Rabbits

Above: Caged Coneflower

The Cute Culprit

Sylvilagus floridanus, the eastern cottontail rabbit, is a common in Virginia. Some gardeners rail against squirrels (I count myself among them, as they like to strip my fruit trees bare), others count the rabbit as one of the worst mammalian garden pests. For the most part, rabbits don't do too much damage in my garden. I must cage a few plants, but my raised garden beds are high enough that they don't seem to bother them.  If you don't have raised beds,  you will be subject to rabbits eating your lettuces, greens, radish tops, and many other common garden plants.

The biggest surprise for me has been how readily rabbits eat some of my native plants, especially the native helianthus (a type of perennial sunflower), coneflowers, and asters. I planted them the spring, and they seemed to be doing fine for quite a while. Due to the intense heat, I had not visited this garden bed for a week, at which point I found the plants cropped down almost to the ground. Cages to the rescue! (I don't know why I found this to be a surprise, as native creatures are adapted to eat native plants).

Some gardeners like to use animal repellent, hot pepper wax, or garlic spray to ward off these creatures, but these require reapplication after rain and I just can't keep up with it. I find cages to be adequate to stop rabbits, though squirrels will plow right through them or shove them to the side. Make sure you anchor the cages down to the ground and they should protect your plants!