Introduction
Rabbits hold contrasting meanings for different people: hunters prize the eastern cottontail as an abundant, sporty, and flavorful game animal, while gardeners, farmers, and homeowners often view these creatures as pests. Perspectives shift with the season—favorable during hunting season, frustrating when gardens are under threat. Rabbits can damage flowers, vegetables, trees, and shrubs year-round, from suburban yards to rural fields and tree plantations. Complete extermination is unnecessary, undesirable, and impractical; instead, proper control techniques allow rabbits to coexist as interesting additions to landscapes while minimizing harm.
Species Description in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is home to three wild rabbit-related species: one true rabbit (eastern cottontail) and two hares (snowshoe hare and jackrabbit). Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with longer ears and hind legs, and their young are born furred and with eyes open—unlike rabbits, which are blind and hairless at birth. All are nocturnal, plant-eating, and prolific breeders. The eastern cottontail, recognizable by its fluffy white tail and rusty-brown neck spot, is the smallest (averaging 2.5 pounds) and most widespread, found in every county with a statewide population potentially exceeding several million. The snowshoe hare adapts to seasons by changing its coat from brown in summer to white in winter, with large furred feet suited to northern forests; it can be highly destructive to evergreens and Christmas tree plantations. The jackrabbit, a hare introduced from the west and south in the 1900s, has declined due to habitat loss from agriculture and development, with no confirmed sightings in decades—any observations should be reported to the Wisconsin DNR. This publication focuses on the eastern cottontail, as its damage management strategies often apply to other species.
Food Preferences by Season
Rabbit diets vary by region and season, but their appetites cause problems year-round. In spring and summer, they feed on a range of green plants, including garden flowers (especially early tulip shoots) and many vegetables. Few crops resist rabbit browsing: corn, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes are among the exceptions. In fall and winter, their diet shifts to woody vegetation, with a preference for plants in the rose family—apple trees, raspberries, and blackberries are most frequently damaged, followed by cherry, plum, and nut trees. For shade and ornamental trees, rabbits favor mountain ash, basswood, maples, honey locust, ironwood, oaks, and willow, as well as sumac, rose, Japanese barberry, dogwoods, and some woody pea-family plants. Evergreens are rarely targeted, with sunscald, winter drying, and deer posing greater threats; occasional damage may occur in unprotected nurseries.
Habits & Habitat
Rabbits are active year-round, primarily at night, and concentrate in favorable habitats rather than distributing evenly across landscapes. Ideal habitats include open grassy areas with nearby cover—such as brush piles, bushes, or evergreen trees—for escaping predators, making landscaped backyards a common hotspot. Eastern cottontails typically live within a 20-acre range, rarely moving more than a mile unless relocating for winter cover or new food sources (usually due to scarcity). In suburban areas, rabbits are numerous and mobile enough to fill gaps left by removed individuals, ensuring populations remain stable unless habitat is modified.
Reproductive Traits
Cottontails have short lifespans—averaging less than a year, per University of Wisconsin studies—but compensate with remarkable reproductive capacity. They can produce up to six litters annually, starting as early as late March or early April, with an average litter size of six. Gestation lasts only 28 days, and females often breed again within hours of giving birth, potentially producing 36 young per pair annually under ideal conditions. This potential is never fully realized, however, as weather, disease, predators, vehicle collisions, and hunting keep populations in check. Rabbits nest in shallow, vegetation-concealed ground depressions; young are born furless and blind, opening their eyes in 7-8 days and leaving the nest in 2-3 weeks. Contrary to myth, cottontails do not dig extensive burrows—they use natural cavities, brush piles, or burrows dug by woodchucks, relying on underground dens only in severe weather or to escape pursuit.
Legal Status in Wisconsin
Landowners or occupants in Wisconsin may hunt rabbits on their property year-round, except for a short period near gun deer season. Agents acting on behalf of landowners must hold a valid small game license for shooting or a trapping license for trapping. Specific hunting dates and rules are available through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and individuals should consult these regulations before taking action.
Tularemia: A Potential Health Risk
Tularemia is a disease carried by rabbits that can transmit to humans through handling infected rabbits, bites from ticks or parasites that fed on infected rabbits, or other routes. Infected rabbits may show no symptoms. Precautions are advised when handling rabbits from spring through mid-September; the disease is less of a risk after a hard freeze and during winter, which is why Wisconsin’s rabbit hunting season opens in October. Anyone experiencing fever, chills, aches, or other symptoms within 1-2 weeks of handling rabbits should consult a physician promptly.
Identifying Rabbit Damage
Rabbit damage varies by season: in spring and summer, they feed on herbaceous plants, leaving clean, angled cuts on stems. In fall and winter, they gnaw bark or clip branches, stems, and buds of woody vegetation. Young trees with smooth, thin bark are most vulnerable, as rabbits avoid thick, rough bark on older trees—often girdling young twigs while ignoring mature sections. Heavy snow cover exacerbates damage, with young plants clipped at snow height and larger trees/shrubs potentially girdled (only sprouting from below the damage or bridge grafting can save girdled plants). Key identifiers include incisor marks (upper incisors average 2.7mm wide, lower 2.8mm) and 45-degree angled cuts on small-diameter woody material. Other signs include tracks (oval front tracks ~1 inch long, oblong hind tracks ~3 inches long), round light-brown pellets (3/16–7/16 inches in diameter), vegetation nests (6–8 inches long, 4–6 inches wide), and shallow burrows (4–6 inches deep, 5–8 inches in diameter) lined with the mother’s belly fur and grass.
Managing Rabbit Damage
Due to cottontails’ reproductive potential, no single control method is effective long-term—winter interventions targeting breeding populations yield the best results. Natural controls include floods, ice, subzero temperatures, parasites (ticks, fleas, botflies), and disease, but these may be insufficient. Encouraging natural predators (hawks, owls, foxes, mink, weasels, snakes) and avoiding harassment of these species (many are protected by law) aids population control; family cats can also prey on young rabbits, though they may harm other desirable species. Habitat manipulation—removing brush piles, weed patches, junk dumps, and stone piles—reduces hiding spots, but suburban habitats often support rabbits regardless, as neighbors may provide favorable conditions. Active control methods include shooting (legal and cost-effective where safe and permitted, but requires persistence) and trapping (ideal for urban/suburban areas with live traps, which cost ~$45 and should be placed near cover, baited with dried corn, alfalfa, apples, carrots, or cabbage, checked every 24 hours per state law, and relocated with landowner permission). Exclusion is a top low-cost solution: 2-foot chicken wire fences (1-inch mesh or smaller) with bottoms tight to the ground or buried slightly protect gardens, while ¼-inch wire mesh cylinders or commercial tree tubes (extending above snow depth) shield young trees from browsing and mouse damage. Chemical repellents (based on blood, thiram, capsaicin, or synthetic ingredients) are categorized as contact (taste-based) or area (odor-based), but scientific testing is limited; follow label directions, avoid use on edible plants, and reapply after rain. Home remedies (rubber hoses as snake decoys, water jars for reflections) are unproven—reliable management combines removal, mechanical protection, and habitat cleanup to reduce damage effectively.
