RE: now voles-

I unfourtunately have plenty of experience with voles-  they are actually
very easy to get rid of with plain old regular mouse traps.  You don't even
have to bait them, just place them at the exit holes of their tunnels and
empty them regularly.  Eventually they will be gone.  At least they die
quickly.  If you are afaid of cats or other critters stepping on the traps
you can prop a couple boards together to make a teepee over it so there is
room for mouse size critters to run over it (and for it to snap shut) but
too little for other animals to step on it.

Theresa

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-perennials@hort.net [o*@hort.net]On
Behalf Of Marge Talt
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 8:41 PM
To: perennials@hort.net
Subject: Re: now voles-was winter plant heaving


> From: Donna  <justme@prairieinet.net>
> Well this is interesting. I have never seen a vole in this
neighborhood
> ever. Guessing someone new moved into the area:(
> So if you don't have an outside cat, next plan of attack would be?
----------

Well, Donna, you seldom actually see voles; you just see their holes,
runs and the results of their handiwork.  They are mouse-like animals
with tiny eyes and ears and short, stubby tails...not at all cute
like field mice.

I have problems thinking poison of any type as there is so much
wildlife here, so next step is to start putting a lot of sharp gravel
around the root areas of hostas and other susceptible plants.

Also mean to try Pamela Harper's method - she cuts the bottom out of
a large nursery container (3-5 gal) in which she has the plant
growing and then slides the container up so it sticks out of the
ground 3 or 4 inches, leaving the rest in the planting hole.
Thinking a combination of pots and gravel might deter them - we shall
see.

I have tried planting things like lilies in containers I've made of
wire hardware cloth - a real pain in the derrihre to make and then
years later, you go to dig something up and other plants have worked
their roots into the wire and you have a melluvahess - have one of
those to deal with now...have dig up half a bed to get that old wire
out, I fear.  So will not go the wire route again if I can help it,
but that will keep them off the plants if the wire sticks up above
the soil line a few inches.

Voles dig perfectly round holes about the size of a 50cent piece and
work underground munching roots, crowns and bulbs,  or make shallow
runs under mulch and attack crowns, they don't seem to climb over an
obstacle that sticks up a few inches above soil line, but it must not
be covered with mulch where they would sort of just go over it.

If you have no compunctions about using poison bait, here are 2
methods that were posted to some list or other at one point, that I
saved:

One person, who lives in DE, posted that he recommend 5 gallon spring
water bottles cut in half along the seam (acquired free from water
companies as ones with pinhole leaks), creating two small greenhouse
like structures.  These are put over vole holes where activity is
seen in the garden. In the small greenhouse you put poison bar baits
on small plastic plates - could possibly use a plastic coffee can lid
-  (the poster of this method used one called 'Just One Bite' from
Farnam Companies, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska 68112) along with a few green
pellets of 'Remik' ( I don't know what that is).  The voles hoard the
Remik so that's how he tells if their activity has stopped.  The bait
he used is too big at 2 oz. for them to take down into their holes -
apparently they horde food underground.  Once there is no more vole
activity in any one bait station, it and the leftover bait is moved
to another location and re-used.  Poster said the water jugs stay in
place even in good winds and protect the baits from getting wet and
moldy from rain and watering.  Pets also seem to ignore them.  Vole
activity at any one location seems to stop in about a week.

Another person, in WI, said he sets out Warfarin in the fall, well
before snow.  Puts it in narrow-necked jars (just big enough for a
vole but not any other creatures) laid on their sides and loaded with
pellets.  These are put in many places around the garden and checked
every few days until covered by snow - refilled as necessary until
the baits are no longer eaten.  He says you have to keep this up and
if you have consistent snow cover, start early enough in fall to hit
the population before they are concealed by snow.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Wild, Wonderful Aroids Part 4 - Arisaema
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index