If you garden in Fair Lawn, there's a good chance you've met a rabbit or two. They're quiet, they're cute and they rarely bother people. But a rabbit that settles into your yard can clear a vegetable bed overnight, clip a row of flowers and chew the bark off young shrubs over the winter. Below, we'll cover how to tell rabbit damage from other animals, what draws rabbits in and the steps that keep them out without harming them. If something bigger is getting into your yard or under your deck, our wildlife removal team can take a look.
Why Rabbits Settle Into Your Yard
The rabbit you see in New Jersey yards is usually the eastern cottontail. It needs two things: food and cover. A lawn with clover, a vegetable garden and a few flower beds supply the food. Brush piles, dense shrubs, tall grass, woodpiles and the open space under decks and sheds supply the cover.
When a yard has both close together, a rabbit doesn't have to travel far or stay exposed for long. That's why the same yard tends to have rabbits year after year, while the house next door with an open lawn and no hiding spots sees fewer of them.
What Rabbit Damage Looks Like
Rabbits feed mostly at dawn and dusk, so you'll often find the damage before you see the animal. Look for these signs:
- Clean, angled cuts. Rabbits snip stems and twigs with a sharp, slanted cut, as if with a knife.
- Low damage. Most feeding happens within a couple of feet of the ground, unless deep snow lets them reach higher.
- Gnawed bark in winter. When green plants are gone, rabbits chew the bark and twigs of young trees and shrubs.
- Droppings. Small, round, pea-sized pellets, often in little clusters near where they feed.
Rabbit, Deer Or Groundhog?
Several animals eat garden plants, and the fix depends on which one you have. The bite and the height of the damage usually tell you.
| Rabbit | Deer | Groundhog | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cut on stems | Clean and angled | Ragged and torn | Chewed, often to the ground |
| Height of damage | Low, near the ground | Higher, up to several feet | Low, near the ground |
| Other signs | Pea-sized round droppings | Hoof prints, larger pellets | Large burrow openings with mounded soil |
Are Rabbits Harmful?
For most homes, rabbits are a plant problem, not a safety problem. They don't damage your house the way rodents or raccoons can. The real cost is to your garden and landscaping. Bark chewed all the way around a young tree or shrub can kill it, and repeated feeding can wipe out a vegetable bed.
Wild rabbits can carry diseases and parasites, so don't handle them, and use gloves or a shovel if you need to move a dead one. If you find a shallow nest of baby rabbits lined with fur in your lawn, leave it alone. The mother usually visits only briefly, so an empty-looking nest isn't necessarily abandoned.
How To Keep Rabbits Out
The goal is to protect the plants they want and make your yard less comfortable to live in. None of these steps harm the animal.
- Fence the garden. Use chicken wire or hardware cloth with openings of an inch or smaller, at least two feet tall. Bury the bottom a few inches or bend it outward along the ground so rabbits can't dig under.
- Guard young trees and shrubs. Wrap trunks with a cylinder of hardware cloth or a plastic tree guard before winter. Make it tall enough to stay above any snow.
- Remove cover. Clear brush piles, keep grass trimmed along fence lines and tidy up woodpiles.
- Close off hiding spots. Screen the gaps under decks, porches and sheds with wire mesh so rabbits can't shelter there.
- Use repellents carefully. Taste and odor repellents can help on ornamentals, but they wear off after rain and new growth, so they need reapplying. Follow the label, and don't use them on plants you'll eat unless the label allows it.
Fencing and guards work better than anything else because they don't depend on changing the rabbit's habits. Repellents and scare devices tend to lose their effect once rabbits get used to them.
When To Call A Professional
Most rabbit problems are solved with a fence and a few tree guards. It makes sense to call a pro when animals are living under your deck, porch or shed, when you can't tell what's digging or chewing, or when the damage points to something other than rabbits. Trapping and relocating wildlife is regulated in New Jersey, so leave that to licensed professionals. EcoFusion can inspect your property, find where animals are getting in and close those openings through our outdoor pest control and exclusion services.
Rabbits aren't dangerous, but they're persistent, and a yard with good food and good cover will keep attracting them. Fence the garden, guard young trees before winter and clear out the hiding spots, and your Fair Lawn yard will be a much less inviting place for rabbits. If you need help sealing up decks and sheds, EcoFusion Pest Control is ready to help.