vole tunnels under perennials

There was a vole in my garden beds and there are quite a few plants that have soft spots/tunnels under and around them. Is it ok to step around the plants to get the soil around the roots/crown again? I know it's bad to have compressed soil around plants. But on the other hand, the tunnels are bad also. Any opinions or rules of thumb?

Go ahead and press the soil back down. You don't have to stomp, LOL. Mouse traps work pretty well on voles, somebody told me strawberry poptarts are one of the voles favorite for bait.

They wiped out completely a fairly large Frances Williams and Sieboldiana.
Anyone tried this with success? Do you just spray it on top of the ground where the voles are doing damage?

http://www.messinawildlife.com/products/vole-repellent.php

I am now pretty sure that the problem I have is moles not voles. I committed a heineous act though. LOL. On Saturday, I saw worms literally bolting out of my mulch and robins were gobbling them up as soon as they came out. Then I saw the mulch moving. SO I softly stepped over to the moving pile of mulch - with pitchfork in hand - and started stabbing. I felt horrible as I was stabbing but I think I got the mole. (well one of them anyway). Stabbing with a pitchfork. wow. I can't believe I did that.

If it makes you feel better, I went after a gopher with a pickax once. He was in the process of digging a tunnel in the garden and kept popping his head up out of the hole as he excavated, so I stood there with the axe and tried to get him every time his head popped up. Of course I missed him every time, but it sure made me feel better! I just hope my neighbors weren't watching all this out of their upstairs window--it had to look like a scene out of Caddyshack! LOL

Some say castor oil repellants work great. They don't have tests to back that up but it still could be good stuff.
as for the axe murderer technique-- well we all understand!

This message was edited Jun 16, 2010 6:59 AM

For moles, often the best thing to do is control the grubs--that's what they're eating so once the grubs are gone the moles will go find somewhere else to hang out. Milky spore is an organic control for grubs but I'm sure there are other methods too. Castor oil's worth trying, but it's supposed to repel gophers too and I can say from experience that it doesn't work at all, so I'd treat for grubs too on the chance that the castor oil doesn't do much.

Yes I felt like the grounds-keeper in CaddyShack. I was desperately hoping that my neighbor-lady friend wasn't peeking out her kitchen window. good lord. Anyway - yes I have grubs in my garden soil so I guess I better get rid of the mole's food source. Thanks for your funny support -

They do eat grubs, but I think recent studies show that they also eat earthworms....