Rabbits may look cute and fluffy, but the damage they can inflict to trees, ornamental plants, and crops marks them out as a pest species. We offer pest control call-outs in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and parts of Hampshire, and regularly deal with rabbits which exist in high numbers locally – especially in rural areas.

How to Recognise a Rabbit Problem

Rabbits typically avoid close contact with humans, but, being a relatively large pest species, they are often easy to spot. Rabbits can be distinguished from hares because their bodies are plumper and rounder, while hares appear leaner and more angular. Hares are often considerably larger than rabbits and have longer ears.

Rabbits live communally in colonies (sometimes known as nests), and dig extensive burrows (known as warrens) beneath the ground. The holes to these warrens are typically slightly smaller than a football, and there may be several holes at the surface, serving as entry and exit points to a complex network of underground passages. Rabbit droppings are small, round, and light brown in colour.

Rabbit Pest Control

It’s also possible to identify the presence of rabbits by the damage they cause. Rabbits will eat plants – either herbaceous species used decoratively in gardens, or crop species used in kitchen gardens, allotments, smallholdings, or farms. Given the chance, rabbits will enter greenhouses and can cause substantial damage if pest control measures are not put in place.

Rabbits also have a fondness for bark, and will strip this from the base of trees. This damage can admit disease-causing microbes, or lead to rot and decay.