Rabbits, often called wild rabbits, are a staple in most of our backyards. But, while we see them lying in the grass on a sunny afternoon, they can be dangerous and damaging to your home and family.
What are wild rabbits?
Most wild rabbits are called cottontails and are prevalent in parks, backyards, and anywhere there are open grassy areas. They rarely live in dense grassy areas and forests. They can cause damage to your flower beds, vegetable plants, and ornamental gardens. However, they are usually of no consequence to humans or pets.
Can wild rabbits cause damage inside my home?
Liviing room with open doors to the front porch. Romantic classic with park view.
As with most pests and nuisance wildlife that take up residence inside your home, urine and feces can create damage in addition to an unpleasant scent.
Wild rabbits are chewers and can damage walls and electrical wiring, putting your home at an elevated risk of fire. Rabbits also host fleas and ticks, which cause skin irritation and spread diseases. Rabbits are known carriers of tularemia.
Do wild rabbits carry disease?
Tularemia, often called Rabbit Fever, can infect humans. The CDC explains,
Tularemia is a disease that can infect animals and people. Rabbits, hares, and rodents are especially susceptible and often die in large numbers during outbreaks. People canbecome infectedin several ways, including:
- Tick and deer fly bites
- Skin contact with infected animals
- Drinking contaminated water
- Inhaling contaminated aerosols or agricultural and landscaping dust
- Laboratory exposure
Symptomsvary depending on how the person was infected. Tularemia can be life-threatening, but most infections can betreatedsuccessfully with antibiotics.
Steps topreventtularemia include:
- Using insect repellent
- Wearing gloves when handling sick or dead animals
- Avoidingmowing over dead animals
Instances of tularemia increase during hunting season because hunters are more likely to come in contact with rabbits, dead or alive while hunting. Transfer of Tularemia occurs through body fluid transfer.
How can I prevent and remove wild rabbits from my home?
The easiest way to keep wild rabbits, pests, and other nuisance wildlife out of your home is to secure access points into your home. Examine your home and look for a broken attic window, a gap in the garage door seal, or signs of an infestation from pests.
Garages are an invitation to your home. An open garage door presents rabbits and other nuisance wildlife with a safe, warm place to hide from the climate changes in late fall and early winter. Keeping them out of your yard is also very effective.
Our AccuShield Trenching Exclusion System is designed to keep rabbits, rodents, and wildlife out of your yard and, ultimately, your home. We trench 12” below grade and install industrial hardware cloth that attaches to the structure. The design of the installed screening can withstand even the strongest of wildlife from trying to gain entry. Hardware cloth can be color-matched to the deck and shed, or standard galvanized finish. We can also install new deck skirting with a new lattice and landscape surround.
Some homeowners also add motion lights and plastics owls or other statues to deter wild rabbits.
Hire a professional pest control service
The best way to ensure your backyard and home do not become home to wild rabbits, and other wildlife is to hire professional pest control services. Accurate Pest Control technicians are training on safe and human removal of nuisance wildlife. Contact us for a free inspection before the temperatures drop and the snow falls. Keep pests and wildlife out of your home and your family safe and healthy.
Resources: Human Society.
