some of you know that i've been battling rabbits in my garden.  i've built barriers out of rocks. i even committed bunnycide. they've trimmed or killed every plant i put out in my garden. they like nice green fig branches.

i ran across some european research about using tabasco as a repellant. they tested it on large lettuce fields. they got near 100% control. more than that, when a bunny burned his mouth on lettuce leaves, he would remember n stay clear of lettuce forever.

 10 days ago my pole beans came up. there's nothing a bunny likes better than pole beans and there's no way to protect them with rock barriers. so i tested tabasco. no damage. i then sprayed everything with  tabasco.

there has been no damage at all since i started spraying. so, i wanted to pass this along to you guys.

it's proven against rabbits n may be effective against other evil fig tree eaters.

That is super! Do you think it is going to work against the squirrels and rats?
For how long does the mixture you spray stay viable? How do you make the spray?

 i think if it burns bunny lips, it will burn any rodent. there's no study that i found except for rabbits, but this is new, so it's worth a try. if you do try it, please post your results.

in the  study, they used one tablespoon per gallon of water. i used one tablespoon to one n a half pints [the size of my spray bottle].

 it must be reapplied after every rain. in the absence of rain, i'm unsure how long it lasts.

that may not be important, if the animals truly remember. the scientists found that after tasting once, the hateful bunnys just stayed away from lettuce. you are training them.

I have had squirrels digging through my pots EVERY DAY for the last couple months. Most of the time, they don't do any damage. I just have to re-level the soil surface. However, for some reason they occasionally reach up and bite a branch off. They don't seem to be eating the plants. Just vandalizing them. There was one day the a branch got bitten off. I went inside the house to try root it. By the time I came back out, the same plant had been completely uprooted.

So last week, I sprinkled cayenne pepper on all of my potted plants. No squirrel damage since then. Fingers crossed.

same thing paul. good to know powdered peppers also work.

for me, a spray bottle is easier, but use whatever you have in the kitchen.

Thanks!  I have something eating parts of my tomatoes.  Not even I want to eat after it.  It could have the decency to eat it all, I suspect a bunny, or a rat, discerning taste though, always seems to pick the best one producing at the moment, currently Cherokee Purple.  This information will come in handy.

Excellent!  You won your battle against those wascally wabbits! lol.

Thanks for the info, I might need that fix for squirrels!

I have read that both the American and Soviet spy networks used dead pigeons or rats to hide microfilm et al when making a drop.  The most frequent reason for failure was that the dead animal would get carried off by a hungry rat or other animal.  Both independently stumbled onto Tabasco as an effective deterrent.

you'd think the cia would've told fig growers about this.

wenow know it works against two species. rabbits n squirrels, so rodents are covered. someone should try this against deer
or fig eating dogs..

Susieqz, do you dilute it or use full strength? Can you post the link to the research paper?

Thanks Bob. I'm buying stock in the company. Guess I should READ ALL the posts first. ;-)

I have to try this...bunny population has been low due to the drought but with the El Nino promising RAIN this winter, I need to ramp up control...

Still trying to figure out if I need a permit in CA to shoot nuisance bunnies. One F&G person said yes and only in season but another reg I found says not if they are pests...

you guys are welcome. we are all in this together.

sue, i can't find the study right now, but google
TABASCO SAUCE RABBIT REPELLENT.

there's a ton of sites. looks like this is no secret, except from me.

thank you phil. i was thinking about getting a puppy to eliminate therabbit problem. my doggie died 2 years ago.

i was detered by many posts about  dog seating figs.

i  may call the animal control guy.

you may have saved  a canine life.

it only works if it burns lips. not sure it would mixed with paint. it stops working immediately after a rain n has to be reapplied.