I thought the bun-buns were cute, too, until I was overrun by cottontails here. Not a day goes by that I don't see at least a dozen of them in my front yard alone. I no longer think they are cute given how destructive they really are; however, shooting is not legal where I live.
A nursery suggested bloodmeal to me years ago but, after a month or so, the rabbits ignored it no matter how heavy I spread it (perhaps because the population is so high??). I now grow a "Mini-hedge" of society garlic around the garden beds and that is working well (at least for now). But I do have bare dirt where I once had nice lawn grass