Rabbit and Groundhog Damage in Brambles
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Rabbits and groundhogs can cause damage to plants year round. Rabbits, in particular, feed on plants when food is scarce (winter or early spring). Rabbits and groundhogs feed on ripe berries by removing the entire fruit from plants. They may also cause damage to roots by making burrows (softball- to basketball-sized holes) in the ground within bramble patches. Look for freshly exposed soil from burrows, tracks, scat, or plants damaged by chewing (clean cut close to the ground).
Rabbit damage to bramble canes (circled).
(Photo: Gary Gao, The Ohio State University)
Eastern cottontail rabbit.
(Photo: John P. Ashmore, Shutterstock.com)
Groundhog.
(Photo: Unnamed photographer, US National Parks Service)
Management:
- Trap or shoot.
- Use large cage traps placed near burrows or under plants and baited with apples or eared corn.
- Install metal fencing to deter rabbits in small scale production settings. Fencing is ineffective for groundhogs since they are capable of climbing.
