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Identify Nuisance Wildlife

Cotton Tail Rabbits

 Cotton Tail Rabbits
 

Description & Habitat
 The Cottontail is a common small rabbit of North America.  It is approximately 15 to 19 inches in length and weighs two to four pounds.  Males and females are basically the same size and color, appearing gray or brownish with a short tail and big ears.

Cottontails tend to concentrate in favorable habitats such as brushy fencerows, brush or junk piles, upland thickets, field edges or landscaped backyards where food and water are suitable.  Natural cavities or burrows excavated by woodchucks or other animals are frequently used.  Underground dens are used primarily in extreme cold or wet weather and to escape pursuit.  They survive well in the suburbs and get all they need for food, water, and shelter there. 

Cottontails are most active at dawn and dusk and forage for food into the early evening hours.  In the spring and summer they eat grasses and leafy plants and in the fall and winter they primarily eat buds, twigs, bark, and young trees.  Population levels are directly linked to the quantity and quality of the habitat present.  Rabbits spend their entire lives in as area of 10 acres of less. 

Cottontails are sexually mature at about two months of age and breed from April to September. They usually have three to four litters of about five kittens.  Nests typically are made in small depressions in the ground and are lined with grass and fur from the mother.

Disease
 Like any mammal, rabbits can get rabies. Rabbits also can be infected with tularemia, which is transmissible to humans if an infected rabbit is handled or eaten undercooked.  Ticks that transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis (Lyme disease ticks) may use rabbits as a host.

Damage
 Damage to gardens and ornamental shrubbery is the most common conflict between humans and rabbits. Browsing on plants in yards, these animals do quite well finding food in the suburbs.   Rabbit damage to plants is identified by the neat-clipped appearance of browsed vegetation, as well as obvious animal tracks and scat in the form of small piles of pea sized pellets (deer droppings look similar but are larger in size).

Cottontails will devour a wide variety of green vegetation especially in the spring when young, succulent plant material is present. A listing of severely, moderately, and seldom damaged woody and herbaceous plants follows. Rabbit damage can be identified by gnawing on older woody growth, clean-cut clipping of young stems, distinctive round droppings, and tracks.

Damage Control
Most problems caused by rabbits can be solved by targeting and removing the specific rabbits that are responsible for the problems. 

ADC Solutions
 If you have been experiencing rabbit damage, the most effective approach is to use a combination of capture/removal and exclusion/preventative measures. 

Generally speaking, rabbits can and do cause many nuisance problems in city and suburban areas. 

Rabbits can be captured using a variety of restraining devices.  An ADC professional can help decide what will work best for your particular wildlife damage situation.

ADC has been under contract with several cities removing problem rabbits with great success.


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