Re: voles
- Subject: Re: [sibrob] voles
- From: K* W*
- Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 18:43:59 -0500
Re Voles,
Can't say if it was voles or mice, but the one year I didn't get
around to cutting back the foliage on my irises in fall, some rodent type
critter cleaned out a whole row of hard-to-get sino-siberians. When the
snow melted, you could see a tunnel on the surface, and nothing at all
where the plants had been. Sometimes it takes a hard lesson to learn. It
does seem uncanny how you lose the stuff you value the most.
Ken Walkup
At 09:08 PM 3/17/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Voles have been a huge problem here also, not only with Siberian irises,
>but with selected hostas and Japanese irises. I find that they are quite
>selective, but when they find a cultivar that they like, they will do
>major damage. I agree with Harold that cats are the best answer. I'm
>allergic to cats, but my neighbor has two that spend most of their day
>in my garden. They have made a difference.
>I considered using warfarin (rat poison), but decided against it, since
>it could kill the neighbor's cats and my dogs. Several people have told
>me that they have had success placing the poison in a section of pipe
>that the dog cannot get to. My brother has used mouse traps, which he
>places by the hole and covers with a plastic pot. I've had mixed results
>with that system.
>I have also planted daffodils around Siberians to deter voles. I am not
>sure that it has helped, but others have reported success with it.
>With hostas, I find that 'Patriot', 'Minuteman' and 'Halcyon' are vole
>food. Even with the neighbor's cats around, I gave up on them, but other
>cultivars planted close by have not been touched.
>With the Siberian irises, I find that they prefer the new (and
>expensive) ones, which they can completely destroy. Damage can be
>reduced by not mulching as heavily, especially in late winter and early
>spring. I've had damage to an established clump, but have never lost one
>to voles.
>With Japanese irises, I have found them to be quite selective, going
>down a row of seedlings where they burrow past many clumps, only to
>neatly trim the roots on a single plant, however, it usually comes back.
>
>Dennis Hager
>on Delmarva
>
>
>
>Harold wrote:
> >
> > Our general area had a major vole infestation last year. What solved the
> > problem in the long run was cats. Two cats were ours and several other cats
> > that I believe to be feral clean them out. When I identified specific
> > problem areas, I used regular mouse traps. Victor has a real neat trap that
> > you squeeze to set. A second squeeze will release the spring. Makes it safe
> > to pick up and easy to empty. I had two frames full of potted irises.
> When I
> > watered the pots, a vole would run from the first box to the second. When I
> > started watering the second box, it ran back to the first box. The vole had
> > two tunnels into each of the two frames. The vole was eating the potted
> > irises. When I first used the traps, I watered the first box so the vole
> > would go to the second box. I then set the traps at the tunnel entrance to
> > the first box. I started watering the second box and as the vole ran
> back to
> > the first box it ran across the trap and got caught. It took less than 60
> > secords to catch the first vole. There was no more iris damage in those
> > frames. My neighbor set the traps in the openings to their nests. He had
> > success with that technique.
> >
> > Harold Peters
> > Beautiful View Iris Garden
> > 2048 Hickok Road
> > El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
> > harold@directcon.net www.beautiful-view-iris.com
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Margaret Boehm" <mmboehm@attglobal.net>
> > To: "sibrob" <sibrob@yahoogroups.com>
> > Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2002 7:50 AM
> > Subject: [sibrob] voles
> >
> > > I received the following email from a dear friend and excellent gardener
> > > who is also a passionate siberian iris lover:
> > >
> > > "We did some raking and clean up yesterday before it got cold and
> > > discovered that the dear little voles had a yummy winter - they
> > > cleaned out a huge amount of siberian iris in the front - Dewful.
> > > There's some left, but boy are they destructive."
> > >
> > > Have any of you ever had this problem and if so what did you do?
> > > Margaret Boehm
> > > Wilton, CT zone 6
> > >
> > >
> > >
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> > >
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> > >
> > >
> >
> >
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> >
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>
>
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