Cottontail Rabbit

These cute little critters can be a major pest of the backyard and garden if care isn’t taken to prevent them from gaining a foothold in your location. These bunnies will produce 3 to 4 litters of babies every year from late winter till early fall, and they can quickly become a problem. Cottontails prefer brushy cover interspersed with open areas as their primary habitat. Abundant growth during the spring and summer provides the rabbits with all the food and cover they need. In the winter, when food is limited, rabbits eat twigs and gnaw the bark of woody plants. This is why young trees and seedlings must be protected from rabbits during winter. Landscaped yards provide excellent rabbit habitats, accounting for the prevalence of cottontails in most suburban and urban areas. Keeping bunnies out of your garden can be challenging, but the best method is to exclude them by using a chicken wire fence approximately 2’ tall, so they can’t get into the area. Trapping bunnies and moving them to a rural location is the second-best method, but this can be difficult during periods of succulent growth. Repellents are typically not highly effective and often can’t be sprayed on plants used for food. A final control option is a motion-activated sprinkler system to scare the rabbits away from the area.

 

Have questions? Contact our office where our Horticulture Extension Agent will assist you with questions.

Phone: (316) 321-9660

Email: callae@ksu.edu