Chipmunk vs. vole holes

I can't tell if my problem is chipmunks or voles -- or both . I've seen plenty of chipmunks; I've not see any voles but then again they keep a lower profile.

But I have a lot of tunneling under the part of my garden that is held up by a retaining wall, and under the stone steps going up that hill. I see holes the size of silver dollars -- sometimes a tiny little bit larger -- in the soil that are the openings of tunnels. How can I tell whether it is voles or chipmunks? Will dried blood keep both away? (Or cat poo?)

A poster in Garden Foes suggested I tried Soil & Composting -- that you have some real experts here!

Someone in another thread (I'm looking) suggested wasabi powder was very effective for them. But I don't know about the diff in holes. Do you have lots of grubs?

They both are so destructive. I'd bet its chipmunks if its in a rock wall. But then again - does it matter? They both are hard to get rid of without baits. You can try the old fashioned spring traps and see what you catch. Your right about voles not being as conspicuous. I didn't even know we had them till one of the cats brought a big one to the door. I freaked - I thought it was a rat till I ID'd it on line.

Thanks. This is so depressing -- I don't want to use traps. I just want them to feel unwelcome, whoever they are.

Voles use mole holes,as well as chipmonk holes.Chipmonks dig a hole almost the size of a silver dollar,and scatter the dirt like a dog would,only smaller.Can't say whitch I dis like the most,probablly the ones that the cats can't catch.Mike

What exactly is the damage? Do you have dead plants, or just holes and tunneling?

When I first realized parts of our yard were extensively tunnelled, I thought, "Oh no, we have to do something." But guess what...we did nothing and no plants have died. Even the grass over the wavy places stays green.
We have cats who occasionally catch them, so maybe that keeps them enough in check to allow gardening to go on. But for us I would say battling them would not be worth the trouble.

I don't think the pest -- whatever it is -- is eating a lot of plant roots per se. But the tunneling is extensive, and causes some plant deaths because the roots end up exposed to air, plus it causes the dirt to collapse. This wouldn't be so much of a problem if it weren't right against the edge of a retaining wall where I already have an erosion problem. Plus they are undermining my stone steps (I'm pretty sure chipmunks are the problem there).

I am definitely in the live-and-let-live school. But this is very frustrating. I don't have enough time to garden as it is, without having to do remedial work. I am going to try some of the suggestions I have seen -- cayenne, wasabi, blood meal, etc. -- to ask the critters -- whoever they are -- to find a new neighborhood. I don't think trapping will be much help, because other fellows will just move in.

Would you consider a cat?

I bet it is frustrating. I've got bunnies, and they drive me nuts.

I'd LOVE to get a cat, but we live on a busy street and I'm afraid it would become a pancake if we let it out. We have several dogs. Some dogs will ferret out animals (not mine, though), but the price you pay is that they did up the yard -- I'm not ready to pay that price.

Well, there are hawk kites you can mount on a stick, but I just don't know how long that would work. What you need are some street-savvy stray cats to discover the jackpot of small furries in your garden.

I only wish some neighboring cats would drop by. Our dogs scare away the cats, but do nothing to the chipmunks who are very very fat and happy because they eat the birdseed that the birds drop (at least we are not so crazy as to scatter bird seed, but it does fall from the feeder).

Ahh, okay, now I see why you have 'em. Is there anything you can place on the pole under the feeder to collect the scattered seed, like a large tray w/ wire over it? If you remove this food source, your chipmunks will almost certainly not stick around, and you won't have to resort to desperate measures. There must be something out there for this.

I found this on the Cornell site:
"Rodents are attracted to seeds dropped beneath feeders. Once a population is established, it can be very difficult to discourage. The first step is to discontinue feeding for a couple of weeks to encourage the rodent population to disperse. Next, consider ways to feed without any waste falling to the ground. There are several feeders available that will catch dropped seeds, but most of the catch trays aren't big enough to really do the job. You may want to look into constructing a large catch tray to place under your feeders that you can clean out or remove each night or that can be hung off the ground. The key is to prevent rodents from getting to any seed. Also, it is important to clean any catch tray that you construct, because bird droppings contaminated with bacteria may survive on the catch tray and cause disease among your birds."

I would add that if you do place wire over the tray it should need cleaning less often, as the birds won't be as likely to pick amongst the fallen seeds.

and from the Audobon Society:
"The most important step to take to discourage rodents is to keep birdseed off the ground. Use seed trays under your feeders to catch seed that the birds cast out. If you use a large seed tray, some of the ground feeders (like sparrows, doves, and juncos) will feed from the tray instead of the ground. Clean up seed and debris from under your feeders frequently. Also, make sure you store your birdseed in rodent-proof containers. If there is no food, they will not come. We also recommend discontinuing bird feeding during the summer months when there is abundant natural food. We stop feeding in mid-May, and begin again in October."

We don't feed bird in the summer. We bought our feeders at Audubon -- they are well-designed -- or at least, we paid enough for them. . .. I'll have to think about how I could contruct a tray to go underneath the feeders. Of course, then the squirrels will find a way to sit on the tray, whereas the whole purpose of the design of our current feeders is to NOT give a platform for the squirrels to perch. If it's not one thing, it's another. . . .

Acouple of years back, hubby and I use to keep a couple birdfeeders in the yard, anyway I took a picture of a chipmonk sitting in the little tray eating the seeds. don't know where the picture went or I would post it. They always seem to find a way to get to the seeds. Just wanted to share that with you.
Connie