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This is one of the better reasons for trimming back all your perennials in the fall. Less hidey-holes for the resident rodents. There are probably half a dozen of these holes in the Birthday Garden alone, and there are plenty in my other garden beds, too.
Where’s a feral cat when you need one? Or an owl?
When I feel like torturing myself I think of all the delicacies the voles are feasting on. Expensive corydalis. The lilies I grew from seed that my grandmother had given me.
There are two holes near the base of the rose bush I planted this spring. Do voles like rose roots? Probably, as with deer, they’ll eat almost anything if there’s enough competition. And there does seem to be an awful lot of circumstantial evidence that there are more voles than usual. And why not? All that rain we had made for lush growth and plentiful seeds to support a bigger-than-average vole population–and hide it. And when (or should I say if?) it snows, the snow will hide them, too. So it’s now or never: come owl, come cat–and feast!
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5 responses so far ↓
1
Carol
// Nov 29, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Aack! I had problems with voles a few years back. It was awful. They even got into my garage! Yuck. I finally got rid of them or at least I’ve not seen any for awhile.
2
Kathy Purdy
// Nov 29, 2006 at 10:30 pm
With all the fields around here there’s no chance of eliminating them for good. I’ve set out traps before, but that’s like emptying the ocean with a soup ladle. Basically like a lot of other natural cycles, they have good years and bad years, and this looks like one of the good years–for them. I’ll let you know in the spring what survived.
3
Ki
// Nov 30, 2006 at 6:50 am
We unfortunately went wild at the local composting center and put down a 3-4″ layer of wood chips in the planting berms. The rodents just love it with many tunnels bored through the chips. We’ve unknowingly built them a nice warm, dry home for them. Luckily we have a resident bad boy cat and a feral cat that we feed to somewhat keep the rodent population in check.
4
Kathy Purdy
// Nov 30, 2006 at 7:41 am
Hi, Ki, good to hear from you. Checks and balances, that’s what it’s all about. If we could only train those voles to limit their diet to weed seeds and roots, we’d be all set.
5
Chris Coyier
// Jul 27, 2007 at 11:44 am
Moles, Voles, and Deer and be expensive problems indeed! I hope you got your wish and an owl saved the day. If you are still having problems, I’ve had good luck with Repellex Root Saver.
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