Essential oils and carpet chewing

[brynn dokter]

I am having problems with my bunny and chewing carpet. First I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to stop this. I don’t have any extra money to spend on buying a gate to put around it or anything. Secondly I have seen people saying they have put essential oils on the problem areas of their carpet but I’ve also seen a lot saying that this is harmful to bunnies. Just wanted other people’s opinions on this and if it is safe then what oils would be best to use?! Thanks for any input!

 

[Mac189]

I tried using an essential oil air freshener spray to keep my bunny Willa from pulling up the carpet, and I can't say I found it to be very effective. The bunnies stop caring about it pretty quickly and were up to their old tricks. Ultimately the most effective and likely cost-effective method I found was going to Home Depot and buying $20-50 bucks worth of "install-in-yourself" vinyl planks and put it over the carpet. The planks lock together so you don't have to adhere them to anything and can be moved or changed in a few minutes. A flat rug can work too, but my buns are a little too determined to not try to destroy anything fabric. Vinyl solves the issue of your rabbit "innovating" new places to pull up carpet, has no health risks since there is nothing to pull up in the first place, and actually looked really nice. I got textured fake wood so the furballs could still get a grip and it worked perfectly. I know it's a little expensive but it was worth it for me to not have to ever worry about them eating my carpet again.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

You could also buy/make a bitter spray. Here is one that I would buy, and here is a DIY one. You could also use lemon oil and spray it on the carpet where they are chewing, or get a tile and cover that part of the carpet.
http://bunnyproof.com/stop-bunny-chewing-carpet.html