How to Keep Deer, Rabbits & Squirrels Out of the Garden

GardenDraft Team · July 2, 2026 · 6 min read

Part of: Plant Problems & Pest Guides

You can do everything right (perfect soil, flawless timing, healthy plants) and still walk out one morning to find the lettuce sheared to stubs and the bean seedlings gone. Four-legged raiders are a different problem from bugs, and the plain fact is that only a real barrier reliably stops a determined animal. Repellents and tricks help, but a fence is the answer that lets you stop worrying.

Match the defense to the animal

Each critter calls for a different fence, so identify who's visiting (tracks, droppings, the height of the damage):

• Rabbits are the easiest to exclude. A 2-foot fence of 1-inch chicken wire stops them — but bury the bottom 6 inches or bend it outward into an L, because rabbits dig under. They sneak through surprisingly small gaps, so seal the base.
• Deer are the hardest. They clear low fences with ease, so a deer fence needs to be tall — 7 to 8 feet, or doubled into two shorter parallel fences a few feet apart (deer won't jump into a narrow space they can't judge). A sturdy single deer fence around the whole plot is the only thing that truly works where deer pressure is heavy.
• Squirrels and chipmunks laugh at fences — they climb and jump. The reliable defense is to cover the plants, with row cover, netting, or a wire cage over beds and ripening fruit. Hardware cloth over newly planted areas stops them digging up seeds and bulbs.

Repellents and deterrents — the second tier

Where a full fence isn't practical, these reduce pressure without eliminating it:

• Scent and taste repellents. Sprays based on putrescent egg, garlic, or hot pepper make plants unappealing. They work, but must be reapplied after rain and as plants grow. Lapse on that and the animals return.
• Motion deterrents. A motion-activated sprinkler genuinely startles deer and rabbits and is one of the more effective non-fence tools. Scare devices (reflective tape, pinwheels) work briefly until animals learn they're harmless, so rotate them.
• A dog. A dog with run of the yard is an old and effective deterrent for deer and rabbits alike.

Plant choices and a decoy

Some plants are less appealing: animals tend to avoid strongly aromatic herbs and pungent alliums like onions and garlic, which is one reason a border of them, or of marigolds, can take a little pressure off (it overlaps with companion planting). No plant is truly "deer-proof" when animals are hungry enough, though. The dependable strategy is layered: a barrier sized to your worst offender, backed by repellents and a startle device for the rest. Protect the high-value crops first and you'll lose far less of the harvest you worked for.