We all have our routines. They keep us on task and help us to remember to do certain things each day. Most routines are helpful, but some can be counterproductive. My morning routine includes waking up a child or two, eating a bowl of raisin bran, and driving to McDonaldâs for a large Diet Coke. The Diet Coke represents my $1.07 of happiness with which I begin my day.
Unfortunately, rabbits have routines also. For many of us, the routines of rabbits have come to include stopping by our home to eat. I have never observed rabbit damage to the extent that I have observed it this spring and summer. Just about every yard I walk through has evidence of rabbit damage on annual flowers, perennial flowers or shrubs.
When someone is trying to prevent rabbits or other animals from harming their plants, what they are really doing is trying to get the rabbits to go to their neighborâs yard and eat their plants. They are trying to change the rabbitâs routine. Changing a routine is very difficult. We tend to be set in our ways and change can be difficult.
These next two columns will be dedicated towards helping you learn how to recognize rabbit damage, learn how to either minimize the chance that the damage will occur or repel the rabbits that have already started to use your home as their restaurant of choice and highlight certain plants that tend to be rabbit resistant. I will also touch on repelling other animals such as chipmunks or voles that may be harming your plants.
The type of rabbit damage I tend to see is seasonal. Generally in early spring, I will see damage on shrubs. This is damage that would have occurred throughout the winter. Rabbit damage on shrubs tends to occur on the tips of the branches. The branches appear to be freshly cut or pruned at a 45-degree angle. Usually, the tip of the branch that was chewed is lying on the ground underneath the plant from which it came. Upon closer inspection, rabbit pellets may also be present.
Rabbit damage on shrubs tends to be within 15â of the ground, but I have seen rabbit damage as much as 30â above the ground. (The rabbits were standing on top of the snow.) The vast majority of shrubs that have experienced rabbit damage tend to grow through the damage the next season. The spring and summer is when I tend to notice that rabbits have been chewing on perennial and annual flowers. Normally, I would say I see more damage to shrubs than flowers. This year that is not the case. The rabbits have been chewing on all different types of plants including hosta, phlox, Asiatic lilies and daylilies. This isnât the type of damage that would typically kill a perennial flower, though.
If you have rabbit damage on your plants or if you have trying to protect your plants, I recommend a multi-faceted approach. Try different things and then keep changing up what you are doing or the products that you are using.
Stay tuned for more information on the types of approach in the next edition.
