Preventing and controlling damage caused by cottontail rabbits
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"Cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) are one of the most common game animals in Missouri (Figure 1 ). Cottontails begin to breed in late winter and early spring and have a gestation period of about 28 days. Litter sizes average three to five young, and cottontails can typically produce four to five litters each year. Females will build a softball-sized nest for each new litter and line it with fur and grasses. Rabbits prefer brushy cover interspersed with open areas of grasses and herbaceous broad-leaved plants, or forbs. Brushy fence rows, woody stream banks and woodland borders provide excellent protective cover, and nearby forbs provide summer foods. In winter, when food is scarce, rabbits will clip twigs and gnaw the bark of woody plants. Landscaped yards provide excellent rabbit habitat, which accounts for how common cottontails are in suburban and urban areas. Cottontails have small home ranges and spend most of their lives in areas of 1 to 5 acres with good habitat. Some people enjoy seeing rabbits around their lawns, whereas others wish to keep rabbits away to protect crops, gardens or landscaping. Even people who enjoy rabbits may need to control them if they begin causing damage. Rabbits are opportunistic feeders that will eat readily available plants during spring and summer. Before taking measures to prevent or control wildlife damage, you need to correctly identify the animal responsible. This guide describes how to identify rabbit damage and measures to take to prevent and control it." -- first page
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Archive version. For the most recent information see extension.missouri.edu.
OpenAccess.
OpenAccess.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.
Provided for historical documentation only. Check Missouri Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station websites for current information.
Provided for historical documentation only. Check Missouri Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station websites for current information.