Does Irish Spring Soap Actually Keep Rabbits Away From Your Garden? Gardeners Weigh In

Irish Spring soap is typically used to mask or remove body odor, but according to garden pros, this handy dandy bathroom staple works in the garden as well. In fact, Irish Spring soap proves to be a gentle yet effective method for gardeners to repel specific types of pests.

The soap can repel rabbits, deer, and sometimes even mosquitoes, making it a great natural garden pest control project to have on hand. Here, garden experts share how they use the item in the garden.

Does Irish Spring Soap Deter Rabbits?

Yes, according to our garden experts. The strong scent serves as an effective repellent without harming nearby vegetation or turf. Plus, the soap has lemon and eucalyptus oil, both of which deter mosquitoes.

“Irish Spring soap has demonstrated strong effectiveness at repelling rabbits at my nursery,” says Tammy Sons, a master gardener and founder of TN Nursery.

She uses the soap brand regularly as a DIY pest control and points out that the product seems to repel some insects.

“All in all, the simple and safe approach has yielded outstanding outcomes across all my garden spaces,” she adds.

Irish Spring soap also acts as a natural deer deterrent.

“The strong odor of the soap does not resonate with deer,” says Adam Weiss, a certified master gardener and founder of Pike Lane Gardens.

Weiss says he has used the product in his garden spaces to deter deer. For repelling deer, all you have to do is place slices of the soap in mesh bags strategically around your garden or property’s border to create an invisible barrier.

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How Effective is Irish Soap?

It depends. After all, Irish Spring soap is not meant to be used as a natural mosquito pest repellent, for example, and is made and marketed as body soap. And so, the success of the soap relies on several factors.

Regularly used soap is unlikely to have high enough concentrations of active ingredients to repel garden pests, especially if the soap has been opened and sitting outside its original packaging for a while, say the garden experts.

Water and rain can also break the soap down over time, decreasing its concentration of ingredients.

How to Use Irish Soap to Repel Pests in the Garden?

To repel rabbits and other garden pests, follow these simple steps.

• Using a knife, cut paper-thin soap slices and add them to mesh bags or tie them with cheesecloth. A single soap bar offers sufficient coverage for several small areas, says Sons.
• Place the soap between 1 to 2 feet above the ground next to your plants to safeguard them.
• The soap retains its effectiveness for several weeks when kept dry. However, Sons changes it every month or after periods of heavy rain.