb across the equator so the cloves are exposed.

If you’re feeling especially vindictive towards those plant-eating and digging critters,

take out your frustrations and smash or chop those garlic cloves to smithereens. ;) 

You don’t need to remove skin from the onion or peel garlic, as you’ll strain the solids when finished.

Bring your water to a boil; add all your ingredients and simmer 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let mixture ‘steep’ for 30 minutes.

Strain solids from liquid with a colander or cheesecloth

 and allow liquid to cool.

Pour liquid into garden sprayer or spray bottle.

Spray the foliage and around plants you want to protect in the early morning or late evening

when the sun isn’t beating down on the plants.

Applying the liquid during the heat of the day can burn foliage with the moisture and sun’s rays.

Reapply spray every 3 – 5 days or after rain.

Just like with commercial repellants, it’s not 100% effective, but it’s economical,

safe to use and has kept the bunnies from eating the hosta!

Note: Some commercial products are not safe for spraying on herbs or vegetables, but this is safe.

If using are using this spray to protect vegetables that will be picked within a day or two,

be sure to rinse off any of the hot pepper residue before consuming! 🌶️🌶️🌶️

No bunnies are harmed and they have plenty of clover to munch on in our neighbor’s yard

so they won’t go hungry! 🐇 🐇 🐇

Regular readers and fellow gardeners may remember

my battle with cane borers on our Limelight Hydrangeas.

I found more evidence of cane borers this spring on some woody canes of

Endless Summer Hydrangeas, and most recently on our roses.

Our Limelight Hydrangea that got an heavy pruning last year

to cut out the damage, cutting it back almost to the ground until we reached healthy pith.

I’m happy to say it’s rallied and is blooming again this year,

although smaller in stature than its neighboring limelights.

We discovered more cane borer damage on neighboring Limelights

when we were pruning them last January.

I read online to careful what you use to seal the canes, as some fingernail polish and even wood glues

contain chemicals that can cause slight-to-severe die back of the canes.

To be safe, I used some Pruning Sealer with Brush Top Applicator.

I used it on the Endless Summer Hydrangeas and newly pruned rose canes.

To say that it’s a messy job is an understatement!

Use gloves you don’t mind getting stained as the sealer has a tar-like consistency,

but it seems to do the trick!

The Limelights we pruned and sealed back in January

don’t appear to have any further damage from borers. 🤞

Signs of cane borers are hollowed out branches and a sawdust-type material

that results from boring.

I made another borer discovery last week, finding evidence of a ‘stalk borer’ on a peony! 😲

I read online that Peony stalk borers are the larvae of moths that bore

into the stems of plants and feed inside, but I also read elsewhere

that they can be a type of wasp or beetle.

As with our hydrangeas, I cut the stem back until I didn’t see anymore damaged pith.

You want to burn or bag your cut stems to get rid of any potential larvae to dispose of them,

rather than composting them.

I cut the stem open and enlarged the above lower right photo.

Hungry bunnies are at least fluffy and cute. . .

unlike this borer . . .eek!

It looks like a wasp of some type?

I did a ‘Google search by image’ but couldn’t identify it.

I didn’t always disinfect my tools before moving on to the next plant when I’m gardening,

but it’s a good habit to get into, even if you don’t see signs of disease or parasites.

I keep spray bottle of inexpensive 70% isopropyl alcohol

that you can buy at the drug or grocery store,

and give my pruning tools a healthy spritz, thoroughly wetting them with alcohol;

no mixing, soaking or rinsing required to

prevent the spread of disease, fungi or insect eggs!

Gardening has its rewards, but it’s not without its challenges!

How’s your garden growing?

Are you dry, wet or something in between?

Stay Cool ♥

Thank you for your visit, sharing with:

 Between Naps on the Porch