Maintain Healthy Wildlife and Keep Your Trees Healthy

Rodents and rabbits have their places in nature, but we humans prefer those places not to include our land or gardens. However, rodents and rabbits need vegetation to survive, so they’re attracted to any large plot of what looks, to them, like a delicious meal. To prevent extensive plant damage and exposure to animal-borne diseases, all landowners need basic knowledge of how to humanely deter their home’s furry little invaders. Today, we’ll explore a few steps you can take that are minimal effort but provide lasting results.

Know Your “Visitors”

To deal with rabbits and rodents effectively, you must know what to expect from them. Landowners generally have trouble with cottontails and jackrabbits. Cottontails are born hairless with their eyes closed, while jackrabbits are true hares born fully furred and with open eyes. Gestation periods are 28 and 43 days respectively, and the average litter size for both rabbit species are 3-5 young. Both breeds can carry tularemia and Lyme disease, both of which are dangerous to humans.

Cottontails and jackrabbits like to seek cover in hedgerows or low, dense areas of vegetation. Be particularly vigilant if you grow berries; rabbits will hide in blackberry or raspberry bushes because their thorns provide excellent protection. They typically graze on all parts of woody plants, twigs, and garden plants such as vegetables. If you’re not sure if rabbits are feeding on your plants, look for long diagonal cuts in twigs, or incisor marks between 1/4 and 3/8 of an inch.

Eliminate Humanely

In some areas, the rabbit problem is so great that people choose to shoot them to reduce population growth. Gassing is also used in certain areas. However, many people find this inhumane and seek other elimination methods. Keep these tips in mind:

Fence them in. New rabbit fences should be about 0.9 meters high. You can also use tree shelters, which are mesh enclosures of at least 0.6 meters. Plastic spiral guards can be used, but make sure there are no gaps, as rabbits will gnaw through these.

Use chemicals. Aaprotect, and chemicals like it, can be sprayed on trees to prevent grazing. Be aware that spraying is only effective from mid-November to late February; these chemicals are toxic to spring growth.

Provide cover and food that rabbits can use. For example, make brush piles that cottontails and jackrabbits can use for cover. Plant small food plots of soybeans, orchardgrass, and bluegrass, for example. Rabbits will be attracted to these and more likely to leave your garden alone.