What To Do If You Have Problems With Rabbits

Problems

Damage is usually the result of feeding activities. Flower and vegetable plants are eaten in the spring and summer and fruit trees and ornamentals in the fall and winter. Damage may be distinguished from that caused by other animals by the cleanly cut plant remains and the presence of nearly spherical pea-sized droppings scattered around the area, or sometimes left in small piles. The easily recognizable tracks of rabbits may also be found in soft soil or snow. Rabbits tend to be active at dusk and dawn.

Solutions

> Exclusion: The most effective, permanent protection for gardens subject to rabbit damage is a well-constructed fence. Chicken wire supported by posts every 6 to 8 feet is strong enough to exclude rabbits. Such fences normally need to be only about 2 feet high. It is important to make sure the bottom is either buried 6 to 8 inches or staked securely to the ground to prevent rabbits from pushing their way underneath it. Some gardeners prefer to construct moveable fence panels that can be stored as sections (2 x 8 feet being one recommended size) and set out to protect the garden right after first planting, when damage is likely to be most severe. New plantings can also be protected by using 1-gallon plastic milk containers that have the bottoms cut out and are placed over the seedlings to provide protection both from rabbits and late frost.

> Tree Protection: Barriers such as commercial tree wrap may be effective in preventing bark damage by rabbits. Cylinders of hardware cloth (usually self-supporting) or poultry wire (which may require some staking) can also be used. These barriers are placed around the trunks to a height equal to the expected snow depth plus 18 inches. Young trees and saplings are more vulnerable than old trees with thicker, tougher bark. Low-hanging branches may also be within reach of rabbits and should be included inside the barrier if possible. Routine pruning done in the fall will provide a decoy food source for the rabbits if trimmings are left on the ground. Rabbits find twigs and buds more desirable than trunk bark and will concentrate their feeding on these.

> Repellents: If fencing is impractical, or damage is so slight that it is not cost effective, small plots and individual plants can be protected with chemical repellents such as Hinder, Ro-Pel, Shotgun, Rabbit-Scat, Miller's Hot Sauce, and Get-Away. Care should be taken not to use a repellent on plants that will be for human consumption.

> Scare Devices: Empty soda bottles buried up to their necks and placed along a garden perimeter, repel rabbits by producing a wind-aided noise that scares them. Scare tape or balloons might frighten rabbits away from an area. Pinwheels might provide a visual deterrent to rabbits as well.

> Habitat Modification: Removing cover around gardens and orchards can help reduce damage from rabbits.

Species of Rabbits

Colorado is home to three different species of cottontail rabbits, one (Nuttall's cottontail) in the mountains and in the northwest, another (the desert cottontail) in the southwest and on the eastern plains, and a third (the eastern cottontail) in woodlands along watercourses in the east.

Physical Appearance

Almost everyone recognizes rabbits, with their distinctive hopping gait and long ears. They are about 16 inches long and weigh about 2.2 pounds. Cottontails are smaller than jackrabbits and have shorter ears. The species of cottontails differ mostly by color and are difficult or impossible to distinguish in the field, except by habitat and geographic location.

Habitat

Cottontails mostly live in brushy country. Therefore, they may be affected by habitat disturbance, such as forest clearance, burning, and ornamental plantings.

Feeding Habits

Rabbits eat vegetation, both herbaceous and woody, feeding early morning and late afternoon throughout the year, then they spend the day in a shallow depression in the shelter of a thicket.

Mating & Breeding

Reproduction takes place throughout the warmer months, and birth after a gestation period of about four weeks. Females may have 2 to 6 litters per year, consisting of 4 to 7 young per litter. The young are born blind and helpless in a shallow depression of grass and the mother's fur. Such high birth rates obviously must be balanced by high death rates, or ecosystems would be overwhelmed by cottontails.

Predators

It is important to recognized the role that predation plays in keeping rabbit numbers in balance. Hawks and owls play important roles as avian predators; and coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and opossums as mammalian species that prey on rabbits. Weasels and rattlesnakes prey on the young; and disease and parasites take a toll on all age groups. Domestic cats and dogs take a toll on local rabbit populations as well. Maximum life span in the wild is no more than about a year. Human hunters kill 300,000 or more cottontails some years.

Public Health

Rabbits can be infected with tularemia, which may be transmitted to people if they eat undercooked, infected meat; handle a sick animal; or allow an open cut to contact the infected meat of a butchered rabbit. Rabbits may also serve as a host for the ticks that transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

- Information provided by the Humane Society of the United States
- Information also provided by the Colorado Division of Wildlife

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