Bunny rabbit populations are exploding in some sections of the Greater Toronto Area, which is wreaking havoc on residents' gardens.

The spike in the number of furry creatures has caused homeowners to jam animal protection phone lines with concerns about how to solve the problem without hurting the animals, the Toronto Star reports.

While there is no official track record of rabbit populations, animal experts believe the population boom is the result of a decrease in their predators, foxes and coyotes.

John Almond, manager for the Toronto, Halton and Peel Ministry of Natural Resources, Aurora district, told the Star the fox population was decimated by disease a few years ago and hasn't recovered.

"From about 1997 to 2000, that's when the fox population in the GTA was at its peak," Almond said. "We were getting lots of calls from residents saying a fox or coyote had taken their cat. Sightings were way up."

Fox sightings are down this year, he said, while the number of residents spotting bunnies in their gardens is up.

The bunny growth seems to be multiplying fastest west of the city, in the Halton area, according to the number of calls to humane society phone lines.

"The rabbit population has boomed," Colleen Gyergyai, manager of animal protective services for the Oakville and District Humane Society, told the Star. "It's everywhere from Oakville to Milton."

Gyergyai said the society is getting at least 30 calls a day about rabbits when, in a normal year, there would be about three a day.

Brad Gage, owner of AAA Wildlife Control in Toronto, said the rabbit population has increased about 25 per cent.

"True gardeners can become very upset when they come out in the morning and see their expensive plants chewed down," Gage told the newspaper.

He said he's getting at least 10 calls a day for rabbits in homeowners' yards. Some of the hopping animals are even getting into people's garbage.

Since it's illegal to trap or move rabbits, the Oakville humane society is offering an easy and non-lethal way to keep the rabbits away from precious gardens.

Gyergyai said residents should Take a Spanish onion, add a jalapeno pepper, a tablespoon of cayenne pepper and boil this up in two quarts of water. Let it cool for 20 minutes and then strain it, filling a spray bottle with the remaining liquid. Lastly, spray shrubs and the other vegetation.