- Author: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
- Posted by: Lauren Fordyce
![A black-tailed jackrabbit, also known as a hare. [Credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/95300small.png)
Many people think wild rabbits hopping around are adorable—there's even an international rabbit day celebrating wild and domestic rabbits—but they're less welcome when they're eating your carefully tended garden. Wild rabbits in California can devour your garden vegetables, just like Peter Cottontail. And they don't stop at lettuce and beans. Rabbits and hares will gnaw tree bark, flowers, most green vegetation, and even drip irrigation tubing.
UC Davis Wildlife Specialist Roger Baldwin has revised the Pest Notes: Rabbits and included more detailed management methods for jackrabbits, cottontails, and other wild rabbits. Managing...
![Desert cottontail rabbit. [R. O'Connell.]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/35348small.jpg)
Every spring, we see pictures and artwork of adorable Easter bunnies-- cute, little rabbits that deliver gifts of chocolate and other goodies to our children.
However, while “bunny rabbits” are cute, rabbits can also be very destructive pests year-round in the garden and landscape. This is especially true if your home is near wild or uncultivated lands, parks, or greenbelts. These places provide resting and hiding cover during the day for rabbits.
Rabbits can damage ornamental plants, vegetable plants, herbs, trees, and berry crops. They also gnaw and cut plastic irrigation lines, especially small diameter tubes.
There are eight species of rabbits found in California. Three of them are widespread and...
