Typically gardeners plant lantanas as they mostly grow annually and produce vibrant color flowers and berries. They are easy to take care of, don’t need much water and are also drought tolerant.
Birds, bees and butterflies love this flower as they are full of nectar but as a gardener you need to be conscious as they can also be toxic for some animals.
Do rabbits eat lantana?
Rabbits usually avoid lantana because of its acute fragrance but because of its colorful flowers and berries they sometimes get tempted to eat them. However, it’s good to avoid lantana for them as they can be toxic to rabbits and cause vomiting, diarrhea and even liver or kidney failure.
Lantana plants and flowers exude very strong scents that rabbits find unattractive and avoid eating. The fragrance of lantana bushes resembles cat urine to some and gasoline to others, but the stench is revolting, and the blossoms emit zesty, pungent aromas.
Because rabbits abhor the scent of urine or any strong odor, lantana plants and flowers are typically avoided by them. Furthermore, rabbits dislike the unusual and fuzzy texture of certain shrubs, and because lantana is a shrub variety plant, rabbits appear to dislike it.
Another explanation is that the lantana plant or its foliage is toxic to rabbits to varying degrees because it contains triterpenoids, which are toxic to the livers of animals like rabbits and deer, causing them to vomit, become weak, and cause long-term liver and kidney damage.
Lantana plants:
Due to their prickly sage scent and the poisonous effects they have on rabbits, this plant is considered a rabbit repellent. The fragrances of lantana vary depending on the kind. This plant has a musky scent, which rabbits despise.
Its seeds and leaves also contain triterpenoids, which are toxic to rabbits and cause liver and kidney failure as well as gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting and diarrhea.
The berries of Lantana plants have the highest toxicity. Given all the consequences, it’s safe to assume that rabbits dislike them.
Lantana flowers:
Rabbits also dislike lantana flowers due to the citrus scent of these flowers, which is overpowering for them.
While some rabbits do eat the flowers despite the strong odor by getting attracted by the beautiful color of this flower, the majority of them are repulsed by it, considering the shrub variety for its strong smell and texture.
Furthermore, its flowers are toxic, just like its plants, and contain some warnings to keep them away from risking their lives.
Do rabbits like lantana?
Rabbits usually don’t like lantana as they contain some chemical compounds that produce a very strong odor which they mostly don’t like. Rabbits have an acute sense of smell and they find the smell similar to cat urine or gasoline.
Moreover, lantana has an unusual and fuzzy texture and rabbits can’t easily chew and digest them. Also, it’s good for them not to eat as they contain chemical compounds such as triterpenoids that can harm them and cause many fatal diseases.
Are lantana rabbit resistant?
Lantana plants repel rabbits. Any strong odor repels rabbits, and lantana emits an unpleasant odor that varies depending on the variety of lantana. Some varieties smell like cat urine, gasoline, or a strong citrus smell, which may explain why they are called stink flowers.
Rabbits have an acute sense of smell, which aids in their avoidance of some plants. Rabbits are picky eaters who avoid foods that taste bad, so any flavor that is unpleasant repels them.
They are repulsed by lantana’s acrid odor, which is generated by the presence of allelochemicals in the plant, which generates a bitter taste in the plant that rabbits despise and avoid.
Is lantana poisonous to rabbits?
Yes, lantana is poisonous to rabbits due to the presence of toxic compounds such as lantadene, a pentacyclic triterpenoid acid that causes kidney and liver damage as well as gestational dyspepsia in rabbits, resulting in nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Lantadene is a major component in many animal poisonings. This harmful element can be found in all sections of the lantana plant, primarily in the leaves, black berries, and foliage.
If they take more than one percent of lantana according to their body weight, the poisonous effect can put their lives in danger. It causes liver failure by raising bilirubin levels in the plasma of rabbits.
The toxicity of lantanas varies according to the variety, with the red variety being more poisonous than the others. To avoid experiencing the adverse effects of lantana plants, it is recommended that rabbits be kept away from them.
How poisonous is lantana?
If consumed for a long period and in large quantities, the fatal effect of lantana might put their lives in danger.
According to a survey, if they consume more than one percent of lantana based on their body weight, the poisonous effect will manifest itself by destroying hepatic cells and causing bile ducts to malfunction, lowering the liver’s work efficiency, increasing plasma bilirubin.
And reducing the enzyme working environment, resulting in indigestion, vomiting, weakness, and decreased fecal excretion. Lantana’s hydroalcoholic component has also been found to diminish rabbit fertility, resulting in the extinction of their species in the ecosystem.
Which animal eats lantana?
Most animals don’t like lantanas much as they contain chemical compounds that produce a very strong odor. As they have unusual and fuzzy texture, animals find it difficult to chew and can’t digest easily.
Rabbits, squirrels are not very picky about their food and try to munch whatever they get near them. But for lantanas, they find the fragrant very unpleasant like cat urine or gasoline and so tend to stay far from them.
However, some cattles, birds and insects find them attractive and eat them.
Birds and insects:
Lantana flowers come in different colors like magenta, purple or white. They are full of nectar which attracts mostly birds like sunbirds, bulbuls, warblers, prinias, hummingbirds, white-eyes and also insects like bees, bugs, snails and butterflies.
Birds find the fruits and berries quite delicious, juicy and sweet and so they eat them. However, insects like bugs or predators can eat the leaves and can also damage.
Cattles:
Cattles like buffalo, sheep, cows, guinea pigs and other cattle also consume lantana. They are mostly herbivores and live upon eating grass, legumes, plants and weeds mostly. As lantana is mostly shrubs, these cattle tend to chew this plant.
However, serving lantanas regularly to the cattle can be dangerous for the cattle and if consumed in high quantities, it can even harm them.
How to keep rabbits from eating lantana?
Lantana can be toxic to rabbits and can harm their digestive system and even cause fatal disease. So to keep rabbits from eating lantana try these ideas:
Start by eliminating the shelter they build:
Try to find the sources from where rabbits come to your garden and search if there’s any rabbit homes around your yard. Eliminate the shelters by sealing or taking away piles of brush and leaves and sooner the rabbits will leave.
Building fence around the garden:
Building fence is the most effective and reliable way to keep rabbits away from lantana. While building up the fence make sure it is minimum 4 feet high as they can jump. Moreover, bury it 6 inches deep as they also like to burrow and can reach your lantana.
Try old-time home remedies:
As rabbits are great sniffers, you can discourage rabbits from munching the lantanas by dusting your plants with plain talcum powder or powdered red pepper or black pepper. Also you can use dried blood meal or human hair or dried sulfur around the plants.
Adding banana peels, eggshells and coffee grounds also help keep rabbits away.
Use a natural rabbit deterrent spray:
Make a bad-tasting rabbit deterrent spray using pure-castile liquid soap, cayenne pepper, garlic pepper and water and spray over the lantanas. The scent of cayenne pepper is so strong that rabbits highly dislike it and will tend to leave the place.
Try a rabbit resistant cocktail:
Take three to four onions, a whole garlic, some hot peppers and grind them well. Also you can add tabasco, hot peppers, chili powder to make this cocktail. Then make it a mixture by adding water and strain it well and it’s ready to spray.
Plant trees that rabbits don’t like:
There are many flowers and vegetables like lavender, marigolds, lemon balm, periwinkle, garlic, onion etc. that rabbits usually don’t like because of their strong fragrance. Plant these trees near the lantanas and the rabbits will avoid the place.
Final thought
Rabbits have an acute sense of smell and as lantana contains a strong odor, they tend to avoid them. Lantana is a shrub variety plant, rabbits don’t like it and also the texture is indigestible for rabbits. In addition, it’s better to keep rabbits away from lantana as they can be toxic for them.