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This article has been highly requested and it’s all about how to bunny proof your house. When we get a new bunny it’s essential that we create a safe space for them but at the same time also protect our home and belongings. I’ll cover all the bases from the flooring to the bedding and also provide you with the tips that worked best for me. So let’s start right at the bottom with the flooring.
10 Simple tips to bunny proof your house
1. Flooring
If you have carpet in a space where your bunny will be spending a lot of their time you may find that they might start chewing and ripping it at times.
There are a few solutions that you can try out. You can place some heavy objects such as ceramic tiles or furniture like a lamp in a sports armor often chewed.
If you notice the areas that they like to chew are quite big consider getting even cheap big rug that you can place on the carpet so that the bunny would chew on it instead or some sort of mat that is made from a natural material such as rosewood or Jude or even a simple blanket or towel.
This method worked quite well for me, especially under the bed where my rabbit liked to chew. But the other trick that worked for me as well, was to just place more chewing toys in those problematic areas.
Chewing often arises due to boredom so providing them with many chewing alternatives should prevent them from chewing on the carpet.
If you don’t have carpet instead of wood or tiles, then your floor is pretty much safe. Just make sure to provide a good-sized rug that you don’t mind getting chewed so that your bunny has that space to run around and have their binkies without the risk of slipping on the floor.
2. Rugs
Speaking of rugs bunnies love the texture. So consider buying rugs that aren’t made out of microfiber or any sort of material that has fiber sticking out as your bunny might be more inclined to chew it.
Better alternatives are rugs made out of silk or cotton or just anything that doesn’t really have much texture and it’s flat.
If you have any rugs that are expensive and you’re worried that they might get damaged by your bunny make sure to completely block off access to them.
3. Skirting Boards & walls
Moving on to the skirting boards and walls. Some rabbits won’t ever touch them, my rabbit only slightly chewed on them a little bit at the beginning. But a nice and easy and also inexpensive way to protect them is to use strong transparent shipping tape.
You just need to get a good size strip of some shipping tape and stick it to your desired spot.
You can place as many layers as you deem necessary on both walls and skirting boards. The good thing about this trick is that it’s very discreet you can’t really see it from a distance so it doesn’t ruin your house’s aesthetics.
It works like a charm with my rabbit, she doesn’t touch them anymore. You can also get corner guards that you can place on your wall corners. They come in various colors some you can even paint to match your walls.
The other thing that you can use is metal or wire storage grids. They can zip tie together and create a protection border for both skating boards and walls.
A good alternative is to get wire shelves which can be used for wardrobes but also to protect the walls and the skating boards without the need for zip-tying.
To protect your skating boards you can also use good old wooden planks. Make sure they are not treated wood and you can place them behind furniture.
4. Personal Belongings
Just to finish off the flooring section make sure not to leave any personal belongings on the floor or in a space where the bunny might get easy access. Stove them a bit higher so they can’t get to them.
For shoes, you can either put them in a wardrobe or get a high shoe rack, just completely block off access to them. I must say thanks to my rabbit, my room has become really tidy as I can’t leave any stuff around.
5. Plants
If you have a lot of plants around your house be careful as some can be poisonous to rabbits. So make sure to again store them out of their reach.
You can place them on shelves, tables, or on high plant stands. You can also hang them from the ceiling using the macrame hangers.
Also, read Allergies in Rabbits (Symptoms, Causes & Solutions).
6. Bunny-proof the cords & cables of your house
As most of you know rabbits love to chew on cables which not only poses the risk of them getting electrocuted but also leads to a lot of frustration from outside.
There are a number of ways that you can easily protect all your cables and chargers. To protect the cables are directly plugged into the sockets you can get plastic cable tubes that are flexible and come in various sizes and colors.
You can also cut them shorter to your desired length.
They’re really easy to use, they already come with a split cut lengthwise so you can just put your cable through and that’s it.
Another great cable management is neoprene pre-flexible cover sleeves. They come rolled up and you can cut them to your desired length as well.
The one I have comes double-sided in this sort of gray and black colors, again you just put your cable through and secure it in a sleeve with an adhesive strap. I highly recommend both of these cable covers
If you notice that either the cable tubing or the cover sleeve didn’t quite cover the whole cable, especially on the ends, what I like to do is just grab some duct tape and wrap it around the exposed area of the cable to keep it safe as well.
The cable covers can then be attached to the wall using those tiny wall hooks if you want to keep everything extra tidy and cautious.
If you want to save yourself some money you can also make your own cable tubing using your old garden hose. You just need to cut off the end and make a slit in the middle lengthwise so you can put your cable through. This material is really strong so it makes perfect cable protection as well.
If you have long cables I need to run along the floor you can get special floor cable protectors. For tv cables, there are wall cable covers that keep all the attached cables nice and tidy.
If you have a lot of bundled-up cables such as if you have chargers plugged into the extension sockets you can store them in foldable fabric storage boxes that often come with a lid for extra protection. You can easily place these on the floor.
If your bunny is a chewer that might chew through the fabric so alternatively, you can get a cable management box where you can place your extension lead.
Mine is a good size that fits perfectly on the bedside table. It’s got a plastic base with a wooden lid and has these vertical slits all over the plastic base so that all your cables can easily go through them and stick out.
I have a medium-sized extension leading a side that has my chargers plugged in so I highly recommend it too.
7. Furniture legs
Moving on to protecting the furniture legs. Any wooden or plastic furniture legs can get chewed by your bunny.
So you can easily use the discreet and strong shipping tape trick again. Just grab a nice strip of shipping tape and stick it to the legs.
Alternatively, if you don’t care about the aesthetics you can use leg protectors which can be made out of rubber silicone or fabric. You can even use your old socks to cover up the legs too.
If you’re going to buy furniture in the future it’s good to consider getting furniture that has legs made out of non-chewable materials such as metal or iron. So you don’t have to worry about protecting them.
8. Room & area access
I just wanted to say that you don’t have to free-roam your bunny in the whole house. You can only allow them to roam in a couple of rooms or even just one room as it can be exhausting having to bunny-proof every room in the house.
My rabbit is only a few roamed in my bedroom and she’s perfectly happy. To block off any rooms or specific areas in the house that you don’t want your bunny to go into you can use metal baby gates, wire storage grids, or a metal playpen.
Make sure they’re over four feet high as bunnies can jump over if they’re four feet or less tall.
If you don’t want them going under your bed or sofas you can just get big heavy wooden planks. Again made out of non-treated wood and placed on the entry gap so they can’t go under.
9. Bunny proof your beds & sofas
Now many of us will probably allow our bunnies to hop onto their beds and sofas. Since they are mostly made out of fabric your bunny might chew them.
To protect your sofas you can get some protectors that come in many colors and you can get waterproof ones, stretchy ones, and all different kinds that you can choose from that suit you best.
Or if you have a good-sized blanket or sheet that you don’t mind getting chewed you can throw that over your surface as a form of protection.
For beds, I find that getting a thick heavy blanket that you can throw over your bedding works really well. Just make sure to cover every inch of your bedding to make sure they can’t get to it and nibble on it.
10. Use chew repellent to bunny-proof your house items
Lastly, I just want to mention that to detain your bunny from chewing on certain areas or items you can use a bitter apple spray they can easily buy online or at various pet shops.
I personally never used it so I’m not sure how well it works but if you like to try it just go for it. It’s perfectly safe for your bunnies.
If you fancy making your own chew-repellent spray instead you can just mix equal amounts of normal brown vinegar, spirit, rubbing alcohol, lime, or lemon juice and water.
Give it a good shake in a spray bottle and spray away. The point of it is to make it horrible enough for them not to come near the sprayed area or item at the same time ensure that it’s safe if they do ingest it.
The final thing I wanted to mention before I wrap up this article is please note that every bunny is different so not every bunny-proofing technique will work. You will need to observe them to figure out what works and what doesn’t and adjust your methods accordingly.
So there you have it guys your ultimate guide to bunny-proof your house. Believe it or not, it actually works out for my rabbit to just be bunny-proof compared to getting a cage for your rabbits. These are often very expensive and they don’t make your bunnies happy.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article.
