 In Kansas, remnant prairie the preferred habitat of hispid cotton rats has dense undergrowth and an upper layer of protective vegetation such as big bluestem ("Andropogon gerardii")/kochia ("Kochia scoparia")/annual sunflower ("Helianthus annuus").Hispid cotton rats prefer grassy clearings, croplands, overgrown fields, and overgrown roadsides and right-of-ways.In Kansas prairies hispid
cotton rats occur at relatively high abundance in ungrazed uplands and sandy mixed-grass native prairie, but also prefer disturbed areas.