Residents in Altona and area have reported a high number of rabbits nibbling away at their gardens.

Carla Hrycyna is the host of CFAM Lawn and Garden Journal.

"I think over the year we're seeing more and more rabbits," said Hrycyna. "I guess there's less predators of the bunnies that are out there, so the population is definitely growing."

Using a decorative owl with a bobbing head could help keep rabbits from your garden, says Hrycyna.

She has some tips on keeping rabbits away.

"The old fashioned way, if it's a vegetable garden, you may want to make your own little fencing," she said. "You want to make it high enough that they're not jumping over it, and also the decorative netting has to be small enough because rabbits can actually get through quite narrow holes."

Hrycyna recommends netting such as chicken wire or wire meshing, and making it look more decorative by having vines grow up it.

She adds, unfortunately, it's not just vegetables the rabbits are after.

"They've been known to nibble on the sweet bark of trees and bushes. They're also prone to eating some of our most favourite perennials that we have."

There are several other products people can use to further deter the rabbits.

"There's sprays that you can put on like scoot, critter-ridder, and plant skid. These are blood-based sprays that, naturally, if an animal smells remnants of this... they want to vacate the area," said Hrycyna.

She also recommends blood-meal, an organic fertilizer, to sprinkle around the base of plants. This would have to be re-applied after a heavy rain.

"It's going to give that detraction away from the rabbits, but it's actually going to feed your plants at the same time," she said.

There are two other creative ways Hrycyna has to keep the bunnies away.

"The application of an owl, there's a lot of ornamental owls that are out there. But, if you're going to use the owl, some of them will have little bobbing heads... the wind will make it looks like it's a real owl."

She also recommends moving the owl around the yard.

"If it's sedentary I think the rabbits kind of know that he's not doing his work," Hrycyna said.

The second creative way is to add fake snakes to your garden.

"Some people have reported that getting rubber snakes, and putting rubber snakes in areas of your garden, will also deter some of the rabbits," said Hrycyna.