I just started using "I Must Garden" rabbit repellant made locally here in Chapel Hill, but available online. It's working very well for me with the rabbits. I have deer, but since I plant deer resistant plants, I don't use a repellant for them. For Japanese Beetles, I mix Neem Oil with bio-soap and water and spray on the leaves. I trim off the blooms during JB season since I can't spray the blooms (I have Knock Out roses, so they bounce right back). Cameron Here is a link that might be useful: I Must Garden repellants

I did this when we first moved into this house with a true Ca. cutting garden and all the rabbits and raccoons gathered everyday to eat my plants all the way to the ground. I used to put regular cloves of garlic in the dirt and very quickly I got the best tasting green garlic onions if I could get at them before the animals came for lunch or the early in the morning horror of no plants. Back that I was a sucker using banana peels and egg shells too. Two years now there is no veggie compost in my gorgeous rose gardens nothing for the animals to nibble and my blooms in 10 year have never been so big and gorgeous and didn't lose a single plant. Had some old small clay pots laying around, turned them over and placed a bar of Irish Spring Soap on each. The next morning I had lost bars, some had teeth marks, one was in little pieces around the garden but I've since located all the missing bars. But in over a month have had no animals in my gsrdens as at first I'ld wake up and half the plant or just a flower were missing at the first of the season but now just great plants and butterflies and amazing birds but still no animals. I must tell you that I no longer put out bird seed or water. For the first time in years I have beautiful green fruit trees because th animals were just eating us blind but eventhough it's just the start of the season and everything is so quiet as it should be. Try the soap which is supposed to be the stongest odor so animals think people are present. The soap smell really good. I get a multi pack pretty cheap at Big Lots.. I loved the chives but they always get an abundance of black bugs. This year I have a celery tasting parsley. Over on the side of the house is where my herbs are and no real blooms besides Honeysuckle and a large potatoe bush.

about the tabacco, I used to keep a can of my dad's cigarette butts and then soak them in water and then use the 'tea' on plants to get rid of bugs. cann't say that i remember how it works, but you have to be careful with tomatoes and potatoes because it can spread virus problems. diggerb

Our newspaper ran an article about a week ago on mosquitos and vitamin B1. Apparently they don't like the scent your skin gives off when you have extra vitamin B1 in your system. It is a water soluable vitamin, so any extra flushes from your system. Also, a friend told us about a product called Therapik for the itch relief. I googled it, and ordered it for a total of $14.95. It uses intense heat applied directly to the bite as soon as possible after bitten to disperse or eliminate the chemical in the bite that makes you itch. I haven't needed to try it yet, and it only came yesterday. You can use it on bee/hornet/wasp stings also. I'll let you know after we get back from Michigan if it works! Tami