Rabbit Damage

Cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus and related species) and jackrabbits (Lepus species) cause two distinct damage patterns depending on season. In late fall through early spring, when green forage is scarce, they gnaw the bark of young fruit trees at trunk height, typically 12 to 18 inches above the soil or snow surface. This girdling cuts off the phloem layer that moves sugars down from the canopy, and a fully girdled trunk kills the tree above the wound within a single growing season. Smooth, angled cut marks at consistent height distinguish rabbit damage from deer (rough, torn bark) and voles (damage at or below the soil line).

In the growing season, rabbits clip tender seedlings cleanly at a 45-degree angle and graze low-growing vegetables, with lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, and strawberries drawing the heaviest pressure. Populations spike in spring and cycle roughly every two to three years in most regions, so damage intensity varies year to year.

The most cost-effective control window is before damage occurs. Hardware-cloth trunk guards (1/4-inch mesh, 18 to 24 inches tall) installed in fall protect young fruit trees through the vulnerable dormant season and can be reused for years. Chicken-wire perimeter fencing, buried 6 inches at the base to prevent tunneling and standing 2 feet above grade, excludes rabbits from vegetable beds reliably at low cost. Repellent products (Plantskydd, dried blood, predator urine) offer a backup layer but require reapplication after rain and are less dependable than physical barriers. Reducing brush piles and tall-grass cover within 30 to 50 feet of plantings lowers local rabbit habitat and reduces pressure without any chemical inputs.