Wild Rabbits Garden Pests

Although rabbits can be cute as pets or even hopping across an empty field undomesticated or wild rabbits can cause a lot of damage to gardens and landscaping.

Wild rabbits garden pests. That s what rabbits do. Wild rabbits have relatively short life spans typically less than two years but they mature quickly and have short 30 day gestation periods. Some types of fencing can be easily cut to size and if you wish can be removed at season s end and re used the following year. Rabbits are one of the major wildlife pests in the uk causing annual losses estimated to more than 100 million.

And while there are some plants rabbits do not particularly like they will eat anything if they get hungry enough. It may be their cute appearance that tricks people into underestimating the destructive capabilities of these mammals. Preferring instead brushy fence rows field edges brush piles and you guessed it landscaped. Prevention of damage by rabbits act 1939.

How to get rid of rabbits. Then in the summer right when you re ready to pick your harvest you wake up to half eaten vegetables. Unfortunately there s a reason that the peter cottontail stories always involve trying to sneak into a farmer s patch to make off with garden vegetables. Tall pest control pop ups protect crops from pests diseases and some animals including rabbits.

Of all the animals on this list the cutest is the rabbit. Since there is always more than one rabbit trapping is not a practical option. Their mortality is based on food availability predator presence and weather stability. Of the nine species of north american cottontail rabbits it s the eastern cottontail sylvilagus floridanus that is our most abundant and annoying ranging from boston to boulder and south into mexico this bunny about town is rarely found in forests.

Rabbits are altricial which means that they are born hairless blind and helpless. For a taller enclosure consider a crop cage. But aside from occasionally nibbling on your nasturtiums the varmints don t do any real damage according to mike mcgrath host of the nationally syndicated radio program you bet your garden and. Rabbits love to munch on everything from broccoli and beans to pansies and petunias even bushes and trees such as forsythia and flowering crabapple are fair game to these fluffy tailed herbivores.

How to identify rabbits in your garden.