A cylinder of hardware cloth or other wire mesh can protect trees from rabbit damage. Remove brush piles, weed patches, rock piles and other debris in which cottontails hide to make the habitat less suitable. Remove tall weeds and other escape cover from the vicinity of new windbreaks and hedgerows. Mow or spray vegetation within 3 to 4 feet of recently planted trees and shrubs. You may need to control vegetation for 5 to 10 years before perennials become more resistant to rabbit damage.
Jackrabbits prefer open areas where their vision is unobstructed.
Encourage taller and more dense vegetation through grazing management or fertilizing to make rangeland less suitable for jackrabbits. Dense cover around woody plantings may provide some protection from jackrabbit damage, but will increase the risk of damage from cottontails and field mice. Alternate foods can be provided to rabbits, to distract rabbits from valuable plants, but they are of little long-term value, as they may attract more rabbits and lead to greater damage problems. Many people have tried scarecrows, owl and snake effigies, pinwheels, pie pans spinning in the wind and several other creative devices to frighten rabbits out of gardens and other areas. Frightening devices are simple to use, but they cannot be relied on to protect plants from damage because rabbits acclimate very quickly to noise and movement.