Voles look like meadow mice though they are not rodents. Also, moles are usually more prevalent in early spring when they eat grass stems and start breeding. When our NC yard was full of tunnels I ran across a suggestion that work for me. Whirligig flowers, bought at the dollar store. The little colorful flowers on a stick that spin with the wind.
The article said that the voles would not like the vibrations underground. I "planted" those around the garden, and affected areas of the yard and it worked! Will predator urine cause established vole population to move away from yard to the woods, or does it just repel future vole infestation? I have gophers voles and moles Some ultrasonic pest repeller devices are meant to repel voles along with mice and certain other rodents. Check the instructions of the manufacturer, and if you are using it outside, make sure that you get one for outdoor use.
In general, these devices have mixed reviews as to their efficacy, but it might be worth a try! In fact after 2 days I found 2 new tunnels dug right next to one of the devices with their den being literally right beneath one of the sonic waste of money devices. And please dont catch and release this horrible disaster on someone elses property.
One pregnant female vole can turn into a colony of over 1, voles in a single year. They must be killed. However, if you have a pond with fish, do not place any of these sonic devices within 75 feet of the pond. As soon as i set the sonic devices out my fish started going crazy trying to crowd into the farthest corner of the pond away from the devices.
I moved the devices and the fish instantly relaxed. I watch this great youtuber. Does nothing but mouse traps and rat traps. He's tested utrasonic multiple times. They don't work at all. However peppermint oil was very effective.
I have the mounds of earth for the moles. I can see the runs in my beds where the voles tunnel while they chew the roots off my plant's. They destroy the plants and do not eat the vegetables. They've destroyed tomatos, eggplants, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, and more, much more. We've tried repellents, poison beans and worms none worked! Put hardware screen in the bottom of the beds, that worked!
Now we have to do the whole garden. I have two cats out there too. We tried milky spore to get rid of the grubs. Not sure if it's working yet. It takes a while for that to happen. Hey I'll try peanut butter and the bucket ideas what do I have to loose. I kid you not, these critters shoved a poison worm back up through the hole I put it in. I think they were trying to tell me something.
I have very few in my yard anymore since I have a cat Shadow that will kill every one she gets her paws on. Whether it's my shady northern exposure or my backyard wildlife habitat with no tilling and lots of groundcovers, I have always had voles everywhere. And I was going to add to your list until I saw the last point--a cat who can patrol the garden and yard. I don't let my cats roam, but one or two go outdoors with me for a time nearly every day when I hang out the laundry and work outside.
Once they discovered the garden had voles they decided voles existed as an important supplement to their diet, and the problem was, for the most part, solved. When we haven't been able to go outdoors for a period of time, my work schedule usually, the difference is noticeable.
But then they manage to find a way into the basement, so at least the cats still have some environmental enrichment. I have been thinking the past few years that grubs are what attracts voles so if I use grub repellent voles won't have anything to come to. Skip to main content. By The Editors. If you have partially eaten carrots, potatoes, or other root vegetables, you probably have a vole problem.
Kind of amusing, like a bugs bunny cartoon. If you see chewed-up bark near the base of trees and shrubs, look closely. Voles also tunnel through any root system, causing damage to trees and shrubs.
If you see young trees or shrubs leaning over, it may be due to voles. Control and Prevention Prevent Voles Make your yard inhospitable to voles! Prevention is very important to keep vole numbers down.
Voles like dense, heavy vegetative cover, weeds, and meadows because it provides them with protection from predators and provides nesting material. Cut back brush, mow, weed, and create a clean space. Remove woodpiles and hiding places for voles from near your garden, shrubs, and trees. Keep your lawn mowed and bushes trimmed up from the ground. Avoid putting dense mulch too close to trees and shrubs. Keep snow cleared from the base of trees and shrubs.
Protect young trees by wrapping the lower trunk with a guard. Bird feeders are another attraction for voles and should either be removed or the ground kept very clean to keep vole numbers down. Fortunately, voles are a prime food source for many predators such as snakes, hawks, owls, foxes, and badgers! Try Havahart live vole traps situated perpendicular to the widest vole runways or near the nesting sites at the base of trees and shrubs.
Bait traps with peanut butter. Set baits midday to early evening when voles get more active. Reset the traps as often as necessary until you eliminate the population. The key to trapping is persistence. You may want to cover the traps so that pets and children do not accidentally find them. Repellents have mixed results and need to be reapplied after it rains. Garden stores sell fox or coyote predator urine which usually turns off voles.
You can also pee in your own yard! Bulb control? You can discourage voles from nibbling on bulbs by adding gravel to the planting hole surrounding the bulbs. When you plant bulbs, drench or powder them with a fungicide to keep voles at bay. Plus, check our list of rodent-proof bulbs. They can eat anything but they have a rather refined taste for most types of vegetation we usually grow in our yards, gardens or farms.
Combine their eating preferences with their incredibly fast reproduction cycle and you get a pest that can lay waste to the vegetation and soil of any area before it has even been noticed. Voles love to feed on almost any type of vegetation. In lawns and fields, they love to eat grasses and to nibble on tree bark and tree roots to a point where they can kill many trees.
In gardens and farmlands, voles can feed on almost any vegetable, as well as on their roots and tubers. In other words, voles will eat almost anything that you might have growing on your property.
There are certain plants and vegetation that voles will either skip and avoid or be repelled by altogether. This is quite significant because it means that you can make your garden fully vole-proof by focusing on these plants or at least aid yourself in repelling voles by using some of them on the periphery of your property. Some of the more popular plants include:.
Instead, they molt, they stay warm in their tunnels under the snow, and they eat whatever they can find. This is the period when they diversify their diet the most. They also eat any insect they can catch, any winter underground root or vegetable that you might have sown for the spring, and even dead animals. Yes, voles can be even vultures when they need to. The easiest way to prevent a vole infestation is by using any of the vole repelling plants and vegetation we mentioned above.
Together with that, you can also make sure to reduce any of their preferred food sources. Keep all plants, vegetables, and trees that voles might take interest in surrounded by metal fences that go at least 4 or 5 inches deep into the soil.
This will prevent the voles from digging underneath as well as from climbing over the fencing. Additionally, keep whatever grass and other vegetation you have as short as possible. Voles may breed throughout the year, but most commonly in spring and summer. Generally, they have 1 to 5 litters per year.
Litter sizes range from 1 to 11 young, but usually average 3 to 6 young. The gestation period is about 21 days. Young are weaned by the time they are 21 days old, and females are sexually mature in 35 to 40 days.
Voles have short lifespans that generally range from 2 to 16 months. Large population fluctuations are characteristic of voles. Population levels generally peak every 2 to 5 years; however, these cycles are not predictable. Extremely high vole densities sometimes can occur during population irruptions. Food quality, climate, predation, physiological stress, and genetics have been shown to influence population levels.
Voles are an important part of the food chain, serving as prey for many predators such as hawks, owls, snakes, weasels, raccoons, foxes, opossums, and house cats.
Voles may cause extensive damage to orchards, ornamentals, and tree plantings by gnawing on the bark of seedlings and mature trees girdling. They eat crops outright and also cause damage by building extensive runway and tunnel systems through crop fields. Underground, woodland voles may consume small roots, girdle large roots, and eat bark from the base of trees. After the snow has melted in early spring, the runway systems of meadow voles can also create unsightly areas in lawns, golf courses, and ground covers.
However, this usually is only a temporary problem. The most easily identifiable sign of meadow voles is an extensive surface runway system with numerous burrow openings see diagram. Voles keep these runways free of obstructions, and vegetation near well-traveled runways may be clipped close to the ground. Overhanging vegetation provides cover as they travel along runways. Woodland voles do not use surface runways, but rather build extensive systems of underground tunnels.
As they build the tunnels, they push out dirt, producing small, conical piles of soil on the ground surface. These small, conical piles of soil are an indicator of woodland vole activity.
Bits of freshly cut vegetation and accumulations of vole droppings brown or green in color and shaped like rice grains in surface runways are positive evidence that the runways are being used. Vegetation, small roots, or mold in the paths indicate that voles no longer use them.
Meadow voles may also build and use underground tunnels, and they will often use underground tunnels made by moles or woodland voles. Homeowners often notice meadow vole damage in spring, when melting snow reveals the criss-cross network of runways voles used to travel under the snow. Under the cover of snow, meadow voles may travel safely into areas they would not normally venture, such as open lawns or grassy areas.
Usually the voles leave with the melting snow, and the lawn quickly recovers. Both meadow and woodland voles can cause extensive damage in orchards and nurseries by gnawing on tree bark. This type of damage is generally most severe in winter when other food sources are limited.
However, girdling and gnaw marks alone do not necessarily indicate the presence of voles since other animals, such as rabbits, may cause similar damage. Vole girdling can be differentiated from girdling by other animals by the nonuniform gnaw marks that will occur at various angles and in irregular patches.
Rabbit gnaw marks are larger and more uniform. Rabbits neatly clip branches with oblique, clean cuts. Examine girdling damage and accompanying signs feces, tracks, and burrow systems to identify the animal causing the damage. Woodland vole damage is more difficult to detect because it occurs underground.
Injured trees grow more slowly, look off-color, and generally appear sickly. Often by the time orchardists note weak, unhealthy trees, the damage to tree roots is already extensive. Voles are classified as nongame mammals and are protected. However, they can be controlled when causing damage. The preferred vole damage control techniques vary with the size of the population.
When populations are low and damage is not extreme, exclusion or trapping may be the most economical means of avoiding damage. Large populations causing extensive damage may warrant the use of repellents and toxicants. If the property owner does not feel he or she can properly handle the necessary damage control techniques, many wildlife pest control operators are available throughout the state that deal with vole problems.
Contact your local extension office or the yellow pages for information regarding these operators. Wire cylinders 18 to 24 inches high set into the ground around the trunk will prevent meadow voles from girdling the tree.
Tree guards should be large enough to allow for 5 years of growth. Bury the wire 4 to 6 inches deep to keep voles from burrowing under the cylinder.
These guards will also protect against rabbit damage. Large-scale fencing of areas is probably not cost-effective. Habitat modification practices can reduce the likelihood and severity of vole damage. The roots and stems of grasses and other ground cover are the major food sources for voles. As a result, eliminating weeds, ground cover, and litter is an excellent method of achieving long-term control of voles. Repeated mowings that maintain ground cover at a height of 3 to 6 inches reduce both food and cover and expose voles to predators.
Therefore, lawn and turf should be mowed regularly. If voles are damaging trees, clear all mulch 2 feet or more from the bases of trees. Establishing vegetation-free zones that extend at least 2 feet from tree trunks under tree canopies will discourage voles from living near the bases of trees, where they cause the most damage. Vegetation-free zones can be created by mowing, applying herbicides, cultivating, or placing a layer of crushed stone or gravel 3 to 4 inches deep around the trunk.
Do not allow prunings, leaves, or decaying vegetation to accumulate around the bases of trees. Repellents containing thiram a fungicide or capsaicin the ingredient that makes chili peppers hot are registered for vole control.
Little data is available on the effectiveness of repellents to deter vole damage. Therefore, repellents should not be used as the sole method of vole control. Thiram-based repellents are labeled for use on tree seedlings, shrubs, ornamental plantings, nursery stock, and fruit trees.
Most labels only allow thiram to be used on fruit trees during the dormant season. Capsaicin-based products are labeled for use on ornamental trees, fruit and nut trees, fruit bushes and vines, nursery stock, shrubs, and lawns. Capsaicin should be applied only before the fruit sets or after the harvest.
To prevent a feeding pattern from developing, repellents should be applied before damage becomes significant or, in the case of monitored populations, before damage occurs. They must be reapplied frequently after a rain, heavy dew, or new plant growth. Always follow label directions for the repellent being used.
0コメント