Keeping Voles Out of the Garden

By Julie Martens
When a deer or rabbit visits your garden, it’s tough to miss the nibbled leaves, chewed shoots, and missing plants. Voles, on the other hand, can be harder to identify — but just as destructive.
Small, shy, and somewhat pudgy, these rodents are frequently called meadow mice. They’re about mouse-size (5-8 inches long at maturity), but have shorter tails and darker color (frequently brown-black, but can be red- or yellow-brown) than true mice. Voles also have small eyes and partially hidden ears.
Before you begin laying plans for keeping voles out of the garden, you want be sure that voles are the culprits.

If Kitty seems preoccupied with the area around your garden, voles may be the reason for your plant woes.

Tiny holes like this may indicate that voles are about.
Ground clearing.
Voles need cover to survive and avoid open ground. Cleared spaces as narrow as 10 inches inhibit their movements; wider areas are even better. Remove weeds, mulch, and any crop litter around the garden. In addition, either create a bare border space around your vegetable garden or dig a trench 12 inches deep and wide enough to step over easily (as shown in the illustration at the top of the page). When voles encounter the open trench, they’ll retreat.

This solar-powered sonic spike sends pulses into the ground that can drive rodents like voles away.
Repellents.
Check with your local extension office or garden center to learn which repellents are labeled for use on voles. Some success has been reported with garlic tubes inserted into tunnels and hot sauce applied to the vegetation you wish to protect (avoid applying to portions you eat). Castor oil (granules or liquid) also has a repellent effect, as do sound-emitting spikes inserted into the soil. Note, though, that no repellent is 100 percent effective in all situations.
Mowing.
Don’t let grass grow too high. Longer grass provides easy cover for voles to escape predators.
Fencing.
Protect plantings from voles with a fence that’s buried 3 to 6 inches below the soil surface and bent outwards into an L-shape. Above ground, the fence should be from 4 to 12 inches tall. Use non-rusting, one-quarter-inch mesh. Hardware cloth works well.
Predators.
One of the best defenses against voles is a cat. Other predators include owls, foxes, hawks, bobcats, some snakes, and coyotes.
Illustration by Steve Asbell of therainforestgarden.com.

By Julie Martens
When a deer or rabbit visits your garden, it’s tough to miss the nibbled leaves, chewed shoots, and missing plants. Voles, on the other hand, can be harder to identify — but just as destructive.
Small, shy, and somewhat pudgy, these rodents are frequently called meadow mice. They’re about mouse-size (5-8 inches long at maturity), but have shorter tails and darker color (frequently brown-black, but can be red- or yellow-brown) than true mice. Voles also have small eyes and partially hidden ears.
Before you begin laying plans for keeping voles out of the garden, you want be sure that voles are the culprits.
Signs of Vole Activity
Voles are a pest most often identified by the clues they leave behind. Here are some indicators that you may have a vole problem:
If Kitty seems preoccupied with the area around your garden, voles may be the reason for your plant woes.
- Trails in the lawn. As voles travel the same paths, they create 1- to 2-inch-wide runways or ruts in the lawn. These runways are most apparent following a snowy winter. The snow provides cover for voles, which run through—and munch—grass all winter long.
- Cats. Watch for cats that sit in one spot and repeatedly catch something small. Voles are so numerous that cats don’t have to wander to catch a meal’s worth.
- Holes in the soil. Vole tunnels have openings 1.5 to 2 inches across and are typically hidden beneath mulch, shrubs, or spreading plants. Look for fresh grass clippings or seeds near tunnel entrances.
- Spongy soil. Some voles burrow and create many shallow tunnels, while other types dig down to a depth of 12 inches. The tunnels give soil a spongy feel when you walk on it. Voles also happily inhabit mole and chipmunk tunnels.
- Collapsed plants. Voles primarily eat plants. They like to feast on roots, tubers, or bulbs, which puts crops like onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, and beets at risk. With the roots gone, plant tops collapse. Some voles also chew plants at the crown, causing the top to fall over.
- Damaged harvest. Voles also like to munch seeds and fruits, including beans, corn, and berries.
- Visual sighting. Voles scurry along soil, moving quickly from one shelter to another. In summer, if grass is long, you’ll sometimes see what appears to be a ripple moving through grass. The cause of the ripple is often a vole (though it may be a snake).

Tiny holes like this may indicate that voles are about.
Testing for Voles
If your garden borders a natural or wild area, both voles and moles are likely present. (Moles, with their preference for insects and grubs over plants, tend to do less damage to crops.) To determine which is romping through your garden, suspend a piece of apple on a stick just above the ground in a known run. Typically, animals will feed on the apple within 24 hours. Voles have classic rodent teeth, which leave distinct parallel marks on gnawed surfaces. Moles, on the other hand, have round teeth, which tend to shred.Protecting your Garden Against Voles
Voles never hibernate, so protecting your garden is a year-round effort. Concentrate control efforts during the breeding season (spring to summer) to make a serious dent in the population. Try one of these techniques to keep voles in check.Ground clearing.
Voles need cover to survive and avoid open ground. Cleared spaces as narrow as 10 inches inhibit their movements; wider areas are even better. Remove weeds, mulch, and any crop litter around the garden. In addition, either create a bare border space around your vegetable garden or dig a trench 12 inches deep and wide enough to step over easily (as shown in the illustration at the top of the page). When voles encounter the open trench, they’ll retreat.

This solar-powered sonic spike sends pulses into the ground that can drive rodents like voles away.
Repellents.
Check with your local extension office or garden center to learn which repellents are labeled for use on voles. Some success has been reported with garlic tubes inserted into tunnels and hot sauce applied to the vegetation you wish to protect (avoid applying to portions you eat). Castor oil (granules or liquid) also has a repellent effect, as do sound-emitting spikes inserted into the soil. Note, though, that no repellent is 100 percent effective in all situations.
Mowing.
Don’t let grass grow too high. Longer grass provides easy cover for voles to escape predators.
Fencing.
Protect plantings from voles with a fence that’s buried 3 to 6 inches below the soil surface and bent outwards into an L-shape. Above ground, the fence should be from 4 to 12 inches tall. Use non-rusting, one-quarter-inch mesh. Hardware cloth works well.
Predators.
One of the best defenses against voles is a cat. Other predators include owls, foxes, hawks, bobcats, some snakes, and coyotes.
Illustration by Steve Asbell of therainforestgarden.com.
» PORTS: SEIZING FAKE CUSTOMS TRANSACTIONS AND WASTING PUBLIC MONEY IN THE PORT OF UMM QASR
» Central Bank: Electronic registration prevents repeated selling of dollars to the same person
» The budget enters the dark tunnel.. Baghdad is waiting for 880 billion dinars per month from the reg
» The dollar jumped in the markets after the Central Bank's move to apply the electronic platform to c
» Inflation in Iraq for 2022 rises more than the International Monetary Fund expected by 9%
» Trade mobilizes its crews to transport the items of the food and grain basket
» Issuing 3477 new decisions for the politically dismissed employees and non-employees
» National Investment Commission: We will launch new projects in important sectors soon
» Deputy: 30% of the employee's income was affected by the rise in the dollar
» Foreign Minister: The US dollar was fleeing from the Iraqi market
» The central bank is about to stop cash sales... and a "crazy" jump for the dollarproposals from
» The Central Bank expands outlets for selling dollar cash to travelers
» Al-Fateh Parliament talks about the possibility of a "political settlement" for the decision to prev
» Al-Ghazi directs the Dhi Qar Reconstruction Fund to end the listing of 2023 projects
» The opening of the Iraq Energy Exhibition with Arab participation
» The dollar is "on fire" in Karbala
» Almost a quarter of a billion dinars: Integrity reveals irregularities, manipulation and tax evasion
» The Ministry of Electricity clarifies about dropping the debts of citizens or institutions
» Alia Nassif warns: The same company that looted $80 million from the Akkas station project will take
» With documents.. Dozens of Iraqi deputies submit an urgent request to host Al-Sudanese about the cri
» Witness.. Professional forgery of the Iraqi currency.. Only the machine revealed it
» Document.. Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani issues an official order to assign four new undersecretari
» "He did not visit Baghdad in 2017." Al-Abadi's coalition responds to "Pompeo": Your allegations offe
» The Sudanese advisor reveals (8) files that the government is focusing on: the people will touch the
» Parliamentary Finance: The recent decision of the Federal Court on the Kurdistan Region hindered app
» The coordination framework comments on Al-Sudani's move to amend the constitution: it will raise pro
» Document .. Assigning new agents by proxy in the Iraqi Ministry of Oil
» A new measure by the Central Bank of Iraq will raise the exchange rate of the dollar
» The Central Bank denies preventing or restricting the sale of cash to citizens
» Currency auction.. The bank's dollar cash sales increased at the expense of foreign transfers
» Iraqi planning: an increase in the inflation rate by about 5% for the year 2022
» An oil expert questions the offer of "French Total" to establish 4 investment projects in Iraq: it i
» Approximately 200,000 barrels per day, the average of Iraq's exports to America, within a week
» The Minister of Education directs to withdraw the hand of lagging companies with Project Number One
» Iraqi-Moroccan talks regarding the convening of the economic forum for businessmen
» The foreign minister considers Morocco a "gateway" for Iraq's entry into Africa.. What about trade a
» Sudanese advisor: The government is determined to return the exchange rate within a short period
» Central Bank: Total hard currency sales reached $63 million
» Hamza Al-Jawahiri: Total made exaggerated offers to Al-Sudani at a value of 26 billion dollars
» Former deputy: Al-Sudani seeks to diversify dealings with countries of the world in signing agreemen
» Iraq's new diplomacy.. multiple partnerships
» Investigative committees of breaches of foreign investors
» Preventing the transfer of funds to the region confuses the papers of the Party and the administrati
» Parliamentary Legal: Those convicted of corruption and terrorism cannot be pardoned
» Education: We do not know the real numbers of illiterate people
» The government is threatening to enter a "wholesaler" to face the rise in prices
» “After 18 years” .. Morocco reopens its embassy in Iraq on a “historic” visit
» Al-Sudani stresses the need to cooperate with Morocco in combating terrorism and calls for an econom
» The Victory Coalition denies Pompeo's allegations of his visit to Al-Abadi in Baghdad
» A leader in the BIM company stresses the importance of keeping the American forces in Iraq
» The Kurdistan Democratic Party calls for the speedy enactment of 3 important laws
» Parliamentary Finance calls for punishing banks that refrain from participating in the currency auct
» Iraq replaces the United States with France and a basket of revocable memorandums of understanding
» Foreign Minister: The coming period will witness the reopening of embassies of several countries in
» Al-Araji: Iraq is keen to develop balanced relations with its Arab and regional surroundings
» The Victory Coalition attacks a former US minister: the new Hollywood star was unable to lie to mark
» Integrity reveals (violations, manipulation and tax evasion) in Anbar and Kirkuk
» The industry makes a recommendation on forming a consumer protection council
» The dollar rises to 164 thousand dinars
» Planning: A rise in the inflation rate over the past month
» Justice Minister Khaled Shawani makes a number of surprise visits to prisons in Baghdad
» Deputy: Parliamentary movement to issue the Provincial Council Elections Law in the appropriate form
» Al-Sudani is discussing with a French company the completion of the Baghdad suspended train project
» Deputy talks about the court's decisions regarding the region's funds and identifies solutions
» The high exchange rates of the dollar in the Iraqi market
» Al-Sudani appoints Hassan Al-Yasiri as his advisor for constitutional affairs
» Including Iraq .. America warns its citizens against traveling to these countries
» Planning recorded a rise in inflation rates over the past month
» "Continuous escalation"... Statistics on unemployment rates in Iraq from 2002 to the end of 2021
» Exposing irregularities and tax evasion in Anbar and Kirkuk
» In the document.. new changes in the positions of the Ministry of Oil
» The Dollar Battle in Iraq
» The House of Representatives adjourns its session to next Monday
» Coordination Framework: The Sudanese will soon topple 4 of his ministers
» A political bloc expects exchange rates to reach the threshold of 200,000 dinarsproposals from
» Disclosure of the details of the division of the presidency of the parliamentary committees between
» The Victory Coalition denies Pompeo's allegations of his visit to Al-Abadi in Baghdad
» As he continues to demand money from Baghdad, the region's oil revenues exceed one billion dollars
» Iraq starts investigating "actually" the smuggling of Iranian goods through Diyala (details)proposal
» Reuters: Washington imposed restrictions on Iraqi banks due to breach of sanctions on Iranproposals
» Analyst: The "dollar demonstrations" may return the Sadrist movement to the political scene
» In the presence of 199 deputies.. Parliament holds its session with an agenda of 6 paragraphs
» A bundle of files on the table.. A joint statement revealing the details of the Barti and Alekti mee
» A parliamentarian files a complaint against the former and current central bank governors (document)
» Expert: Central Bank management has received notifications warning of danger to the Iraqi economy
» Minister of Commerce: The electronic ration card project will prevent manipulation and reduce issuan
» What is strategic in our agreements?
» Corruption in the currency auction is thorny, and political disputes are useful in exposing crimes
» A bundle of files on the table.. A joint statement revealing the details of the Barti and Alekti mee
» Integrity calls for a review of customs and tax exemptions in investment laws
» An economist proposes putting in place an appendix in the 2023 budget that will solve the problem of
» Al-Sudani: The oil and gas law is the most important step in regulating the relationship with the Ku
» In the face of the dollar.. Will the proposals of the Sudanese advisor succeed in controlling exchan
» An Iraqi deputy files a lawsuit against the governors of the central bank
» Washington intervened in favor of sending the region's salaries.. Al-Sudani pays to put the court's
» Parliament ends discussion of the draft law on Iraq's accession to the Hague System of Private Inter
» Al-Tamimi calls for sending the 2023 budget to the House of Representatives
» Parliament finishes the first reading of three draft laws