Vole remedies

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Hello all, I'm wondering if anyone has had any success in eradicating voles in their garden. Jim says it's actually a mole/vole problem. The moles first dig the tunnels looking for grubs, then the voles use them to eat roots, tubers, etc. We've tried everything we know of, including a castor oil spray, growing castor beans, a solar moler (electronically gives out a pulse every few secs.), pinwheels, and a cat. To get rid of the grubs, several years ago we put down milky spore, which we know takes some time to work. The only thing that seems to work slightly is the pinwheels and the cat. They've burrowed holes RIGHT NEXT TO everything else. Last year, out of 2 good-sized raised beds of potatoes, we got 1 meal. And yesterday, Jim realized out of 2 beds of sunchokes, there's a handful left. Yikes! They're everywhere!! -Laurie

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001

Answers

Man, you really are having a problem! I was over-run with field mice last year that damaged a whole lot of the potato crop, as well as making inroads on the kale, tomatoes, and ate most the broccoli. My dog was too old to take care of them like she used to (know anyone with a terrier you can borrow? Elf was death on anything varmint-y; raccoons, skunks, squirrels, gophers, mice, until she got too old for it. Even my younger male, Piper, who was sort of Mr. Faintheart for a terrier was a bat-killer. I also used a lot of Tin Cat mousetraps, and would catch 3 or 4 a night in them, and took them off to a meadow area where they could rejoin the foodchain. I don't know if the voles would go into the dark holes the way mice will, but it's a thought.

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001

I have heard of putting mothballs in their holes but I don't know if it actually does the trick or if it is all that good for other stuff.

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001

Thanks Julie and Diane, Julie, what's a tin can mousetrap? As a matter of fact, my best friend has a Cairn terrier; do they dig up the garden beds a great deal? If so, it might work on the off-season, tho' it'd better not dig up my garlic!! We've got a Lab/Great Dane mix who I forgot to mention has caught a few himself, tho' he can really make a mess of a raised bed! I'll research the mothballs, too. -Laurie

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001

I don't know about voles, but we got rid of moles with Juicy Fruit gum. Put it in the holes, maybe in littler pieces for voles? It gums up their insides!

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001

Earthmamma, I thought you were going to say the smell of the gum drove them away! Guess not! LOL!

Laurie, I don't recognize your name. If I should, sorry! Julie is my sister, so I'll answer for her. A Tin CAT mouse trap is a specific brand. It's a rectangular metal box, with a liftable lid. There are two entrances, one on each end, and you position the entrance so that it's on a mouse run. They go in and then can't get back out. You can get a better catch if you put in some bait, like a bit of peanut butter on a cracker. One will hold up to 10 mice at a time.

It catches them alive, so you either have to find a place to "re- home" them or dispatch them somehow. You just lift the lid and shake them out. Mice don't last more than about 24 hours, don't know if the stress does them in or what, so you have to check it daily. If it's in the hot sun, you'd have to check a LOT more often. If one dies in there, then you have to wash it out, or the death smell tends to repel others.

They usually can be found in gardening, farm, or hardware stores. Last time I bought one, it was $17 or so, a couple of years ago.

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001



Ya -- what Joy said.

Terriers CAN be terrific (as in 'terrify'?) diggers, so you sort of have to watch them and get in there and intervene if they start doing something you don't want them to. If you can flush out the rodents from the burrows with a hose or something first, the dog usually gets the idea pretty fast and will chop them as they come out. But a friend's Jack Russell terrier used to dig holes so deep that he disappeared into them, except for his tail tip. So they bear supervision until they can clean up the immediate area. Benson (the JR) cleaned out two barns and surrounding area in short order, then started in on the hayfields. He was better than the barn cat was, but there is no denying that dogs are more damaging as a rule if left unattended.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2001


We use the tin cats too.Provides fishing bait as well,if you happen to fish. Put a weight on the top of them.It's surprising how strong a meadow vole is.We had them escape by pushing the lid up.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2001

I forgot to mention that the last Tin Cat traps I bought were $8.95 at Fleet Farm.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2001

Solution for voles? Many, many cats....we have five. They bring home voles a lot! Now if they could only get the moles!

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

Wow, thanks everybody. I haven't been able to check back in for a while. Joy, I haven't participated in the forum very much. I'm pretty quiet both in "real life" and also on the forums. I mostly "lurk", though I do answer an occasional question, if I can add anything to what's been said already. Jim sent us an invite to this forum, so I've tried to be a bit more active here. I'm thankful to all who share their knowledge in this forum, and the tolerance and acceptance you all show for one another. Been subscribing to Countryside for 6 years, and been trying to use what I've learned there. I'll be trying all these ideas! Laurie

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2001


Laurie, voles are probably my biggest garden problem, too. When I grow potatoes under mulch, they eat about 1/3 of them. They breed young and often, and I doubt that you'll make a difference in the population. For reasons unknown (disease?) we had a vole-free season last year, but they're back. Good luck!

-- Anonymous, May 15, 2001

I was just re-reading one of my Kitchen Garden magazines and there was a suggestion on vole trapping in an issue that I thought would be worth a try. They suggested baiting a regular mousetrap with chunky peanut butter (claimed that chunky works better than smooth), and placing it under an upside down clay flowerpot. Apparently the hole with the bait inside makes it more attractive to them, and they prefer chunky peanut butter to smooth and the person who sent it in said that they had had marvelously good luck removing voles with it.

Worth a try.

-- Anonymous, May 19, 2001


Thanks everybody. Since first post, they ate my rhubarb, quite a few beans, and some tomato plants. I'll put updates on the forum and let you know what works. Laurie

-- Anonymous, May 19, 2001

Earthmama, You didn't say if we had to CHEW the gum first or if they like it new! ABC or not ABC. I have some other gum I will try today. I have little voles or moles or trolls or whatever in my garden rows too. I have also heard that uncooked biscut dough with salt inside would work. They don't eat much, of course I plant oodles, so I probably wouldn't notice anyway. I planted 2 peanut seeds, I hope those aren't GONE, hearing about all the peanut butter here!

-- Anonymous, May 19, 2001

I had a vole

Who followed a mole.

Got scared by the troll...

And ran down the row.

I gave him some dough.

Now he ain't no mo'!

By Cindy in KY

-- Anonymous, May 19, 2001



About the gum trick: no we left the chewing to the moles; we just kinda rolled it up in a ball if I recall, but don't know if that's necessary either.

My organic plant protection book almost mentions some folks have good luck with interplanting castor beans and comfrey , which is apparently distasteful to rodents.

-- Anonymous, May 19, 2001


Has anyone used a device that connects to the exhaust pipe of a vehicle? I am looking for a solution to a mole/vole problem without the use of poison pellets (we have 3 dogs and several cats, most too lazy to hunt.)

-- Anonymous, July 02, 2001

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