The $10,000 question: how to deter voles

I planted about 50 lily bulbs last year (I know, a drop in the bucket compared to many of you!) Recently when I was cleaning out my beds, I found burrowing holes all over. I bumped the browned stem of one of my new Tango lilies, and it fell over as if it hadn't even been attached. I carefully dug down, and couldn't find the bulb. I am so disgusted! We had trouble with voles a few years ago, when they ate all of my tulip bulbs, but haven't seen any sign of them for quite a while.

Is there anything I can do to protect my bulbs, short of digging them up and putting each one in a wire cage? I've heard hot sauce deters them, but didn't know how much of that was truth, and how much was wishful thinking.

I so enjoyed my lily blooms this summer, I hate to even think about how many of the bulbs those mini-monsters have eaten. Advice?

Angie

The agony of voles!
I use a dry castor oil repellent and so far so good. Here is a link:

http://www.gardeners.com/Mole-Skunk-and-Vole-Repellent/YardPests_Rodents,34-603,default,cp.html

I also have many solar devices which sends out a vibration that deters voles.
Heres a link to a similar device, although they do come in different shapes, but work the same:
http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?PIN=73601&DL=GAW1&SC=WIG20001&

In the beginning, I placed my water hose in the hole and turned the water on.
Well, I found out these critters had underground tunnels that traveled from house to house. This deterred them for only a short time until they realized that their homes were flooded out, so they created new tunnels quickly.

Traps are also effecient.
They have a trap very similar to a mouse trap that has a long nail in the middle of the trap, so when the set trap is placed near the hole, the trap will stay still when the critter is caught.

Here is a link from You-tube showing the technique used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9cFspBjb-U

Hope this helps
Babette

This year I planted daffodils around my lily bulbs. I would do a clump of lilies and surround them with daffs. I hear the voles don't like daffs?

Ah, yes....planting daffodils help also.

I have done the same, but I noticed that these are smart little critters and will tunnel around the daffodils to get to my Lily bulbs + tulips. So the only way to truly protect the bulbs in the garden is with cages made out of hardware cloth

Cages can be made inexpensively too. Here's a link:
http://www.ehow.com/way_5665806_homemade-flower-bulb-cages.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_5637695_make-flower-bulb-cages.html

or a simple circular cage. Here's a link to a photo. Place a piece of hardware cloth on top + bottom and secure well.
http://www.gardengatenotes.com/images/2009/10/091020.jpg

Theres a gal here on DG that make cages. Her name is volesbegone.

Have you looked into Vole Block? http://www.garden.com/animal-repellents/mole-control/1100/

How about some caster bean seeds in their holes? Have a whole bunch I can send you.... >:)

I was told that voles use the holes that moles dig. Deter the moles and it will stop the moles. Moles eat grubs. Use grubex.. or something similar.

Wow, lots of good suggestions! Thanks for all the links and helpful hints!

How do you know whether you have moles or voles?

patti47
Just go on YOUTUBE and browse "VOLES" and or
"MOLES". There are some excellent videos that
show you how to tell the difference and how to get
rid of them. If you have a problem... Good Luck

Moles don't eat bulbs...

We have a "killer cat" She has downed mostly deer mice but now and then I see moles, dead of course.
I believe daff. bulbs are poison no matter what eats them.

But now I'm picturing the little stinkers dodging the daffs, after TPNursery's post. Like a corn maze.

I feel lucky to only have the RedLilyBeetle to deal with.
Knock on wood.

I have my irises in commercial rows, with the landscape fabric down between them. The other day as I was out looking at the irises, I was standing on one of the strips and a vole ran right out from under where I was standing and went under the next strip. Wonder how many losses I will have this year.

So you're definitely not alone, Angie.

OMG the nerve of the thing.

Ok I think I've got it now. I looked on youtube as you suggested fleur and learned that moles are carnivores and voles are vegetarians. Most importantly though is that I now know I have moles. Their tunnels are not above ground and they rarely venture above ground since what they are after is mainly grubs. The voles do their damage above and below ground and regularly emerge from under ground to look for food above ground. From what I saw vole trails are visible and so are the entrances to their burrows. Mole holes always are covered by the dirt they push up.

Like ge1836, I have one of those killer cats that lives outside. Mine killed a mole a day for much of the summer, leaving them on the front walk when he was through playing with them. I haven't seen a single mole tunnel since he finished his work, and I used to have lots of them all over the lawn.

If all else fails, you might want to consider the cat option. I would recommend a young one. 'Mine' is just under a year old, a feral kitten abandoned in the area. He lives outside and loves to 'play' with any creature he can get to 'play' with him. Like I said, I feed him, so he isn't killing out of hunger - although he does enjoy supplementing his cat food with the occasional rat (or bird). I don't think he likes the taste of moles, so he just leaves them for me to clean up when he's done playing.

I realize your problem is with voles not moles. I don't have voles at my current location, although I have done battle with them elsewhere in the past and you have my sympathy as they are dreadful. I'm pretty sure my cat would kill voles, too, if I had any. Until we ran out of them, killing moles was a form of daily amusement for him. He also killed all the rats and mice in the area, even in the neighbor's yard. He's a killing machine. Almost any time I go in the backyard, he's out there stalking or playing with some poor creature.

On the downside, sadly, he does also kill birds, and I'm sure many people will have a problem with this suggestion for that reason. Thankfully, he kills a LOT more moles, rats, and mice than birds, and lately the birds have gotten much smarter, so that he very rarely gets them anymore. Unlike birds, moles and voles don't have the option of flying away. They seem to be pretty much sitting ducks where the predatory cat is concerned.

Our indoor cat sneaked outside again earlier this week, and left three juicy voles on the front step. He has a really strong hunting instinct, but unfortunately also has kidney problems, and is supposed to be inside only. Every time he gets out, he gets really sick and vomits all over everything. Sigh. I know he is bored to death inside, but I know it is better for him in the long run.

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat's illness. It must be very difficult for both of you.

It does, however, sound like on his brief excursions outside your cat has answered your question about how to control the vole problem (and confirmed my suspicion that cats will kill voles). If all else fails in your search for a solution to the vole problem, would you maybe consider a 2nd cat, one for outside?

I am trying the castor oil mixed with water and dish detergent poured down the holes.... Doubtful that it will work, but it's inexpensive

My grandmother planted a mothball with each bulb. I do the same, maybe it helps. Last year, something was digging around my lily bulbs on top of the ground. I expect it was skunks, chipmunks or gray field mice (are those the same as voles?). I put mothballs with steel wool in corners by the building where rodents may try to get in. I also scatter some around the garden each fall/winter. After seeing the digging, I put coffee grounds and moth flakes around the bulbs. The digging stopped.

I like the idea of bulb cages. I added wire mesh/hardware cloth to my shopping list. I think I will plant any new or relocated bulbs in cages. It may not help my digging problem, but it will make me feel better. I have some beautiful tree lilies that I don't want to lose to rodents.

My late Westie, Tiffany, was constantly on rodent patrol, even in her old age. She killed 9 gray mice/voles outside last winter by my strawberries. Sadly, she died this July. I am working with a local rescue group to find another canine companion - preferably another terrier. The neighbor's cat likes to hide/stalk/sleep under my Wildeve Austin rose. He sometimes leaves me a chipmunk. I have noticed the rodents have gotten out of hand since so many people installed bird feeders. I prefer bird friendly plants.

I also plant chives and garlic bulbs around my lilies. They flower at different times and may help deter rodents as well.

I would be concerned about the toxicity of so many mothballs. I tossed some around to deter snakes for a year or two, but quickly became concerned about the amount of that chemical I was adding to the soil in my yard.

I only use them sparingly, only outside and typically bury them. I also don't have that many bulbs compared to many people on the list. I have a relatively small cottage style garden. Of course, I don't put moth balls in my vegetable bed. I keep both flakes and balls tightly sealed in glass jars in the utility closet outside. It takes me quite a while to use them. The chemical is volatile in air, so I don't believe it would accumulate in the soil. It would more likely evaporate. Of course, you don't want to breathe the fumes or have contact with your skin with moth balls or most chemicals.

I life in a mountainous, wooded area. Every fall, I double check pipe penetrations, bathroom vents, etc to be certain that rodents don't have a way to get inside. It can be a serious problem in this area. I am concerned about the damage and disease caused by rodent infiltrations. I had problems with mice, chipmunks and squirrels when I first moved in. Tiffany, my Westie, killed the mice and barked where they were getting in. She daily, "patrolled the perimeter" of my home barking and scratching at the first sigh of rodents. I now know where they are likely to try to come inside and caulk/pack and seal those locations. It was a lot of work to get rid of them, I don't want to go thru that again. I don't want "the patter of little feet" in my walls/ceiling or rodent droppings in my kitchen.

Mothballs are made of volatile chemicals. There is nothing that remains in the soil as a liquid or solid substance, once it sublimates. Although gas exchange is much slower in the soil than above ground, I can't see that a build up of the base chemicals used in moth balls would ever be a problem, unless said plant was known to be allergic to the vapors.

If your moth balls have added scents or ingredients in addition to the basic naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene, I wouldn't know about the effects of those chemicals.

Rick

Good to know about the moth balls. I'm just always leery about adding potential toxins to the soil especially in my yard.

Hello. I am cutting and pasting most of a thread I wrote on in 2008 - Garden Pests and Diseases, but I found a solution to voles works for me and I think others. It's a product called Permatil and it is also sold as Volblock . I got it from Yardiac.com, but I understand others have found it at feed stores. It's expandable slate, and actually improves your drainage. A few years ago the voles decimated about 50 of my tulips (which was OK) and about 25 of my lilies, completely wiping out my prized Longdragons, amongst others (which was not OK!). I used Permatil as directed but frankly I applied a fraction (30%) of the recommended amount. I put a fairly thin layer on the bottom (perhaps half an inch, not two inches), top and sides and spread it our a bit. The trick seems to be to get a fairly continuous layer, but not a solid one. I only used 40% of my original bag. And it is essentially permanent after one application because it gets mixed with the soil. Use MUCH, MUCH less than recommended!!!

The results were great. The voles did a fair amount of damage (3-4 times the usual) to the grass surrounding the beds while circling round and round the lily and tulip beds. It was quite clear that they could sniff out the bulbs and were looking for an "open door". In places they were within six inches of the bulbs - but I lost none! Grass is easy to repair. The best part is that I now feel confident about ordering all the lilies I want. And for beds in which all the soil isn't removed for replanting, you I don't have to reapply it each year. Most of my have remained vole free for four plus years. The voles cut through the grass but stop short of the bulbs. You could see it! For roses, you could try digging a trench around the perimeter of them and pulling Permatil in the trench. My voles tunneling is quite shallow - maybe two inches. Perhaps if you dig a little deeper than the tunnels you see it would work.

After a couple of winters I had to SEARCH for vole damage. Apparently something in their genes informs their offspring that this is a bad yard. I'm not joking!!

Nothing else I tried worked (thiram, Milorganite, coyote urine, blood meal). And, by the way, Volblok is the exact same product, but more expensive. Yardiac sells both.

Solution # 2 is daffodilfs. They are poisonous to both voles and rabbits, both of which smell them and STAY AWAY. On a bed six feet across I would place 2-3 miniature daffs (WP Milner works well and is inexpensive for daffs). Another essentially permanent solution.

It has really worked for me. From gutted grass and losing hundreds of bulbs I have almost no grass damage and loss literally a handful of bulbs.

Thanks, DonnaMack! I'm on a limited budget, and when I make an investment in bulbs, I really, really want them to last! I'd rather spend a little extra to buy something that truly works, and save my lilies and tulips!

DonnaMack: "Nothing else I tried worked (thiram, Milorganite, coyote urine, blood meal). And, by the way, Volblok is the exact same product, but more expensive. Yardiac sells both."

Has anyone tried using cat poop? Just putting it on top of the ground around problem areas? About the only thing my voles eat are hostas and tulips whenever I plant them.

I would be afraid that cat poop would draw other cats to the garden bed, thinking it was a litter box. I wouldn't want stray cats bringing diseases and vermin into my garden. I know that my indoor cat is vermin free and vaccinated. Who knows about the strays. Coffee grounds and groundcover roses keep most of them away - except for my neighbor's cat who sits on my chair or crouches underneath his favorite rose-Austin's Wildeve-and stalks rodents. He can stay. He sprays the drainpipe, but leaves the garden alone. I guess he doesn't "go" where he naps.

OMG you are right. I have a hard enough time with my own cats going in new mulch.

I don't have a problem with stray cats. I'm just wondering if the cat poop would make the voles go elsewhere.

LOL at killdawabbit's screen name. Should I change mine to killdavole? Not quite the same ring to it, and definitely not the cartoon tie-in. :)

It's funny. I haven't seen a rabbit in a long time now. They used to be everywhere. Fingers crossed. :-p

Well, I guess not, lol. The rabbits just see your name and know to keep away.