Everett
Here comes Peter Cottontail hopping down the bunny trail. Hippity hoppity, Easter’s on its way.
What about Peter Cottontail, and how is he associated with Easter? According to Discovery News, since ancient times, eggs and rabbits have been a symbol of fertility, while spring has been a symbol of rebirth. Even though rabbits do not lay eggs, the association of these symbols is almost natural.
In Ohio, our wild rabbit is the Eastern Cottontail. The Eastern Cottontail rabbits reach breeding age 3 months after birth. During courtship, a pair of Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) rabbits face off a few feet apart. The male will suddenly spring several feet into the air, twisting 180 degrees in the process. The female races beneath the airborne acrobat, and he lands facing her. These acrobatic jumps may happen several times and include chasing and wrestling. The peak of this activity occurs in April and May.
The female rabbit after becoming pregnant caries her young in her womb for 29-30 days. During this time, she is seeking a suitable nesting site. Contrary to widespread belief, Eastern Cottontails do not make holes in the ground for nesting. The nest is a shallow depression made in the ground that is 4 to 6 inches deep and 4 to 5 inches wide. Nesting areas include pastures, Christmas tree plantations, and mowed lawns. The nest is lined with dry grass and fur from the female’s body.
Young, called kits, are born deaf, without hair and with their eyes closed. The female does not stay on the nest; most of the time she is away returning only to feed her young. Litter sizes range from 2-7 kits with five being average. The young kits leave their mother after approximately three weeks. Eastern cottontails have approximately three litters per year.
Let’s do the math. Three litters times five kits average equals 15 rabbits each year. That’s a lot of rabbits. Fortunately, this is highly unlikely to ever occur as rabbits also have a high mortality rate — few live more than one year.
In spring and summer, rabbits eat a variety of green plants, including those in our vegetable and flower gardens. They will devour a wide selection of flowers, especially the first tulip shoots that appear in early spring. They are especially fond of roses, as well as many kinds of vegetables. During fall and winter, they feed on apple, cherry and plum trees. They also enjoy raspberries and blackberries. Feeding damage has also seen on maples, oaks, dogwoods and other landscape plants; however, they are not fond of evergreens.
The good news is that because of their high mortality rate, there are normally three to five adult rabbits per acre. However, in suburban areas with plenty of food and cover this population can be much higher. A rabbit’s normal home range is less than 10 acres.
What should you do if your landscape is overrun with rabbits? When I receive calls about rabbit damage, the caller wants immediate control. They become a “Mr. McGregor” the arch nemesis of Peter Rabbit. They also ask about trapping and lethal controls.
In Ohio, rabbits are a protected species with a set trapping and hunting season regulated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. In addition, in most municipal areas and some townships, it is illegal to discharge a firearm or trap any wild animal unless a live trap is used. If using a live trap, it is also illegal to move to another property without written permission from the property owner.
Even if you successfully trap and move one rabbit, others will soon move in. The most successful rabbit control is habitat modification.
Rabbits need dense cover close to their feeding areas to escape to when danger is near. Removal of cover can make the area less attractive. Remove brush piles, trim shrubs and fencerows, and keep paths around gardens and fields closely mowed.
For a small area, erect a 2-foot-high chicken wire fence with a 1-inch mesh that is either buried a few inches deep or very tight to the ground. Rabbits will not dig under the fence, but they will try to squeeze through loose spots. Support the fence every 6–8 feet with a strong post. Commercial tree wrap can protect young trees. Remember, most tree damage from rabbits happens during the winter. When there’s deep snow, the rabbits can reach much higher.
Another control tactic is using taste and odor repellants. A homemade mixture is blending a dozen eggs in a blender until thoroughly mixed, and then apply the mixture to landscape plants using a hand sprayer. Egg solids are one of the fear-inducing repellents. They work because their sulfurous scent mimics predator odors. Carnivores (that feed heavily on meat) will have sulfur in their urine and other bodily excretions.
Besides using egg solids, use commercially-made blood products, and/or hot pepper. Mix them all up or use them separately, but always have a few different repellents on hand to switch it up during the year. Due to the reproduction strategy of rabbits, habitat modification is the key to long-term control.
On a final note, the Eastern Cottontail is a native species. They are here to stay. Either adapt and live with these mammals, or live in frustration.
