Voles ate my tree peony and zebra grass - HELP!

Hi Folks - I'm sort of new here - haven't "subscribed" in well over a year. But I'm back!

After spending much of the winter with snow on the ground here in Plymouth - everything finally melted, it warmed up and we ventured into the yard. We got good and cleaned up last month.

Yesterday, noticing that my zebra grass was only 4" tall and very wispy (porcupine/morning light grasses were a good 14") - cleaning up dead stuff and POP - the entire thing (about 12" across) came out in my HANDS! If you grow grasses, you know you practically need a backhoe to dig out these old, established grasses. This zebra was in the middle of my bed - maybe 10' with flowers last year. 9th year maybe? It's a HUGE loss! There is some live matter there, but nothing like the 3' across clump that was there!

So....what should I put there? Another zebra grass? I don't have many full sun spots in my yard and I thought maybe I should take advantage and plant something I've yearned for - maybe a Clethra or some sort of Magnolia - except I do have that large hollywood juniper in that bed.

I dug down and found old tree roots, but didn't "tunnels", but I'm guessing from the tooth marks on the roots that voles got it. Our cat has been catching what we thought were mice or moles, but maybe they were voles. If I put something in that same place, will they just eat that?

Here is an old photo - the zebra is in the middle.....

And I can't even talk about the tree peony - this would have been the 4th year - and it's been one of my favorite plants. Going to have to order one - my favorite nursery here doesn't have any - and haven't seen them anywhere else yet, but it's early.

Thanks!

Kara

Welcome back, Kara. So sorry to hear about your problem. I never had voles so I can't help. Good luck!

I like voles! They make lovely presents for my mama. (She learned to keep the screen door shut after this!)

Signed ~ HollyCat

Good Kitty!!!
Hi Kara, sorry you've had some plants lost. Are you sure it's voles and not moles?
.Moles produce two types of runways ..... One runway runs just beneath the surface. These are feeding tunnels and appear as raised ridges running across your lawn. The second type of runway runs deeper and enables the moles to unite the feeding tunnels in a network. It is the soil excavated from the deep tunnels that homeowners find on their lawns, piled up in mounds that resemble little volcanoes. These mounds are a dead giveaway that your problem is not voles, but moles. Voles leave no mounds at all behind.

Here's a website with a lot of facts, found it interesting......hope it helps.
http://www.critterridders.com/vole_control.htm

hello Kara... welcome back....

and good kitty... but eeeewwwww

Thanks for the website link Pixie!

My favorite nursery in town said they lost TONS of stuff to voles this year and had to throw away $10K worth of stock. I'm hoping that my kitty will help the voles to move on - but I did buy another type of persuader - the big rat traps (those are HUGE and awful looking)!!

The nursery suggested using a rat poison but we try to be as organic as we can - with kids and cats - so that is not an option. I do NOT want the voles munching away on the roots of my plants - so will set the traps. Or I should say I'll have my husband set the traps!

Will let you know how it goes...not looking forward to this part of "gardening"!

Kara

I feel for you. I had the same thing happpen to me. The cleaned me out and ate Hosta that I have had for 7 years. THis year I decided to replant what ever they did not eat last year. Lilies, roses, small shrubs, iris, grasses. I am hoping that they do not change their eating habits. I keep finding small hosta trying to come back. What they did not eat, and I could dig up, I replanted in wire basket's. So far I do not see any new holes. I will not be putting down mulch this year. Last year was the first timeI did that and I had voles.

Kara, I live the next town over and I think I also had vole damage for the first time this spring. I planted several new oriental lilies in 2 different locations in my garden and none of them came up. I also have some low round mounds of dirt in my perenial garden, and some holes in the grass, but no tunnel like mounds. I did see what looked like a mouse scampering around some flats of 6 packs that I had out on my patio next to my garden, but after reading the link that Pixie left, I think it was a vole. My pug chased it, frightened it to death and we haven't seen it since. I hope it moved to safer pastures!

I got tons of tunnells in a small bed. 1st the carpenter ants appeared. I have a couple of cheapy hostas and some stella doro lillies there. So far they are growing. I will keep my eyes out for 4 legged long or short nose friends. Fat or skinny. Do they both have long tails?

OMG ... I am a tree peony addict and I Feel Your Pain!! How can you protect against Voles?? I guess you can't shoot 'em?!?

daisygrrl - well THIS was my one and only tree peony - 4th year think? Each year it was bigger and more beautiful then the last. I took pictures of it last year, thank goodness. I'm just hearbroken about the whole thing. It was a show-stopping flower too - maybe 7" across? Bigger then my hand spread out. OH, makes me SAD thinking about it! It's in the middle of an old, established peony bed too. They are all growing like crazy. But the tree peony was gone. Will try and dig out a pic to post of it.

We found more damage from the voles - but stuff I don't care so much about. Nothing new though. I think the damage was done during the winter when there was snow. Our cats don't go out in the winter, and now they are out so maybe they've scared away those nasty critters!

Kara

kara sorry to hear about your problem - the little bast---s - i mean voles got a couple of my hosta's last year - there is a spray i used that i think i got at a Mahoney's garden center called mole/vole away - it guarantees to make them move out for 3 months - of course they may just move somewhere is in your yard. it's worked pretty well for me with no more loss - although i see signs they have returned and have been searching for more spray.

Pixie: thanks for info!