The vole is serious vermin in your garden. This small creature can bring many problems to owners of both flower-beds and crops. These vermin are often confused with moles when people find their dead plants. The main difference between moles and voles is that voles eat roots and fruits, but not worms. Their passion to eat can kill expensive trees and flower-beds. How can one fight these small creatures? There are hundreds of methods all over the web. Some of them are efficient (traps, repellents, repellers and poison), while some of them are simply useless. Today, we are going to discuss both the useful and useless methods in order to compare them.
What Are The Best Vole Control Products?
Actually, much depends on the level of infestation. If you don’t have plenty of voles around or they gather in small areas, trapping is the most effective way to get rid of them. Keep in mind that it is crucial to place enough traps and use attractive baits to get things done. In case your yard gets a severe infestation, placing poisonous baits is the most effective way to kill a large number of voles in a short time.
However, the most important part of vole control is prevention. By keeping these rodents away with repellents, you will protect your valuable plants and trees from damage. But never apply repellents in the areas where poison baits or traps are located as this will diminish the effectiveness of the latter ones.
7 Steps On How To Get Rid Of Voles
Since using only one method is rarely effective, we suggest that you should prepare a plan of action. The following steps can be included in this plan:
1. The first and the most effective step is habitat modification. Since voles do not go far away from their nests in search of food, reduce food availability in the area to stimulate them to move to a more favorable one. To this end, pull the plants, cut grass, remove the piles of debris, wood, and leaves in the places where voles have been noticed. Dispose of fallen fruits and nuts which are an attractive source of food for voles. Turn over the turf and mix it with gravel to prevent voles from making tunnels. Apply commercially available herbicides like Grass and Weed Killer to eliminate unnecessary plants around your garden.
2. Install barriers around valuable crops and trees. Purchase special covers (trunk protectors) protecting trees so that voles cannot gnaw the bark. If it has already happened, close the tree’s wounds with a protective film. A wire mesh wrapped around the trunk is good at keeping voles away. The fence should be about 20 inches in height and one foot deep. Take into consideration snowbanks as they make your barrier shorter.
3. Apply odor repellents based on natural ingredients such as castor oil like Bonide Molemax Vole Repellent to keep voles away from the garden. They are good at creating protective barriers.
4. Use poisons in the form of granules and blocks. Poisons are particularly effective in the autumn and winter when voles are short of food supplies. For safety reasons, place the poison in a bait station or directly into the vole’s tunnel. Slow-acting poisons like JT Eaton anticoagulant bait are the most recommended ones.
5. Trap voles, although this will not help significantly reduce their population. These devices can be lethal like snap traps, or humane traps like cages capturing animals alive.
6. Place ultrasonic repellers. However, this is a short-term solution because rodents become accustomed to all kinds of noises. To enhance the effectiveness of ultrasonic repellers, change their location regularly.
7. Call upon the assistance of rodent’s natural enemies, primarily cats. Perhaps they will do the whole job for you. If they condescend to do it, of course.
In order to get it right, learn more about methods suggested by scientists and products recommended by users from our detailed guide below. You will also learn about habits of voles and how they can be dangerous for your property. The guide will help you choose the best trap, poison, and repellents to cope with these pests.
The vole can look cute at first glance. This animal can create significant damage. If you have such “neighbors”, your garden will be destroyed step by step. The teeth of this vermin are excellent for destroying tree roots, flower bulbs and any other plants in your garden. One can identify the existence of the vole in their garden by specific teeth signs on damaged roots and trunks of trees. Unlike moles, who don’t touch any of your plants, voles use plants and roots for their daily menu. Giant populations of voles can be identified by the death of such plants as alfalfa, cattle grass, clover, potatoes, carrots, beets and turnips.
Voles often serve as vector-borne disease carriers, such as tularemia, leptospirosis, mycoplasmosis and various vermin, ticks and fleas.
Fast reproducing rate of voles. Voles breed throughout all warm seasons and can produce from 5 to 20 cubs per year.
Voles prefer large communities. If you are have voles in your garden, prepare yourself to find around 20-30 holes. Their holes and tunnels look like the moles’, but they are significantly smaller and not so deep.
Fast growing rate. A young vole reaches maturity in a month. The gestation period takes from 15 to 30 days.
Voles are not dormant. They are active throughout the year, so don’t be surprised if you find even all season plants damaged.
Voles are greedy. A vole can eat a volume of food equal to its own weight in just one day. That makes around 10 kilograms per months. One can identify the existence of the vole by specific teeth signs on roots or trunks.
Best vole poison
Poison is one of the most popular methods in the war with voles. Many people decide to use it, because it’s incredibly simple. They are tired of setting various mousetraps and getting no result. They decided to buy poison which they hope will solve all their problems. We have chosen the most popular and well-proven poison.
1. JT Eaton 166004 709-PN Bait Block
JT Eaton Anticoagulant Bait is a powerful poison. It can be used to combat various rodents. For example, you can use it like a mice poison as well. This poison consists of special waterproof granules with Bromadiolone. This rodenticide was approved by scientists from the Colorado State University Extension as an efficient measure against voles. This poison causes internal bleeding, but voles have to eat it several times in order to die.
There are no special secrets. One just needs to locate capsules near areas with voles and wait for results. It’s pretty easy to use in your garden, but this poison is not useful in large areas occupied by voles. Anyway, don’t forget that this poison is dangerous for your pets; thus, don’t forget to keep them away from poisoned areas.
JT Eaton: Check the current price
Best vole repellents
Repellents are efficient if you are using them as a preventive measure or together with poison or traps.
2. Bonide (BND692150) – Molemax Mole & Vole Burrowing Animal Repellent
This product includes aroma granules to scare voles, moles and gophers based on castor oil. One package of such granules can cover up to 5000 square-feet, but all scientists are repeating their mantra: “This method is a humane one, but it can’t be used on an industrial scale.” The key word is “scaring”. These granules can be great in order to create some kind of a “protective wall” against voles. Just put it along the borders of your garden and they won’t disturb you while the active ingredient is working. Some scientists are sure that only pure castor oil (with 100% concentration) can be used to scare voles away. If you are facing just a couple of voles and you don’t want to pour castor oil all around your garden, then you can use these granules. If you are also using herbicides, voles won’t disturb you for a long period of time.
Castor oil repellent: Check the current price
3. SEALUXE Solar Mole Repellent Yard Stakes
An ultrasonic repeller is a controversial device. Scientists don’t consider this an effective method. Practice shows that this device can be efficient, but for a limited period of time. No doubt, all rodents will run away from the ultrasonic wave for a couple of days. But they’ll get used to it and will come back, paying no attention to your innovative device.
Do you want to use repellents efficiently? Combine them! Use this ultrasonic repeller with solar panels and special granules or poison as a radical alternative. When the repellent effect appears and rodents start to run away, protect your garden with granules and voles will never come back.
Electronic repellent (3-pack): Check the current price
How to get rid of voles: Let’s listen to the opinion of scientists
There are three main methods to fight a vole: traps, repellents and poison. But scientists from the University of California totally neglect all “three pillars” of the home pest control: “Trapping is not practical for voles because so many individuals have to be controlled when they are causing problems in commercial orchards. Fumigation is not effective because of the shallow, open nature of vole burrow systems and the large number of voles. Repellents are not considered effective in preventing damage.”
According to these experts, one of the most efficient methods is habitat management. Scientists are sure that voles only go a couple of feet from their holes in order to get food, thus if one can remove plants from the area, voles will leave soon too: “Use a hoe, herbicides, or other methods to keep an area reaching about 3 feet out from trunks free of vegetation.”
How to get rid of voles according to the experts from the University of California
What is the best method to get rid of voles according to scientists? They recommend making your garden less attractive for them and protecting other trees from the sharp teeth of voles. It’s also recommended to protect and cure your trees in order to remove possible damages and prevent future vole attacks.
4. Compare-N-Save Concentrate Grass and Weed Killer
A well-known fact is that voles build their nests close to the places rich in food. When the food has gone, the entire community will move to different place. Scientists recommend using various herbicides to control the vegetation around your garden, while we recommend that you use only the best herbicides, such as Compare-N-Save which is a #1 Best Seller in the Weed Killers category.
You can use it to create a “dead” border, thus protecting your garden from future invasions of vermin. Voles will simply avoid your “deadly lands” because they can’t find any provisions. It’s worth noting that this method is useful in order to prevent “a catastrophe”, but not to fight with voles. So, you have to get rid of them first, and then create a border. Read over 2700 customer reviews and learn about more helpful tips about using this herbicide.
Grass and Weed Killer: Check the current price
5. Dimex EasyFlex Plastic Tree Trunk Protectors
Not only roots, but also the trunks of young trees can be damaged by the sharp teeth of voles. One can use special tree guards to prevent the death of expensive plants. The tree guard is a special cover that prevents direct contact of vole’s teeth and trees.
Tree Trunk Protectors: Check the current price
6. Tree Wound Pruning Sealer & Grafting Compound
In order to prevent additional wounds and damages of trees, one has to close their wounds. That’s why we need the liquid band from Tanglefoot, which creates a protective film that covers wounds on the trunk and branches of your trees. It’s incredibly useful: it can cure your trees from weather, animal or cutting damages and can be used even in rainy areas. This product has a high level of quality, but it requires some skills, thus don’t forget to wear gloves and use a brush that can be thrown away, because the film is extremely sticky.
Tree Wound Pruning Sealer: Check the current price
We are done with the light and “peaceful” methods. It’s time to move to more radical techniques: trapping, poisoning and repelling.
How to trap voles: The top-3 vole traps
Even though the University of Californian called trapping an inefficient method, it has already become the real “classic” of the garden. Keeping in mind that voles are relatives of mice, one can use simple mouse traps to catch them. Scientists consider mousetraps useless, because it’s impossible to clear a field using them, while the majority of research was performed on such fields. Mousetraps are pretty useful for smaller areas. Now you have to decide if you want to use killing traps or humane ones, which won’t kill rodents.
7. Snap-E Mouse Trap-6 Pack
Now you can see a very familiar construction with the snap trap system. One can’t find any significant difference at first glance, but this set of 6 traps is very popular among users and has received the #1 Best seller name in the Pest Control Traps category. The price of one mousetrap is less than $2!
These mousetraps are made from durable weather resistant materials with no corrosion effect. These traps can’t be used under the ground, they must be placed on the surface. Use a piece of cheese as bait and locate the mousetrap near a tree or a mouse hole and you will significantly increase their efficiency. Use more devices to eliminate voles. Read over 2200 customers reviews in order to understand how this trap works with voles.
Snap-E trap (6-pack): Check the current price
Live-catch vole traps
We offer you two different models with almost equal prices, which will be appreciated by all humane people and animal lovers. The first device is made from transparent green plastic, while the second one – from steel. Choose the one that fits your needs! Please remember, that as the case with any rodent trap, one device can be used to catch only one vole. The more traps you use, the more creatures you catch.
8. Smart Mouse Trap – Humane Mousetrap
A humane trap – means the vermin will stay alive. You can use any traditional method to attract the vole, e.g. by putting a salted cracker. Set the trap and wait until the vole comes inside and activates it. One significant disadvantage is that you can’t catch more than one vole during one activation session, but the green transparent plastic allows you to see your prey immediately. Several voles can get inside at the same time, but chances of such situations are really low.
Human trap: Check the current price
9. Havahart 1020 Live Animal Two-Door Mouse Cage Trap
Another mouse box, but this time it has two doors. It uses the very same principle of operation. The device is made from sturdy rust-resistant wire mesh with steel reinforcement. Two entrance doors significantly increase the level of efficiency, because the vole will run inside after seeing a door-to-door passage, because it looks “very easy”.
Live trap: Check the current price
Popular methods of vole control: A list of techniques to avoid
We have already discovered the most popular methods of fighting and professional tips. Now we have to learn about the popular methods that people use which can help against voles. But we have to warn you that such methods are useless if there’s no connection with scientific knowledge! Below you can find the two most useless methods.
- The most dangerous method. We can’t ignore one of the most light-minded methods – killing voles with exhaust fumes. One has to use a hose and connect a pipe of a car and a hole. After that, you need to start the engine. Why is this method useless? Because voles are not moles with deep holes. Scientists from Colorado confirm: “Fumigants usually do not work for control of voles because their burrows are too shallow and complex”. In addition, such an operation can kill all the fertility of your soil and you won’t be able to grow anything on it.
- “Vibrating can”. An empty metal can is fixed on a stick located on an open area. The wind creates vibration and noise, scaring voles out of their holes. We have to mention that this sound can be pretty annoying and the level of efficiency is pretty low, especially in comparison with other methods, such as traps. Furthermore, we already know that sounds of any kind can’t scare voles.
Fighting voles requires some time. If your neighbors are also facing the problem of voles, you have to think about using repellents in your own garden. If you are suffering from the problem yourself, try to combine traps and poison, while using tree guards to protect your trees. The vole is not so dangerous. You have to be patient and only choose working vole control products and methods. We have combined all of them in the following table for your convenience.