Ageratum is a sun-loving annual that can provide color in gardens that are challenged by rabbits. | Jeff Carrion/Chicago Botanic Garden
By Tim Johnson | For the Chicago Tribune
I am having a problem with rabbits eating many of my plants. It’s so incredibly frustrating and I’m looking for a solution.
— Sophie Calloway, Winnetka
Like many gardeners on the North Shore this year, I have also been challenged by rabbits in my backyard. I chase a rabbit out through the fence, and it jumps right back in at the other side of the yard. The damage they can cause is extensive and very frustrating. They wiped out all the new milkweed plants that I hoped would attract butterflies even after I routinely sprayed the plants with a repellent. My two dachshunds, normally a prey-driven breed, are somewhat defective — they pay no attention to rabbits other than lifting their ears.
As with any pest problem in the garden, it is important to correctly identify it before implementing any control efforts. Rabbits are easy to spot in the garden during the growing season. The damage they cause results in neatly clipped stems on tender shoots and small, chiseled, gnaw marks on woody plants in winter. Branches may have clean-cut surfaces that are similar to having been cut with a pair of pruners at a 45-degree angle. Damage to bark is typically done in the winter and can occur high up on the plant if there is a lot of snow. In general, rabbits eat herbaceous plants in spring and summer and cause damage to woody plants in fall and winter.
Cottontail rabbits generally live less than two full years in the wild and typically raise two to three litters per year (up to as many as five or six litters). The young leave the nest in two to three weeks. Rabbits generally spend their entire lives in an area of 10 acres or less, so if there is suitable habitat in the vicinity of your garden, you are likely to encounter rabbits. Rabbits like open, grassy areas with cover such as that provided by groupings of shrubs, ground covers, grasses or brush piles that are typical in the home landscape. During cold weather, they use natural cavities and burrows of other animals for their dens.
The best way to prevent rabbit damage in the growing season is to exclude them with fencing. Use 2-foot-tall chicken-wire fence or hardware cloth with the bottom buried 2 to 3 inches deep or firmly pinned to the ground to stop them from going under the wire. The wire should have 1-inch or smaller holes. Use ¼-inch wire hardware cloth spaced 1 to 2 inches from the trunk to protect trees over winter.
Another option is to spray repellents that make the plants distasteful to rabbits. You will need to reapply after rain and to protect new growth as the plants continue growing. The repellent I used did not work because it was the only one I used. Tom Tiddens, supervisor of Plant Health Care at the Garden, advised me to rotate among three different repellents for it to work properly.
I can suggest the following plants for color and structure in your rabbit-infested garden:
Annuals: Geranium, ageratum and wax begonia
Perennials: Hardy geraniums, epimedium, bee balm, peony, Russian sage, astilbe and perennial salvia
Bulbs: Daffodils and ornamental onions
Vegetables: Tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers and squash
Shrubs: Yew, boxwood, lilac, forsythia, spirea
Ground covers: Pachysandra and barren strawberry
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
