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Post by thomis on May 21, 2015 8:17:27 GMT -5
I'm sorry friends I just need a shoulder to cry on for a bit. I'm literally about to fall apart. I hate this hopeless feeling of there is nothing I can do. I may not have a garden this year at all. I've never had a real vole problem like this. In the past month I have been noticing them more and more. First my new tomato plants started to disappear. Then I noticed the holes. And tunnels. I kept replanting, buying new tomato plants and planting them farther away (and unfortunately in less than ideal soil) and still the bastards are killing my plants. I give up, I'm not planting any more, just to lose them. I have cut the grass as low as I can, I've seen more snakes this spring so far than ever and my cat is getting fat on them but they are multiplying. This is my first time growing potatoes, they were doing so well and I was so happy but now, every day I walk up there I see more and more are falling over dead. I've read so many things on the internet and there are a lot of gimmicks out there for you to waste your money on. If I had a giant tiller I would churn up the entire area just for spite.
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Post by claude on May 21, 2015 8:36:52 GMT -5
Don't go tilling up the area, you'll only make it easier for them???????? take heart! They are there because there is food for them. So, let's make it an inhospitable local...by removing the food and making the place smell. Voles have great sense of smell..they hate the smell of castor oil. You can buy a 4oz bottle at cvs in the laxitave section. Add it to a two gal sprayer and start spraying the ground from the center of your garden and out. Soak their hills. If you can do it before a rain, that will aid the smell traveling thru the dirt. Get a cat to hunt in your garden or a dog they are surprisingly effective hunters. Spread milky spore starting at your garden area and outward. This will eliminate grubs (jap beetle larvae) in your soil..their favorite food. It is a naturally occurring bacteria that will multiply over time and eliminate the problem. put a box with a tiny corner hole opening in your garden. Place a mousetrap inside..no bait needed.
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Post by brownrexx on May 21, 2015 8:38:30 GMT -5
I am so sorry to hear this. It certainly sounds like some traps are in order. You can Google but I remember something about using mouse traps near the tunnels and covering the trap with a cardboard box to protect other wildlife from getting hurt.
You can't give up on your garden. Work on getting rid of these buggers quickly while you still have potatoes left!
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Post by claude on May 21, 2015 8:46:27 GMT -5
They had trashed my gardens last year but I was able to eliminate the large numbers and encouraged snakes in the area. That's probably why you are seeing more..because there is more food for them(voles). As long as the snakes are not poisonous, they are fabulous pest deterrents.
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Post by tbird on May 21, 2015 9:14:37 GMT -5
sorry to hear.
Maybe get some more cats? Do raised beds with higher edges and some wire mesh underlying?
Good luck!
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Post by desertwoman on May 21, 2015 9:32:57 GMT -5
Oh so sorry for your dilemma.
Unfortunately, once tunnels are established they will be around- food or no food to munch on. The highway is built and they will use it.
I have had great result with the castor oil spray. The only thing I add is a bit of biodegradable soap or detergent (I use Dr Bronner). Just enough to emulsify the oil and water.
My landscaped parts of the garden are a bit more challenging. The anti mole/vole/ gopher product (I forget its name) by Gardens Alive is castor oil based and I used it for the first time this spring. I haven't see any sign of those critters. This product is the best I have tried of the granule products on the market. I got it for free with their spring coupon! And I will be willing to pay for it too, now that I have tried it.
And I also have raised veggie beds lined with wire underneath (I use lath).
All of these these have kept my gopher problem well under control.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on May 21, 2015 11:19:31 GMT -5
Oh goodness, what a mess, eh? Don't let them varmints get you. So far I haven't had this problem but I am starting to see a couple mounds on occasion. We'll see what happens this year! Don't give up!
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Post by brownrexx on May 21, 2015 11:30:22 GMT -5
DW has gophers which are huge compared to our meadow voles which are the size of a mouse. Their tunnels are not nearly as big but I have heard of good results with using the castor oil spray. I would still highly recommend the traps because I think that they have a litter of 6-8 every 21 days and that's a LOT of voles.
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Post by desertwoman on May 21, 2015 11:44:10 GMT -5
Good point, BR. They are prolific little buggers.
Pea- now is the time the castor oil works the best- BEFORE they are well established. Get ahead of them, because once they move in, it is much harder to move them out.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on May 21, 2015 12:12:10 GMT -5
I was wondering about that DW but I am not sure if it is voles or chipmunks cuz I see the holes not really a tunnel though. But I questioned myself whether it was attached to a tunnel.
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Post by claude on May 21, 2015 12:36:38 GMT -5
If you see an occasional opening and notice uneven areas when you walk across your lawn, chances are that they have arrived. I never saw tunnels per say until they had already moved in. The castor oil was less than $4
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Post by octave on May 21, 2015 15:08:06 GMT -5
So sorry thomis, that's really unfortunate. I hope you can find a way to deter those pests. Not knowing much about voles other than they tunnel underground, I would build "containers" made of wire mesh, sink them in the ground and plant at least a few tomato plants this season.
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Post by Mumsey on May 21, 2015 17:21:57 GMT -5
Years ago I noticed my peas were not coming up. Dug around, seeds were gone. Looked around and saw the telltale signs of tunnels. Kept looking, noticed they did not go near the onion beds. They devoured all my pea seeds. So I planted an onion every few inches with the peas and I got peas! I continued that practice, planted onions wherever the tunnels were near food in the garden. Seemed to work. Onions are not a companion plant for peas, but what the heck, I got just as many peas!
Also, daschunds are great little vole hunters. Had one many years ago, she was very good at catching them, and she would dig for them. The little voles stand up on their hind legs and make screechy sounds and they have short little tails as I recall.
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Post by mountshastagarden on May 21, 2015 18:19:41 GMT -5
I have trapped a few, with peanut butter bait in Victor traps. The voles are our third or fourth most damaging critter, after ground squirrels, gophers and black rats.
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Post by claude on May 21, 2015 18:30:46 GMT -5
An article in Mother Earth news says that they don't like onions or garlic. Their strong sense of smell is their Achilles heal. I was amazed at how quickly they left those areas with the castor oil. And, I could barely smell it..it had a definite odor..not a bad smell but it was short lived.
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