Sylvilagus floridanus
Eastern cottontail rabbits cause significant damage to vegetable gardens, especially in spring when other food is scarce. Clean-cut damage to stems and leaves.
Small mammals with brown fur, white cottontail, long ears. Droppings are round pellets. Clean, angled cuts on stems (vs. ragged deer damage). Bark gnawed at ground level.
Clean, 45-degree angle cuts on stems. Plants clipped to ground. Bark stripped from young trees at ground level. Missing seedlings. Pea-sized round droppings.
Breed March through September. Multiple litters of 4-6 young per year. Young rabbits cause most garden damage. Active dawn, dusk, and night.
Fence with 1-inch mesh chicken wire, 2-3 feet high, buried 6 inches. Remove cover (brush piles, tall grass). Protect young trees with hardware cloth cylinders.