How To Stop Your Bunny Chewing Everything

There are lots of tempting things for your bunny to chew in your home which over time can leave it looking rather tatty. This instinctive need to munch can be very hard to stop no matter how many times you try and stop them and it only takes you back to be turned for a moment for your bunnies natural instincts to take over.

Bunnies have a diet rich in fiber and can eat a lot of things we would consider indigestible. The soft wooded edges of furniture, baseboards and door frames can be rounded off. Wires and wallpaper and toxic plants may also be on the menu. It's also common for bunnies to tug up and eaten carpet as they go about their daily business of wearing down their teeth and foraging for food.

In this guide we use the examples of the ways many long standing bunny owners have discovered to stop a chewing bunny from causing damage in their homes. In this step by step walk through we show you all the tried and tested ways to bunny proof your home so you can relax with your bunny roaming safely without constant worrying about then the next naughty break-out will break the peace.

How to stop your bunny chewing your electrical cables

Where possible arrange your furniture in front of plugs sockets so the power cables become inaccessible, you can then lead the power cords up from behind your furniture to keep them safely out of reach. Sometimes however it is hard to avoid areas where power cables need to stretch across a room leaving them exposed but there are fortunately a number of other ways you can make this safe.

If it's a cable that needs to trail around the edge of your room then the best solution can be to install plastic conduit, You often see this used in public building and is a pipe or box mounted on the wall the cables can be threaded through to keep them safe. You can purchase this in most home improvement stores and it is relatively easy to install.

Cable trunking

A common way to protect cables that need to stretch away from the wall is to use Split length tubing. This is Plastic piping split down its length so a power cord can be slipped inside. Again, you will find this in a home improvement store or it can be made with some plastic piping and a craft knife.

Split length tube

A simple way to be safe is to keep all your TV boxes and audio equipment together in a cabinet, if you choose one with glass doors you will be able to keep the doors shut and still use your remote controls. Position the TV against a wall in front of a plug or in the corner where a plug socket is so you don't need to trail any cables up to it.

You can block off the sides of your TV or cabinet to stop access to behind it with some large ornament or bits of furniture. Alternatively, you can use a couple of sections of a pet pen or wooden board. If you want something that fits a bit more discreetly you could try lashing some grids of office storage cubes together into the right size and use this to block access on either side.

How to stop you bunny chewing your doors and baseboards

The bottom of doors, door frames and baseboards tend to be a target of chewing from time to time as your bunny roams around at this level in your home. Bunnies have razor sharp teeth that can easily round off the edges of these soft wooden fixtures which can cause noticeable damage very quickly. Over time this can lead to expensive repairs.

An easy solution can be to lean a ceramic tile against the baseboard to protect it or a bunny toy like a willow bridge can be useful as it can be bent around the base of a door frame.

A cardboard box can also offer simple protection if placed in front of a section of baseboards being chewed, or next to a door covering the frame to act as a distraction. Hopefully, the box will take the brunt of the chewing.

You could try adding some additional protection along the edge and home improvement stores have L shaped plastic corner guards that can be attached discreetly, they can be cut with a craft knife and can be attached with sticky pads so can be installed easily.

If you want to fence of a whole length of baseboard then you could use the section from an office storage cube to build a fence to keep your bunny away.

Edge guards

How to stop you bunny chewing your carpet

Quick and easy carpet protection from a naughty bunny

The only way to stop your bunny chewing carpet is find ways of covering areas that are getting damaged. Cardboard boxes can be a great distraction if placed over an area that is being chewed and these can also be filled with hay or shredded paper to make a digging box to help exercise this natural behavior without simply moving it along to the next spot.

If it's in an area where a box may be in the way, then it's best to cover the carpet over with a rug or mat. Make sure it does not contain lots of synthetic materials as this could cause a problem it eaten.

If you find the carpet has been tugged up and chewed at the edges or corners of a room then try laying a ceramic tiles over the spot to holding down the loose carpet and make digging and chewing there less attractive.

How to stop you bunny chewing your wooden furniture

Any furniture make of wood is likely to be chewed which can leave your home looking tatty so it's best to try and avoid chewing habits wherever they develop. There is no one way to do this, bitter spray or other taste deterrents rarely prove successfully and it's unlike you are going to be able to train your bunny no matter how many times you say No!

The only sure way to stop the damage is to bunny proof them in the various ways discuses here.

One way of doing this is to use fencing, products such as office storage cubes can re purposed and used to screen of areas. These kits made of 1 foot square of wire grids used to make storage shelves can be broken up and used to fence of the lower levels of wooden furniture. Areas where you have a lot of furniture can be totally screened off using larger sections of pet pens.

Wire grids

Other tips and tricks people have discovered are to wrap a toy like a willow bridges around the legs of a tables or the corners of cupboards. Cardboard tubes from kitchen or toilet rolls and can be used to cover over table legs to add a layer of protection.

A more discreet way of protecting and soft edges is to mount some plastic L shaped strips corner guards. You can find these in home improvement stores, and they can be easily cut to length and fixed on with some sticky pads which they often come with.

How to stop you bunny chewing your walls and wallpaper

If your bunny picks up the habit of chewing wallpaper or even the walls then it's surprising how quickly this problem can spread leading to considerable damage and costly repairs.

A simple way to provide temporary protection is to keep a few ceramic tiles handy and lay them up against the walls in these areas. These can then be packed away when not needed. Alternative a cardboard box can be used to block access to an area of a wall till attention can be focused elsewhere.

If your bunny likes to nibble at the soft plaster edges of the corner of your walls some protection should be added to stop the damage and stop your bunny eating too much of the plaster material which is not suitable. A simple way to protect fragile edges is to use one of the many commercial product design specificity to stop this type of wear and tear damage. They are typically L shaped length of tough plastic or even metal that can be cut down and mounted along the edge.

Making sure house plants are safe around your bunny and can't be eaten

If your bunny decides to eat one of the plants in your home then in a matter of seconds it can cut through the stem and munch through a leaf. Not only is this the end of your plant it's important to realize that many of the exotic plants in your home can be poisonous as well.

Unfortunately your bunny will not be able to tell whether a plant is good to eat or not until it's eaten enough to make it sick which is why it's important to make sure you move all the plants in your home well out of reach and harms way. Make sure the plans cannot be reach via other bits of furniture and the branches are out of reach so as to prevent it being pulled over and that falling leaves also don't end up in area where your bunny can roam.

Lastly be sure you bunny cannot drink from the watering trays as these can be contaminated with plant food and pesticides.

How to stop you bunny chewing your couch

Make sure your couch is bunny proofed before your bunny plays around it

The area under your sofa can be a place that draws your bunny in as it offers shelter in a prominent place in the room. Unfortunately, this is not a good place for your bunny to play as it can contain exposed unfinished materials such as nails, staples and rough wooded edges that can cause harm. There can also be synthetic materials covering the underside that can be harmful if eaten. Worse still is the nightmare that can quickly develop if your bunny crawling inside which is not only dangerous but can lead to you dismantling your sofa to get it out. It's an important bunny proofing job to bock off access to the underside before a problem occurs

A simple way to stop your bunny getting under there is to fill the gap underneath. If you have enough room then some storage boxes can be a cheap and easy solution. They come in a variety of height and sizes so if you measure up the gap first then you should be able to find something that fits nicely. If you don't have the room for this then you could try sliding some lengths of wood underneath along the edges, If you have some DIY skills it's best to knock these together into a simple frame to stop it moving around.

Another solution can be to build a short fence around your couch. Office storage cubes are ideal for this, these foot square wire grids can be lashed to the base of the couch to make it off limits.

Wire grids

The best way to use bitter spray to stop your bunny chewing everything

Bitter sprays can help make chewing things a little less appealing however it's unlikely to stop your bunny totally and is more useful as an additional aid alongside other bunny proofing. You can apply the spray directly to the affected area or to help stop the spray going everywhere you can also spray some into a cloth then wipe the liquid on.

Remember to keep reapplying the bitter spray regularly so it doesn't lose it's effectiveness. Avoid home-made remedies such that may be suggested to you such as perfume or chilly oil as these can be harmful to your bunny and instead use a product designed for bunnies.

Bitter spray

Great chewing alternative to keep your bunny out of trouble

Bunnies tend to seek out and chew on soft materials such as wood or soft furnishings, carpet, and wallpaper for a variety of reasons. Their teeth grow constantly throughout their laves and they are always on the lookout for things to help wear them down. They also need a lot of roughage in their diet and are always on the lookout for digestive fibber. To help keep your bunny away from things you don't want chewed it's important to provide some safe and acceptable alternatives that can act as a tasty distraction.

There are many chew toys that can be bought from pet stores such as, willow sticks, wicker balls and grass mats that your bunny will love. Remember to replace these frequently so they don't lose their novelty and appeal.

Woven chew balls for rabbits

You don't have to spend any money, your bunny will be just as happy with a cardboard box or some toilet roll tubes. You can make these even more fun by stuffing them with some hay.

If you want something that will defiantly keep your bunny entertained, then build them a digging box. It's just a larger cardboard box filled with suitable martial like paper and card. This will help your bunny to excessive it's need to shred and chew thing without damaging your home and keep the mess contained inside the box.

Cardboard rabbit house