Voles are small rodents that cause a lot of damage in our garden. Their control is essential if you want to maintain order on your plot. What measures should be taken? We answer!
The fight against garden pests can last forever. If you are looking for a quick and proven way to get rid of voles, this article will be a great help. We present proven ways to combat these harmful rodents.
Voles are small, inconspicuous rodents which are usually no more than 15 cm long. In Poland, the most common vole is the red vole. For gardeners, these rodents are a real nuisance. First of all, they eat fruit, seeds and damage the roots of plants. They also often eat freshly planted flower bulbs. Moreover, even trees are not safe. Voles are able to gnaw at their bark, which exposes garden trees to various diseases. The first signs of voles in your garden should therefore prompt you to take action
Vole tunnels are significantly different from popular moles as they are not predators and feed mainly on plants. However, there is one distinct similarity between these rodents. The voles also travel underground using a special network of tunnels, hollowed out under the plot or garden. To get rid of the pest, we should destroy, clog or possibly flood the hollowed out corridors with water
Another way, which is recommended especially in spring, is digging up the soil in the garden, which results in the collapse of the tunnels. It is recommended not to give a thick layer of mulch around trees and flowerbeds. It is usually underneath this that voles dig their tunnels. Instead, trees can be protected with bark which is more tempting to voles than bark from garden trees. This is especially important in winter because these rodents do not go into winter sleep.
There are also less drastic methods of dealing with voles that don’t require additional tools. Most rodents have an extremely sensitive sense of smell, and they also strongly dislike certain plant species. Both of these facts can be used to deter voles. You may want to plant garlic, mint, blackcurrant, mustard seed, sweet clover, wolfsbane and emperor’s crown, among others. If you come across tunnels hollowed out by voles, you can throw a few cloves of garlic into them. In this case, the intense smell will also work on these rodents. If you have a dog or cat, you can take it into the garden or allotment to chase away the lurking rodents.
An excellent way to deter voles is to use their sensitive hearing. In this case, all you need to do is construct the appropriate deterrents yourself. To do this, take a glass bottle and place it at a slant in the tunnel so that it is facing up with the neck. The sound emitted by the wind falling into the bottle will scare away not only voles, but also other creatures bathing underground
An effective way to get rid of pests is to light and insert a special smoke candle into the tunnel. It produces a biocidal substance which settles in the tunnel and repels rodents. However, it is worth controlling whether we put them into active tunnels. This method should not be abused as the substance coming out of the candle is harmful to the environment.
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Main photo: jggrz/pixabay.com
