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Does Lavender Repel Groundhogs? (Answered)

Lavender is one of the famous fragrant herbs. The usages of this herb are many. We often use lavender as a fragrance and for repelling insects and animals. 

Lavender has a strong scent that might be beautiful to humans. But this smell is also offensive to some insects and animals.

So, you might be confused about whether lavender repels groundhogs or not. Well, you have to know the effect of the consequences of using lavender to keep groundhogs away.

Moreover, learning about the application of lavender for deterring groundhogs is also essential. So, let’s see details about it.

Lavender to repel groundhogs

Lavender can repel groundhogs. Generally, lavender has a distinct smell. The smell of lavender is offensive to groundhogs. So, wherever groundhogs find the scent of lavender, they keep away from that place. Moreover, lavender is a natural repellent that will not harm the groundhogs.

However, many people apply lavender to keep groundhogs away. So, lavender has deterring properties. Especially when the groundhogs eat flowering and other plants from the garden. It becomes challenging to repel them.

Moreover, most repellents are chemicals and have harmful effects on the environment. So, lavender can be a natural source for deterring groundhogs from the garden.

Lavender has properties that will keep the groundhogs away from your garden. But you might want to know the reasons in detail. So, let’s see why lavender repels groundhogs.

Smell:

The lavender smell might be attractive and beautiful to you. But humans and animals have a different sensory systems. So, what might be likable to you might not be friendly to an animal. You might know that lavender has a distinct smell.

Groundhogs don’t like the smell of lavender. They find this smell offensive. So, groundhogs avoid these plants and smells. Many people use lavender herbs in their garden to keep groundhogs away.

The strong scent of lavender is not favorable to groundhogs. When an animal comes to any food or plant, they will get the smell first. So, the lavender fragrance is the first thing that distracts the groundhogs.

Taste:

Humans use lavender for fragrance. Even people use this herb in foods also. So, the taste of lavender is also likable to humans. But the taste is unbearable to groundhogs. They don’t like the taste at all.

Generally, groundhogs don’t eat lavender herbs. But when they are starving, they might not smell the food and eat lavender accidentally. However, they will not consume lavender because of the taste.

The taste of lavender also distracts groundhogs. So, when people grow lavender in their plants, they know groundhogs will not come to that place. Even if the groundhogs consume lavender accidentally, they will dislike it and avoid the place.

Groundhog-resistant:

Lavender is considered a groundhog-resistant plant. Generally, groundhog-resistant plants are those plants that groundhogs don’t like. Moreover, groundhogs keep away from those plants.

For being a groundhog-resistant plant, lavender has all those properties. So, lavender is a groundhog-resistant plant, and that’s why it repels groundhogs.

Sensitive nose:

Groundhogs have very sensitive noses. They can smell things from a distance also. So, whenever they sense the smell of lavender, they will not come to that place. So, the sensitive nose helps the groundhog to keep away from the lavender herbs.

People trick groundhogs with lavender. Sometimes, they might face difficulties growing flowering plants in their gardens.

Because the groundhogs eat those flowers. But if you can plant some lavender herbs in the garden, groundhogs will sense the smell from a distance. So, they will not come to the garden.

Do groundhogs eat lavender?

No, groundhogs don’t eat lavender. Generally, lavender has a strong scent that helps to repel groundhogs. The lavender smell is unbearable to groundhogs. So, they avoid the places where they find lavender.

When groundhogs keep away from the lavender, they will not eat it. Because for eating, groundhogs have to be attractive to the herbs. But the smell of lavender distracts them. So, it becomes pretty impossible for groundhogs to eat lavender.

Sometimes, the groundhogs are very hungry. So, they will eat any herbs or plants then. The groundhogs might eat lavender accidentally without smelling the herb. But once the smell goes to their noses, they will not consume lavender anymore.

Groundhogs have a sensitive nose. So they will easily know the location of lavender. However, groundhogs keep away from lavender herbs for their smell. So, they will not eat lavender.

How effective are lavender in repelling groundhogs?

Lavenders are pretty effective in repelling groundhogs. Generally, lavender is considered a natural repellent. Though people like the smell of lavender, it can act as a strong repellent to many insects and animals.

Similarly, lavender works well as a groundhog repellent. Even lavender is considered a groundhog-resistant plant. That means groundhogs will not consume this plant.

However, the smell of lavender plays the main role in repelling groundhogs. Groundhogs find the lavender smell offensive. Moreover, the nose of a groundhog is so sensitive that it can sense smell from a distance also.

Besides, lavender doesn’t have any toxic elements that can harm animals and the environment. Lavender will not terminate any animal, but it will deter them. So, lavender is an excellent natural groundhog repellent.

How to use lavender to keep groundhogs away?

Now that you know you can use lavender to keep groundhogs away, you might want to see the application process. You can use lavenders differently to keep these animals away. So, let’s see how you can use lavender to keep groundhogs away.

Planting lavender:

The most common way to use lavender for repelling groundhogs is by planting this herb. You might know that groundhogs don’t like the smell of lavender. Whenever they find a lavender scent, they will avoid that place.

So, if you are facing problems with groundhogs in your garden, you have to plant some lavender herbs. When the groundhogs come into the garden, they will not be able to bear the smell of lavender. So, they will go away eventually.

This process is also safe. Lavender generally doesn’t terminate any insect or animal. They simply keep them away. Moreover, lavender is a safe and environment-friendly herb. This will repel groundhogs easily and quickly.

You can plant the lavender herbs around the boundary of your garden. So, the groundhogs will smell them when entering the garden. If they can’t enter the garden, they will not harm your fruits and vegetables in the garden.

You can also grow some lavender herbs in a pot inside your house. This will keep the groundhogs away from your indoor plants. Moreover, lavender is a pretty effective insect repellent. So this will also keep the insects away.

Using lavender oil:

Sometimes, plating the lavender herbs is not possible. Moreover, a place for planting lavender herbs might not always be available.

So, you need to use lavender oil additionally to keep the groundhogs away. For example, you can spray lavender oil in spaces where groundhogs can come.

You can also spray lavender oil around your garden. So, when the groundhogs smell this oil, they will not enter the garden. This process is also easy since you don’t have to plant the herbs in your garden.

Using lavender oil is also a non-toxic way to repelling groundhogs. They are not terminated by lavender oil. This oil will just keep them away from entering the area.

Three scents that keep groundhogs away

Now that you know about the repelling ability of lavender, you might want to know about other scents. So, let’s see what scents keep groundhogs away.

Castor oil:

Castor oil is an effective repellent for groundhogs. Groundhogs dislike the smell of castor oil. So, you can sprinkle this oil around the garden to keep groundhogs away.

Garlic:

Garlic has a pungent smell that keeps groundhogs away. Generally, the garlic smell is so strong that groundhogs can smell it from a distance.

You can crush some garlic and make a paste, and then spread it around the places where groundhogs can come. Groundhogs will avoid these places for the garlic smell.

Cayenne pepper:

Groundhogs also dislike the smell of Cayenne pepper. This pungent smell deters groundhogs. So, you can also use Cayenne pepper around your garden to keep the groundhogs away.

Final Thoughts

Lavender is an effective repellent for groundhogs. Generally, groundhogs don’t like the smell of lavender. So, if you can plant lavender in your garden, groundhogs will not come to that place. Moreover, lavender is a natural ingredient. So it will not harm the groundhogs or the environment.