Garden / Roundup
Rabbit fencing
This is the one garden animal with a clean, published, permanent fix. Two feet of wire, buried four to eight inches, at one inch mesh or smaller. Get that right once and you are done.
A rabbit fence needs to be at least two feet high and buried four to eight inches, per Colorado State University Extension, with mesh of one inch or smaller so young rabbits cannot pass. Buy hardware cloth or hex netting to that spec, dig the trench, and the problem is permanently solved.
Most garden protection involves trade-offs and judgment. Rabbits do not. The specification is published, it is cheap to meet, and it works indefinitely once installed. The only reason it fails is that people skip the burial.
The published specification
| Parameter | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Height above ground | At least 2 ft | Colorado State University Extension |
| Burial depth | 4 to 8 in | Colorado State University Extension |
| Acceptable materials | Chicken wire, hardware cloth or flexible netting | Colorado State University Extension |
| Mesh opening | 1 in (2 in passes young rabbits) | University of Georgia Extension |
| Available roll heights | 24, 36 and 48 in for hex netting | University of Georgia Extension |
That is the entire answer, and it is why the top pick on this page is a specification rather than a brand. Any galvanized hardware cloth meeting it performs the same, so buy on price and gauge rather than on marketing.
Baffleworks is funded by affiliate commission. If you buy through a link on this page we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never decides a ranking. Full disclosure · how we pick.
Quick picks
Ranked, with the trade-off named. Tap a row for the full write-up; the price button goes straight to Amazon.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galvanized Hardware Cloth, 1/2 in mesh, 36 inThe one item here we recommend by specification rather than by brand, because the spec is what does the work and every brand meeting it performs the same. | A permanent rabbit barrier | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 | Bobbex-R Rabbit, Squirrel and Chipmunk Repellent, 32 ozFormulated for the small raiders rather than for deer, which matters because the animal eating your bulbs is usually not the animal eating your hostas. | Rabbits and chipmunks specifically | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 | ANC POP Pop-Up Mesh Plant Cover, 40 x 40 x 30 inThe published 40 x 40 x 30 in footprint is the useful thing here: you can check it against your bed before you buy, which most cage listings do not let you do. | One raised bed, instantly | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 | Tenax Deer Netting, 7 ft x 100 ftNetting rather than fence: lighter, easier to drape over a shrub or a bed, and not pretending to be a perimeter barrier. | Draping and small enclosures | Check price on Amazon |
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The picks in full
Top pick A permanent rabbit barrier
Galvanized Hardware Cloth, 1/2 in mesh, 36 in
The one item here we recommend by specification rather than by brand, because the spec is what does the work and every brand meeting it performs the same.
Published specifications
- Mesh
- 1 in or smaller; 1/2 in excludes young rabbits
- Height above ground
- At least 2 ft (Colorado State Extension)
- Buried depth
- 4 to 8 in (Colorado State Extension)
- Material
- Galvanized wire
Trade-offs
- Extension services put chicken wire, hardware cloth or flexible netting at 2 ft high and buried 4 to 8 in as fairly effective against rabbits
- A permanent fix rather than a reapplication schedule
- Half-inch mesh also excludes young rabbits, which 2 in poultry netting does not
- Burying the bottom edge is the whole job, and it is real digging
- Galvanized wire is visible in a way black deer netting is not
Who it is forA vegetable plot or a border with a persistent rabbit problem, where you would rather dig once than spray for years.
Skip it ifDeer are the actual problem. Two feet of wire is a step-over for a deer; the height that matters there is 8 ft and up. See deer fencing.
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Where these specifications came from
No. 2 Rabbits and chipmunks specifically
Bobbex-R Rabbit, Squirrel and Chipmunk Repellent, 32 oz
Formulated for the small raiders rather than for deer, which matters because the animal eating your bulbs is usually not the animal eating your hostas.
Published specifications
- Size
- 32 oz concentrate (published)
- Targets
- Rabbit, squirrel, chipmunk
- Form
- Dilute and spray
- Part number
- B550120
Trade-offs
- Targets the species that deer repellents are not formulated for
- Concentrate, so a season of reapplication is affordable
- Same reapplication burden as every other repellent
- It will not fix a rabbit problem that a 2 ft buried fence would fix permanently
Who it is forBulbs, seedlings and container plants that rabbits, chipmunks or squirrels are working through, where a cage would be impractical.
Skip it ifThe damage is at ground level along a boundary. Colorado State Extension is specific: two feet of wire buried 4 to 8 inches is fairly effective against rabbits, and that is a permanent fix a spray is not. See rabbit fencing.
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No. 3 One raised bed, instantly
ANC POP Pop-Up Mesh Plant Cover, 40 x 40 x 30 in
The published 40 x 40 x 30 in footprint is the useful thing here: you can check it against your bed before you buy, which most cage listings do not let you do.
Published specifications
- Dimensions
- 40 x 40 x 30 in (published)
- Stakes
- 8 ground stakes included
- Material
- Mesh
- Assembly
- Pop-up, folds flat for storage
Trade-offs
- Published dimensions, so bed fit is a measurement rather than a gamble
- Eight stakes is enough to actually pin the skirt, which is where these usually fail
- Folds flat, so it does not become a winter storage problem
- 30 in of height caps what you can grow under it
- A pop-up frame is not a structure; it will not survive being leaned on
Who it is forA single raised bed of seedlings, greens or strawberries that squirrels, chipmunks or birds are working through.
Skip it ifDeer are your problem. A 30 in mesh box is a barrier a deer steps over, and fencing or repellent is the honest answer.
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Where these specifications came from
No. 4 Draping and small enclosures
Tenax Deer Netting, 7 ft x 100 ft
Netting rather than fence: lighter, easier to drape over a shrub or a bed, and not pretending to be a perimeter barrier.
Published specifications
- Height
- 7 ft (published)
- Length
- 100 ft
- Material
- Black polypropylene
- Structure
- Quadrangular mesh (published)
Trade-offs
- Light enough to throw over a shrub or a fruit cage without a post system
- Cheap enough per foot to protect a lot of individual plants
- Not a perimeter fence, and treating it as one is how people conclude that deer fencing does not work
- Loose netting can entangle wildlife if it is left slack and unpegged
Who it is forIndividual shrubs, small beds and winter protection on ornamentals, rather than a garden boundary.
Skip it ifYou want a perimeter. Buy the fence, set posts, and tension it — the height guide explains why the two are not interchangeable.
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Where these specifications came from
What we would skip
An unburied rabbit fence
Colorado State University Extension specifies burial of 4 to 8 in. A rabbit's instinct is to go under, not over. An unburied fence is the single most common failure in this category, and the digging is the whole job.
2 in poultry netting
University of Georgia Extension notes hex netting comes in 1 in and 2 in openings, and young rabbits pass a 2 in mesh. If you are digging the trench once, dig it for the smaller aperture.
A repellent as the primary fix on a boundary you could fence
Repellents need reapplying after rain and after new growth, forever. Two feet of buried wire is a weekend that lasts years. Use a repellent for containers, ornamentals and places you genuinely cannot fence.
How to install it so it lasts
- Dig a trench 6 to 8 in deep along the line, or slightly wider if the soil is loose.
- Set the wire so at least 2 ft stands above ground once the trench is filled. Buy 36 in roll for a 24 in standing height with burial, or 48 in if you want more of both.
- Turn the buried portion outward into an L at the bottom of the trench, away from the garden. A rabbit digs at the fence line, hits the horizontal apron, and gives up.
- Backfill and tread firmly. Loose backfill is the same as no burial for the first season.
- Support with posts at intervals the wire will not sag between. Hex netting is pliable and will belly out without support.
- Walk the line each spring. Frost heave and washouts open gaps at the bottom, which is exactly where they matter.
Gates and corners are where it leaks
A perfect fence with a two-inch gap under the gate is a fence with a rabbit door. Fit a threshold board, bury wire under the gate opening, or accept that the gate will need a check every time you close it.
Corners are the other leak: wire pulls away from posts under tension, and the gap opens at the bottom first. Fix the wire to the post at ground level as well as at the top.
Where a repellent still has a role
Fencing is the fix for a boundary. It is not the fix for a container by the door, a specimen shrub in the middle of a lawn, or a bed you are not going to enclose. Bobbex-R is formulated for rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks specifically rather than for deer, and a 32 oz concentrate covers a season of spot treatment.
Use it as the supplement, not the strategy. And for beds rather than boundaries, a pop-up cage is a rigid alternative that needs no digging at all.
How we picked
- We started from the published exclusion spec for each animal, taken from cooperative extension services rather than from product listings.
- We preferred products that publish dimensions, because a barrier you cannot check against your bed is a barrier you may have to return.
- We separated barriers by what they exclude. A 30 in mesh cage and an 8 ft deer fence are not competing products, and treating them as though they were is how people conclude that exclusion does not work.
- We named at least one product to skip on every page, with the reason.
- We have not installed any of these. How we pick sets out what that does and does not cover.
Everyone in this category says they tested twenty of these. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we did instead: read the manuals, compiled the published specifications, worked out the clearance geometry, and cited every source. The full method is published.
Questions people actually ask
- How high does a rabbit fence need to be?
- At least two feet above ground, per Colorado State University Extension, and buried four to eight inches. The burial matters as much as the height because rabbits go under before they go over.
- What mesh size do I need for rabbits?
- One inch or smaller. The University of Georgia Extension notes hex netting is sold in 1 in and 2 in openings, and young rabbits pass a 2 in mesh.
- Do I really have to bury the fence?
- Yes. This is the step that gets skipped and it is the step that makes it work. Turning the buried section outward into an L apron makes it more effective again.
- Will a rabbit fence stop deer?
- No. Two feet is a step-over. Michigan State University Extension puts deer perimeters at 8 to 10 ft, which is a completely different structure.
- Is a repellent easier than fencing?
- Easier to start, harder to sustain. A repellent has to be reapplied after rain and after new growth, indefinitely. A buried fence is a weekend that lasts years.
Sources
Read next
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Pop-up cages and cloches ranked by published dimensions and how well the skirt actually pins down.
- The best garden netting
Cheap protection by the square foot, and the mesh sizes and pinning that decide whether it works.
- The best deer repellents
Ranked on published yield and format, with an honest account of why repellents fail: reapplication, not chemistry.
- How to keep squirrels out of the garden
Squirrels work a garden rather than browse it, which is why a cage holds and a drape does not.
- Garden Protection
Cages, cloches, netting and rabbit fencing, sized to the animal doing the damage rather than to the bed.