PREPARING REPELLENTS 
Following are directions for preparing repellent formulations: 
1. Add 1 gallon of asphalt water emulsion to 11% gallons of water. Add 
1 pound of household detergent and mix until smooth. Add 1 quart of 
Black Leaf 40 and mix thoroughly. 
This makes 3 gallons of paint at a cost of about $4.80. 
To make a spray, dilute the formulation with 1 gallon of water and 
1 pint of Black Leaf 40. 
2. Add 1 gallon of asphalt water emulsion to 2 gallons of water. Stir 
in 4 pounds of Arasan and mix thoroughly. 
This makes 31% gallons of paint at a cost of about $7.25. 
This formulation cannot be diluted to make an effective spray. 
3. Add 1 gallon of asphalt water emulsion to 1 gallon of water. Stir 
in 2 pounds of Arasan SF—X or Tersan 75 and mix thoroughly. 
This makes 24 gallons of paint at a cost of about $4.90. 
To make a spray, dilute the formulation with 1 gallon of water and 1 
pound of Arasan SF-X or Tersan 75. 
A small paint mixer—one that has a 3-inch propeller on a quarter- 
inch shaft 1 foot long and is used in a quarter-inch electric drill—is ideal for 
mixing repellents. 
APPLYING REPELLENTS 
Apply a repellent whenever you see rabbits around your trees and 
shrubs—before they cause damage. Damage is most likely to be severe 
when forage for rahbits is searce—in late fall and during winters, or in 
drought periods. 
Apply the repellent with a brush or with a sprayer of the compression- 
or centrifugal-pump type. Do not use a gear-pump sprayer; the action of 
the gears breaks down the emulsions. 
If you make a spray, run the formulation through a fine screen before 
putting it into the sprayer. 
Apply the repellent thoroughly to the trunk of the tree or shrub, from 
the base to a point high enough on the trunk to be out of reach of rabbits. 
Bear in mind that snowdrifts around trees and shrubs enable rabbits to feed 
higher on the plants than they can when the ground is bare. 
One gallon of repellent will brush-coat 100 trees 1 inch in diameter. 
PRECAUTIONS 
Nicotine sulfate solutions are poisonous. Handle them with care. Do 
not get them on the skin or about the eyes or mouth. 
Keep the preparations out of reach of animals and children. Observe 
the cautions on the label of the container. 
By A. C. Hildreth and G. B. Brown, Horticultural Crops Research Branch, Agricultural Research Service 
Washington, D. C. Issued September 1955 
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1955—O-350201 
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office 
Washington 25, D. C. - Price 5 cents 
