Will Rabbits Eat Blueberry Bushes?

Wild rabbits like cottontails will eat blueberry bushes and cause great damage to the bush. Rabbits usually eat the bushes during wintertime when it is hard to find other vegetation, according to the University of Minnesota.

Rabbits chew blueberry bush stems down so far that only small sticks are left sticking out of the ground, according to the University of Illinois. Wild rabbits will also eat new branches year-round as they are not as tough as older branches.

Placing chicken mesh or woven wire fencing around the bush should prevent rabbits from getting to the bushes. Fences need to be at least 2 feet high above the ground so the rabbits cannot jump over the fence.

Fencing around blueberry bushes can stay up all year, but they need to go up in the late fall when food is starting to get scarce for wild rabbits. Rabbits may also eat newly sprouted shoots and buds in the spring.