I’d just like to take a minute or two today, just to express how much of a pain in my rear that voles are.
These tiny little critters (okay, they’re bigger than field mice) may look cute, with their short, stubby little tails….
But they are an absolute disaster waiting to happen. They are our biggest pest problem in the garden.
Getting them under control won’t be easy, especially since I’ve been trying to do this without poison. I’d really like to send them packing without using bait, hence the addition of two new barn cats.
Here’s a shot of what they look like:
The Voles Are Eating Up My Homestead Garden….
As I said, they ARE cute. However, you’re highly unlikely to ever see them, as they burrow just below the surface of the soil.
This compounds the problem; I not only have them eating my garden up, but I also have them tunneling through every inch of my garden.
I’m convinced that the cute, innocent little faces they wear are a disguise; how can something this evil be this cute??? Yeah, yeah- I know. They were here first(ish). More like: one or two were here, they feasted on my garden, and I created 1,000 more, to be fair.
Now, I don’t have a problem with them living in the forested area. Or where the chickens are (fast snack for the birds!). However, I want them away from the garden. I didn’t enjoy finding a significant number of tunnels this winter, which points to an even worse problem coming for me in March.
How to Identify Evidence of Voles in Your Garden
A lot of people mistake moles and gophers for their garden issues. We find a few tunnels here and there, but a dog alone is enough to scare them off. Instead, we find tons of tiny burrow holes everywhere- it’s clear that these burrows are far too large for gophers, moles, or other larger species. And mice? They don’t burrow quite this much- and they’re more limited to shelters of some kind. Cats seem to deter them a little better.
Voles?
Voles don’t care.
They just wait until the cats go to sleep, then they wreak havoc.
Absolute destruction.
Don’t believe me? You can see what they did in this post– and here’s some evidence:
When looking for voles, there are 3 symptoms (in addition to finding one after your barn cat catches it):
- Holes: If you have numerous holes in your yard that tend to burrow in at an angle, roughly the size of a golf ball, you’re likely dealing with voles. Voles will have several entrances and exits leading to their burrows, allowing them to form an underground highway to evade your efforts to eradicate them. I’ll show you a picture below!
- Tiny Trails: You will see small trails forming around your garden, especially to and from burrow entrances. As the population increases, so will the number of trails and holes.
- Crop Issues: You will also find your food being munched on, by something other than your children. So far, our most damaged crops have been sweet potatoes (clearly, as you can see above) and Irish potatoes. However, voles aren’t above coming after other starchy, sugary foods, such as your strawberry bed. Where there’s good cover in the garden, there’s fine dining.
Well, that about wraps today’s post up! Hopefully, you don’t encounter too many of these holes in your own garden; otherwise, you’re in for a good time. (Not really…)
