Re: Voles in the garden - long reply

**"* T* <m*@hort.net>**

Well, since I campused my hunting cat who was having extreme
difficulty distinguishing between songbirds and rodents, I've had
vole problems.  The little beggars ate the bottoms out of half a
dozen hosta that were new last year.  I collected the remains and
replanted in large black plastic nursery containers - 3 to 5 gal -
with the bottoms cut out.  Dug holes and filled the bottoms with
about 6" of 3/4" bluestone gravel; put in pot and planted the hosta;
backfilled around the pot.  Pot rims are a few inches above soil
line.  This (knock on wood) seems to be working as all those hostas
are recovering nicely this year and vole holes adjacent to the pots
don't seem to have made it through the gravel.  I understand that
broken clay pot shards also work as will sharp edged larger stones. 
I found out (unfortunately) that grower size granite grit does not
work; voles just swim right through it; has to be larger pieces too
big for them to move easily.

>From two posts I saved some years ago, here are methods of dealing
with them if you choose to use poison bate.  I have yet to try this,
but they both seem to work for those who posted:

#1
"Buy a length of 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe.  Cut the pipe into approx. 12
inch lengths;  Fit both ends with elbows that simply slide on. 

One 12 inch piece of pipe with elbows on both ends is a trap

Lay the pipe flat on the ground with on opening at or very near a
hole or in absence of a hole/tunnel, near a plant you want to
protect.  The pipe mimics a tunnel where the voles feel they can dine
successfully.  

The bait is rodent bar/wax bait which , if it comes in a bar, is cut
into approx. 1 1/2 sections and stuffed into the trap at the bend in
the elbow.  Home Depot and Lowes sell 1 inch blocks and they also
work but I prefer the bar bait  Do not use the little tablets as the
little buggers can carry that away and store it . Place the traps at
a hole/vole entrance and watch the bait be nibbled away.  It is quite
easy to pick up the pipe and see the condition of the bait.  In the
beginning I would see a bait eaten in two days, but eventually it
slowed down.

Finally, I believed and have found that these traps are safe from
other animals and birds, though I did hear of a raccoon upsetting the
trap and possibly eating the bait ......but I have never experience
this and I have 15 traps out, though now there is no more voles
nibbling."

#2

"This is how I keep voles and mice will fed down on the farm.

The feeders I  use are made from 5 gallon spring water bottles. I cut
them in half along the seam with an electric saber saw making two
small greenhouse like structures. When I see vole activity I place
one of these small greenhouses over the hole. Also under this small
greenhouse I put poison bar baits on 6 inch diameter plastic plates
along with a few green pellets of "Remik". The voles will hoard the
remik and this is one way I tell if rodent activity has stopped. The
Bar baits I use are called "Just one Bite".

The manufacture of "Just one bite" is Farnam Companies, Inc. Omaha,
Nebraska. 68112. Sorry, no phone number. I believe it is the size of
the bait that prevents them from being hoarded underground. Each bar
is 2 oz. and measures 4 inch x 1 inch x 3/4 inch.

I have cut bait use to 25 percent of what I was using. The bar baits
are too large for the voles to move to an underground storage area

I get these five gallon water bottles for free. To get them free you
will need to find a bottled water supplier and ask for any bottles
with pin hole leaks. These bottles have a limited life span for the
water companies and are discarded at first leak. New bottles are 7
dollars in my area and leakers are free. I could get hundreds of
leakers. Leaks make no difference when these bottles are cut in half
and used as feeders.

Moisture damage to these bar baits is eliminated with the small
greenhouses. I am using 10 feeding stations at the present time with
no present vole activity . (that is, as of 10 am this morning!) I
find that the voles feed for less than a week when a feeder is placed
over a vole run. Monitoring  is as easy as walking by and looking at
the baits through the clear bottles. When I find a new vole run or
hole I move one of my existing feeders to the new location. Some of
my bar baits are 4 months old and if you don't count a few nibbles,
they look as good as new. Even irrigation this summer did not wet any
of the baits. Mold caused by moisture was a major problem with my
other feeders which resulted in a short live span for my bar baits.

To monitor activity at the feeding station I push soil or small
amounts of mulch over the vole hole. The voles will move small debris
from their hole and this reveals their activity. Vole activity stops
in less than a week. I leave the feeders in place until they are
needed somewhere else.

The shape of the five gallon water bottle cut in half  is such that
they are not moved even by high wind. I search my garden for new vole
holes every weekend and move my feeders accordingly. I get many
re-uses out of the bar baits. Pets also seem to ignore these
feeders."

Best of luck there.  

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
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----------
From: Lorraine Ballato <ladygardener@msn.com>
Argh!!!

I've just discovered the remains of 4 Krossa Regal hostas that have
almost no root systems.  Looks like we've been invaded by voracious
and selective voles!!

This is the first vole invasion we've experienced -- guess it was
just a matter of time.

I've been reading about baits, traps, and poisons.  Hopefully, some
of you have some experience with this problem and can advise me on
what methods have worked successfully for you.  We've got hundreds of
hostas so time is really of the essence!

Thanks and regards,

Lorraine

Lorraine Ballato
16 Mudry Farm Rd
Brookfield, CT 06804
(203) 740-8636
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