OK. He is absolutely adorable. But he is eating my plants as they pop out of the soil this spring ! He (she?) ate all of the bleeding heart, and each morning, he walks off dragging a new branch of the Autumn sedum. He even ate the new shoots on my hosta! That means war! Any suggestions ?
Are you sure that's a vole? It looks huge! I thought voles were much smaller than mice.
I've heard of people using traps successfully. I'm too squeamish to use them myself, though.
It's definitely a meadow vole:
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/meadow_vole.htm
I'm stunned that you are able to photograph it. The ones in my yard would run like crazy if I was anywhere near.
He's well fed, too. He's quite fat.
If you plant daffodils near your plants the voles will leave them alone, because they are poisonous.
Another alternative is to surround your plants with crushed stone, or expandable slate, like Permatil or Voleblok:
http://www.permatill.com/home-garden-products.php?cat=10
Read the info on the site about it's use on new and existing plants.
I used both methods, and they both work. Do note that the Permatil site wants you to use FAR more than you really need. I used about 25% of their recommendation.
Please be aware that you have one now, but they reproduce like rabbits, and now that they have discovered your yard, they will be back in larger numbers. Especially in winter. And they will approach your plants by tunneling underground, so if you have bulbs that they like you will not realize they are gone until spring.
This message was edited Mar 28, 2012 3:34 PM
I completely "second" the Permatil suggestion. I've got lots of customers who use it every time they start a new bed and they swear by it.
I'd never heard of using Dafs, Donna, thank you! =)
ssgardener - My daylilies are just coming up, so maybe that is why he looks so big. Although he is probably a hand full. I wouldn't kill one either.
DonnaMack - It is amazing that it doesn't run. I feed the birds, and in turn the squirrels and chippies come, so maybe the vole has seen me outside and isn't afraid. I don't know. Fat and well fed, eh ?
I read some statistics on the voles, and I was under the impression they don't live long and there is an 88% mortality rate for the babies. I've only seen the one so far... Probably shouldn't put that in print :)
Thank you for the sites and suggestions. I look into that.
Oh, cool, Speedie. It's absolutely amazing how many similar techniques we use and how much we have in common!
Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that I've not used it myself, but by the looks of the winter activity out in my yardens, I think I'll be using it this season. =/ I'll keep ya posted! =)
That is the fattest vole I've ever seen. He's probably too fat to run. I think he (or she) is really hogging out, but I'm also afraid that your vole is taking supplies back to a nest.
No, they don't live long - but their reproduction rate is amazing. I had none. Then a few bulbs were mssing the next year. The following year, I lost 50 lilies, which I didn't know until they didn't bloom.
What amazes me is that instead of tunneling just under the surface of the grass (you can see their trails) it just comes up and says hi and takes what it wants. They say dogs have owners and cats have staff. What a smart vole! He's made your garden his drive thru!
Hey, do you think it's a pregnant vole?
Donna, this cracked me up: "He's probably too fat to run."
Ha! I have feral cats in my area who would absolutely devour this vole. He looks so fat and juicy! LOL
Does Permatil really work? I'm willing to try it. There is one area where I have lost every single plant -- hosta, ajuga, vinca, brunnera, probably others I've forgtten. I thought it was the deep shade at fault, but now I think it's voles.
Honestly, it works like a charm, even if, as in my case, the voles are used to tunnelling. The great part is that it is essentially permanent because it stays in the soil. I still have a lot of the contents of the one bag I used.
For a gardener like me, and I'm sure like you, it was a game changer. The plants I put in were there after the winter. I could be confident. Please try it. It will change the way you garden.
Anyone know if Perma Till would work for gophers too? It doesn't say anything on their website about it, but I figured maybe they're just based in an area of the country that doesn't have gophers so they wouldn't be able to test it.
Ecrane, I don't know about the Permatil and gophers. I did some web searching and didn't find anything... anyone else?
Donna, you are right, the Permatil stays in the soil because basically it's just rocks... more technically it's kiln-baked slate rock; the high temperature baking makes it expand so that it becomes very porous and light-weight. Not only is it good as a critter deterrent, but it's also good for soil amendment due to its porousness. Gives the soil better aeration. We just got a new shipment in at work yesterday and when I get back to work tomorrow I'm GOING to buy a bag, DARNIT! =)
Countrymom, these critters give us no problems near the house and I attribute it to the friendly felines. Our cats bring us 3 or 4 a week (mostly with heads ate off)
Gooooood kitties!! More catnip for you! =)
And a little rub behind the ear!
DonnaMack - LOL ! I wonder is it is a she, too. I have daffs, and it is leaving them along, just like you said. Sorry you lost your daylilies. I am going to go to the garden center today and see if they have Permatill. I have some huge hosta, and I can't dig them up. It I spread the Permatill round the roots as best I can, do you think that will help ?
yardener - No cats here. Besides, an outdoor cat would eat the birds I welcome with birdseed.
Oh - and I also feed the starlings a peanutbutter and oatmeal mix to keep them away from the feeders. Guess what is recommended for trapping the voles - LOL! I fed the vole(s?) its favorite snack !
Here is a picture from yesterday's entree - garden phlox and a side of daylily.
I have NEVER seen anything like that. One of the tricky things with voles is that unless you are doing something unexpected (cutting back ornamental grasses in spring, for example) you never see them.
You would have to dig a little trench around the hostas - like a moat. It works best of you can get it UNDER your plants, since voles typically tunnel from underground, so you don't see them, just their damage.
But then your vole does not seem to have read the books on vole behavior. He seems to think that you have put out a salad bar.
DonnaMack - LOL! I must admit, as much as I do not want to loose my plants, the little guy is quite entertaining. He is out there with the birds, the chippies, the squirrel - even the big crows who come to the patio to get their peanuts. He must have read the books on how to make friends.
I never thought that I would find a vole adorable - but yours really is.
What great social skills!
I'm back from the garden center. Not only don't they have Permatill, they never heard of it. All they had was a variety of pesticides, which I won't use. I checked on Amazon. Their price isn't bad, but it costs twice as much to ship it. Not to mention it won't get here for about six days. I wonder how much Little Critter (might as well name it) can eat by mid April.
There is one other nursery in our area that might have it. I'm going to call and see.
DonnaMack - It is very social. Perhaps I could help it join DG!
No one in my area has the Permatill. I have a couple plants Little Critter won't eat., or so I've read. Valerian, chives (the rabbit will eat the chives, no doubt), horseradish. Some say it won't eat Southernwood or bearded iris either. Of course, my favorite flowers are daylilies, hosta and phlox. Apparently, they are the vole's favorite cuisine.
Anyway, thank you everyone for your advice. And for the laughs. Without going into detail about my aches and pains, I guess I have a decision to make about gardening in general. Just for fun, I'll keep you posted. Maybe baby pictures. Who knows !
I went on Pricegrabber and entered Permatil. If you are not familiar with Pricegrabber, it is a site that searches the web for the best price on any item.
The best price is on Garden.com, which ships a 41 pound bag for $10. It is on sale for $15.95.
Price Grabber site:
http://outdoors.pricegrabber.com/misc-living/m/821052492/
and if you click through to Garden.com:
http://www.garden.com/item/permatill/G27055/?srccode=MRGDPRGB&mr:referralID=8f3e8d25-7ab6-11e1-ac63-001b2166c2c0
DonnaMack - Thank you ! Much better prices. I didn't know that pricegrabber existed. I'm going to order some Permitill this afternoon.
Do spread the word. I never buy anything without checking PriceGrabber, because you get an apples to apples comparison - price plus shipping and sometimes tax - without going to endless sites. I'm very pleased that it worked for you.
I know this is rather an old thread, but I wanted to share a recent experience with something that seems to have worked really well for me. Week before last I'd just planted out a slew of new babies, and the very next day I found newly active mole/vole holes right around the plantings, AAAHHH!!!!!! I'd not only bought the permatil recently (just like I said I would!), but I'd also gotten a bag of "Vole Scram". I mixed both of them together and spooned some down each hole and covered them up. Now, about a week and a half later, they not only are STILL not active, but I've found no new holes either. Seems one or the other of them has worked! < =) I'm guessing the STRONG smell of the Vole Scram has kept them from digging new tunnels as well as staying away from the old ones. The nice part is, it may be a strong odor to the critters, but I don't smell a thing! =)
Way to go, Speedie!
Heeheeheee, thank you, but I wasn't bragging (LOL!!!!), I just wanted to share what has worked for me so that someone else might benefit from my experiment! < =D I wonder how Countrymom is doing with her little "pet"?? Maybe he's been organizing his own gardening social events? < ;P **giggle**
Can't you just see him holding tiny cocktail parties and offering martinis to the chippies, the crows, the other birds and the squirrels? Can you imagine the tiny hiccoughs when they get bombed?
Right now I have a rabbit that has discovered the lettuce in my yard. But it's so polite - only takes tiny nibbles from a single one - that I have made no effort to repel it. I have 16 lettuces - plenty to share!
Or, a group of all the chippies and bunnies all standing around drinking coffee and eating donuts in their hard hats, with King Vole holding court with his bright yellow hard hat on, emblazoned with UNION YES! stickers, telling them all they need to go on STRIKE!!
< =D LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a polite little bunny you have Donna, I would certainly keep him as best you can! I bet his "leavings" help to fertilize a little bit, too. =)
Oh, Speedie, your image made me laugh so hard my eyes teared. I loved the tiny hard hats and the union signs - LOL!
My bunny is even more polite than you think. No droppings! Having dined, he moves on to do his business. The ones in my old yard were rude. They would snuggle against the house, and in spring I had ample evidence of their "visitation"!
I think I have a relative of your little bunny living around me. I was gathering bags of trash out back the other day, preparing for a trip to the dump, and had collected 2 bags worth of gardening garbage (nothing plantable), and had them sitting in a little niche/corner in the bump-out outside. When I'd picked up the bags, there was a teeny little baby bunny huddled up in the corner!!! Well, after removing the bags and running my errands, I came back later to check on him and he was all gone, but he left no droppings either! =) And all my plants that are on the ground, front and back, are all un-nibbled. Goooood little bunny rabbit! I will share with you!!
