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Removing heavy mulches helps keep voles under control. Raptor perches can be very effective just a simple crossbeam about six feet off the ground right over the damaged areas. By the time Easter arrived, hawks and owls had clearly taken care of the voles-the area was covered with 'owl pellet evidence'. And they added a pair of smaller crosses for the Two Thieves.
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They asked me for advice, and I had them change the location of the big crucifix they traditionally put out during Lent so it was right in the middle of the holes. True story: It was the beginning of Lent a few years back when my local church's front yard started showing signs of vole infestation-lots of inch and a half wide holes near bulb and shrub plantings. And poisons are to be avoided at all costs they're a threat to children, pets, and the natural predators that can help keep these creatures under control- especially hawks and owls, which are big predators of voles.
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There isn't good evidence that predator urines work-and their 'collection' is cruel in the extreme. One female vole can easily give birth to a hundred tulip-eating offspring by the fall their fecundity is legendary. For the best results, apply it heavily in the Spring- before the females begin mating. It doesn't actually harm the creatures it just chases them off by making the soil smell bad under the surface. Whenever people start to see signs of mole and/or vole damage on their lawn, I always suggest they start out with a castor oil-based repellant labeled for use on moles and voles. I could maybe see a vole trying some out of curiosity, but I wouldn't rely on it for control.īut I would give castor oil a try. All three forms of protection will also keep rabbits, groundhogs and deer from gnawing away.Īnd what about Juicy Fruit gum? There's something I hadn't heard mentioned in quite a few years, although 'the Juicy Fruit trick' has been around for decades! You generally hear it suggested for moles, which is just ridiculous, as moles are 100% carnivorous and only eat live food. That's why new plantings should always have a six inch area of 'no-mulch' next to the stem and be protected by a wire cage or by wrapping the trunks with tree guards or hardware cloth-a type of small mesh metal fencing. Mounding mulch over the base of trees invites this damage by providing protection from predators-but snow cover can hide the little rodents just as well. Voles are well known for eating the roots of plants, consuming Spring bulbs and tubers underground (other than daffodils, fritillaria, and garlic, which they avoid), and for chewing on the bark of trees and shrubs-especially over the winter. I've tried coyote urine and other repellents and even stuffing their tunnels with Juicy Fruit gum, but they're still out there."Ī. I don't want to use poison as I have a Labrador retriever. How can I rid my lawn and garden of voles? They've chewed the roots and stems of my shrubs and other plants and are destroying my well-tended lawn. The way to tell that it is not mole damage is by these distinctive chewed-down runways, lots of little holes about an inch and a half in diameter in the soil and the lack of dirt mounds. Moles are the cause when a lawn has raised tunnels, dirt mounds and soft areas that collapse when you walk on them.īut if instead of (or in addition to) raised tunnels there are lots of little 'runways' about two inches wide throughout the lawn, the cause is a specific type of vole-V O L E-that eats grass blades and tramples down the area as it makes intricate above-ground pathways. They may uproot the occasional plant, but they don't eat any plants. That's still the case, but I've been doing more research, and it turns out that there are many different types of voles-and some of their behaviors can be radically different than the ones we've discussed in the past, including a type that does damage lawns.īut let's begin with a few things that haven't changed: Moles-M O L E S-live exclusively underground, make raised tunnels (mostly in lawns), often leave big piles of dirt on the surface, and eat ONLY live food: earthworms, beetle grubs and cicada larvae.
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In the past we've always explained that moles create raised tunnels and voles don't. Our neighborhood has been invaded by voles, which have destroyed my grass. How do I control moles? My yard is tunneled to death! And what's the difference between a mole and a vole?