While these cute and fuzzy bunnies are wonderful to see hopping around the lawn, nibbling on clover and dandelions, it’s when they turn their voracious appetites on your landscaping that gardeners throw off the gloves and get ready to wage war!
However, keeping long-eared cottontails and chubby Woodchucks out of your garden can sometimes be as tricky as dealing with a certain cartoon wascally wabbit!
Nature Hills is here to help you have a beautiful garden without worrying that Rabbits and other garden rodents will see it as a buffet!
Sure, they’re cute, especially when they’re young! But if you have a large population of Rabbits and Groundhogs, then it becomes an issue.
Problems they cause include:
- Piles of round, pea-sized droppings
- Increased fleas and ticks
- Holes and burrows damaging lawns
- Chewed-up landscaping
Deterring Rabbits
Rabbits eat about any type of plant that deer and humans eat, hence why your vegetable garden is a common target!
Best defense: physical barriers, outdoor pets, and planting what rabbits don’t like in the first place.
Fun Rabbit Facts:
- Male Rabbits = Bucks | Female Rabbits = Does | Babies = Kits
- Until the 18th century, Rabbits were called Coneys
- Teeth grow continuously
- Nearly 360-degree field of vision
- Do “binkys” (leaps of joy) and purr when happy
- Can jump up to 3 feet in one leap
- Part of the Lagomorph group (Rabbits, Hares, Pikas)
- Important food source for many predators
Rabbit-Resistant Plants
If you are in an area with lots of Rabbits, Hares, or Groundhogs, here are the plants that stay safe!
Most Herbs
- Mint family
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Hyssop / Agastache
Perennials
- Allium family (Onion/Garlic)
- Asters, Baptisia, Barrenwort, Bellflower
- Bleeding Heart, Columbine, Coreopsis
- Delphinium/Larkspur, Daylily, Ferns
- Foamflower, Foxglove, Iris
- Japanese Spurge, Lamb’s Ears, Lavender
- Leopard Bane, Liatris, Lilyturf
- Lungwort, Milkweed, Euphorbia
- Monkshood, Nightshades, Wormwood
- Penstemon, Peony, Poppy, Primrose
- Red Hot Pokers, Rudbeckia, Daisy
- Ornamental Grasses, Salvia, Sea Holly
- Sweet Woodruff, Veronica, Verbascum
- Yarrow
Shrubs & Trees
- Boxwood, Rugosa & thorny Roses
- Birch, Butterfly Bush, Clematis
- Coralberry, Cotoneaster, Currants
- Deutzia, Diervilla, Elderberry, Euonymus
- Evergreens & Holly Bushes
- Hydrangea, Juniper, Lilac
- Mountain Laurel, Mock Orange, Oak
- Oregon Grape Holly, Redbud
- Spirea, Sumac, Viburnum, Walnut
- Weigela
Annuals: Zinnias, Marigolds, Snapdragons, Flowering Tobacco, Cornflower
Bulbs: Daffodils, Allium, Anemone, Muscari, Lily of the Valley
Rabbit-Proof Landscaping
Good fences make good neighbors, and keep out Rabbits, Groundhogs, and Deer too!
- Chicken wire or fencing: At least 2 feet high (3 feet for Jackrabbits) and buried several inches. For Groundhogs, bury a foot deep or bend fencing outward underground.
- Groundhog-proofing: A 3-foot fence buried 1 foot deep, with top 12–15 inches bent outward to stop climbing.
- Floating row covers: Great for young plants; bird netting or chicken wire works well too.
- Tree collars: Protect trunks from bark chewing. If bark is stripped all the way around, the tree won’t survive, so protect new installs from day one.
- Repellents: Commercial rabbit repellents, or DIY versions like Irish Spring soap, pepper flakes, coffee grounds, garlic oil.
DIY Spray: Mix water, cayenne pepper, garlic, and dish soap. Strain, let sit overnight, then spray (reapply after rain).
- Skip kitty litter: It’s unsanitary. Instead, scatter pet hair, ask a groomer if you don’t have pets.
- Maintain your lawn: Short grass and weed-free beds discourage burrows and nesting.
- Aromatic barrier plants: Surround tasty plants with strong-scented ones as a deterrent.
- Scare tactics: Fake owls, snakes, reflective objects, spinners, and chimes all make Rabbits uneasy.
- Avoid mothballs: Toxic to plants, wildlife, and children.
Types of Rabbits In The US
Rabbit vs Hare?
- Rabbits: Smaller, shorter ears/legs, live in warrens (tunnels).
- Hares: Larger, longer ears/legs, live in above-ground nests.
Cottontail
- Main types: Mountain, Eastern, Brush/Western Cottontail
- Gray/brown/tan fur with white tail patch
- Live throughout the US in shrubby cover and tall grass
- Biggest landscape pest: Very adapted to human spaces
Jackrabbits
- Black-Tail and White-Tail species
- Huge ears, strong hind legs, jump 10 feet, run 40 mph
- Found in western deserts and grasslands
Pygmy Rabbits
- Smaller than Cottontails, but with a similar appearance
- Native to sagebrush regions of the Northwest
Snowshoe Hares
- Found in Alaska, Canada, northern Minnesota, and the coldest US regions
- Reclusive, rarely cause garden damage
Pikas
- Live in mountainous, high-elevation regions of the Northwest US
- Found in rocky crevices, cool climates
- Rarely a landscaping issue
Deterring Groundhogs
Groundhogs = burrowers! Their tunnels can be 50+ feet long. They eat flowers, vegetables, bark, grasses, and berries. Very active in late summer/fall as they fatten up for winter.
Fun Groundhog Facts:
- Babies are called Chucklings or Pups
- Independent at 2 months old
- Incisors grow 1.5 mm a week, so they must chew
- Can live up to 14 years
- Few predators in urban areas besides humans & dogs
- Don’t chuck wood, but nibble bark
- Great swimmers & climbers
Ways to keep Groundhogs out:
- Motion-activated sprinklers or floodlights near burrows
- Vinegar sprayed around planting beds (not directly on plants)
- Human hair sprinkled in garden beds
- Floating row covers or bird netting over vegetables and Mums
What To Do If You Find Baby Bunnies In Your Lawn?
The easy answer: Nothing for now!
Spring is the time of year when animal rescue organizations and humane societies are flooded with calls about 'abandoned' baby rabbits, but this is far from the case!
If you find them:
Only peek, but avoid touching them. No, the mother won’t reject them if you handle them just to move them to safety.
- Don’t handle them - only gently place back if outside the burrow
- If no burrow found, call a rehabber if under 2 weeks old
- Older kits can be hidden nearby, and Mom will find them!
- Mother visits only at dusk
- Don’t disturb nests or handle kits
- Mark the nest so others avoid it
- Keep pets away
- Mow around the nest to reduce stress
Kits are independent at 2 weeks! Only call animal control if mom is gone for 48+ hours (including at night).
Living In Harmony With Your Furry Neighbors
Remember: Our lawns and habitat loss reduce their natural food. That leaves our gardens as their “buffet.”
- Leave patches of clover/dandelion in out-of-the-way areas
- Create safe graze zones away from prized plants
- Plant rabbit- and groundhog-resistant species first
Balance is key: Living with wildlife while protecting your landscaping prevents heartache.
Head over to NatureHills.com and find plants that everyone can live with today!
Happy Planting!
