Vole eaters

12 years ago

I have twice over the winter seen a mink in my yard. I do not think I have seen a mink in the wild ever before. I looked up what they eat and was suprised to see they eat voles, mice etc. I had a wild cat the last couple of years that was doing good work until it had kittens last year in my garage and now she is living it up in my house.I was wondering if anyone has tried other predators for vole elimination. Snakes anyone ? Rob

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Comments (9)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
man you gotta move to the country .. lol

last last winter.. we found a dead mink preserved on the side of the road in a snow bank .. and daughter paid to have it skinned and preserved ... i dont know about that girl ...

the taxidermist .. said they are one of the meanest critters out there .. and most likely.. bought the farm.. taking on the oncoming car .. lol .. and doubted you will ever see a live one ... but for shear luck ...

they tend to live near water .. but have something like a 2 mile range ....

and probably answered.. why i would find young possum tail and spines in the yard.. with the rest gone missing .... for a few years running ...

in fact.. i thought i saw one this morning on the side of the road.. but at 40 mph.. i wasnt sure..

one of the first signs of spring.. it the slaughter on the rural roads ... coming out of that winter coma.. and deciding to cross .. the proverbial road .. and apparently.. not looking both ways ...

in the last week.. i have seem mrs woodchuck.. and found her diggings ... and saw mr skunk .. which i think are also meat eaters ....

ken
roblksd
Original Author
12 years ago
Ken, I have seen all the usual, raccoons, possum, skunks woodchucks even fox and coyotes and I am in a subdivision. I am near water. I will be happy if the mink can keep the rabbits under control. Rob
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Look how long we've been struggling with voles! I first looked them up on gardenweb years ago when we had tons. I remember a day when I snap-trapped fourteen in a couple of hours! Here is an odd solution which has worked (apparently) for me. In frustration I began flooding the holes and tunnels with the end of my hose. Amazingly it seemed to work. I have done this for several years and where I use to have LOTS of voles and vole damage I rarely see a hole now and when I do I immediately flood it. I did use oyster shells but I have such large gardens that it was completely impractical. And now where I did use them they keep coming to the surface - years later - and I don't like the look of them. This year I have grubs and thus I have moles as well as skunks which dig holes in the lawn. I was able to move the moles away from the very front part of my yard also by flooding (stick the brass nozzle of the hose right through the turf into the tunnel) - it doesn't get rid of them like it seemed to get rid of the voles. But it did make them move. I am not a lawn fanatic but between brown spots from grubs and holes from skunks it's too ratty. I am using milky spore and it'll take quite some time before this solves the problem but it's the non-poison way to go and once established it'll do the trick for years. Just to say - unless I missed this on this long thread - moles and voles have not got the same habits and thus need different solutions. Voles are not carniverous, do not eat grubs so getting rid of the grubs won't deal with the voles. I only brought up the topic of moles as they also don't seem to like flooded muddy tunnels. After I tried my vole-death/relocation-by-flooding I read in an article somewhere that in Mexico some farmers were protecting their fields which were under vole attack by putting trenches filled with water around them. Well, hope somebody else tried flooding and writes about how it works for them . If nothing else, it is very satisfying!!
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Here's what I know, or think I know about the moles and voles. As I understand it, grubs destroy your grass, leaving empty patches. Grubs also attract the moles who eat the grubs. Then the voles come in behind the moles and use and further expand the moles tunnels. The voles then eat your roots and bulbs. A few years and lots of tears ago I lost EVERYTHING including shrubs and roses and dozens and dozens of varieties of plants to the voles. (With the exception of daylillies, irises and peonies...they ate around these things leading me to conclude that they are distinctly non-food to voles). However, since then my vole problem has been minimal (I still have losses, but they are minimal). It may be coincidence or superstition but I think these measures have helped: - Use beneficial nematodes liberally to keep down the grub problem...this seems to help circumvent the cycle of destruction. - Liberally apply fermented salmon several times a year in a dose strong enough to be really stinky. The one year I used the salmon only once saw the voles come in and destroy everything that fall. The main purpose of the fermented salmon is that it nourishes the plants, but it also helps keep pests down, I've found. (I use Coast of Maine brand). - Plant your bulbs with moth balls. I know, I know, I know...it's awful, but for the few bulbs I plant I convince myself it's okay. All the bulbs I plant come up. - Cats help a lot. We have two good hunters. - Having neighbors that have a more hospitable home to voles also helps. Hehehe. - A sense of humor and belief in the temporariness of life helps. - ALSO, IMPORTANTLY....many things that did not come back the first year post-voles did come back later. Even if they leave a portion of the roots some of your plants will be reborn. Also, you'll likely find things coming up in strange places and the eat and poop vole cycle helps them rearrange your garden. Kind of fun to find things popping up in unexpected places. Just the other day I found three crocuses (I don't plant crocuses) had popped up in a little woodland garden I have with hosta and columbine. They are cheery and cute and a gift from the voles from some else's garden. Patty
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ctopher_mi
12 years ago
We have mink here too and they like to dig into things a lot, especially freshly potted plants. When I've actually seen them in the flesh they were usually chasing rabbits, though one time, right after buying this property and hadn't developed it yet, a surveyor had pulled up in their truck and a mink came up to the side of the truck and was jumping up and down to try and see inside the window. Freaked him out! I usually have one or two sightings a summer and that's about it.
Steve Massachusetts
12 years ago
I'm in favor of anything that eats voles; mink, fox, hawks, cats, shrews, whatever. As long as they take down the vegetarians, in my book they're good.

Steve
squirejohn zone4 VT
12 years ago
We have coyotes, fox, mink, fisher, hawks, owls and of course shrews, but the most effective vole predator seems to be weasels, also called ermine in their white winter phase.
hostaLes
12 years ago
Hi- Recently a Great Horned Owl in my yard at night. Who- who who - who who - who! Pretty cool and a great mouse and vole eater. Most hawks favor voles and mice. Red Tail's favor snakes too. But snakes love voles and can get down into their runs.

Where I live now I have never seen rattlers and I think too far north for copperheads, so I am thinking of creating a snake friendly area. I have to research that. I am 1/2 mile from the Midewin (Ojibwe for the Grand Medicine Council) National Tall-grass Prairie. I'll ask their biologist. Those interested in native ecosystems might enjoy visiting there. They have great trails and tour guides. Pronounce it mid-DAY'-win. A member of the Grand Council is called a Mide (mid-DAY').

In Arkansas, tons of copperhead and one needs to be careful, but the Ozarks aren't in the voles natural range. Are there any up around Lebanon or Springfield MO. or Kansas?

Even with my dog, I have had coyote and fox visit my property. They are crazy about voles. I am sure Martin eat them also, but a Martin is an overgrown mink or weasil (cousins) and even dogs need to worry about them. I wonder if a Ferret could be trained to hunt?

I remember the movie a few years back where a guy went to Alaska and studied the Arctic Wolf by living among them. He found their diet was almost 100% mice, so don't be chasing any Grey Wolves our of your yards.

Les
in ny zone5
12 years ago
You do not need a large snake to eat a mouse. My grandson and I once saw a 2 1/2 ft long snake with a sizable bump in the middle of its body just next to the deck. It was only slowly moving. We left it alone. We have no poisonous snakes here.
Bernd
kskaren
12 years ago
I love seeing my snakes in the yard--last year, I saw no less than 5 different ones. I don't know what they're eating, but I still have voles! I wouldn't mind importing more snakes, but not sure how to do that, unless you can find them at pet stores. How do you create a snake-friendly area, Les?
Karen
hostaLes
12 years ago
Karen - I am working on it. In northern Arkansas I found Indigo Snakes to be very beneficial and having piles of chipped hardwood created an opportunity for them to den. They might be locally called Black Snakes. The largest I have seen are about 4-5 feet long.

I had arranged for Asplund to dump their tree chips in some lowland on the property of my employer in northern Arkansas, so I could use it to mulch landscaping after the poison ivy, oak and locust had leached out. In a year I began to see many young Indiago Snakes.

I had visited Montauk State Park in MO and found a 5 foot Indiago Snake trapped in nylon mest the MDNR had installed tpo control bank erosion by one of the springs. I'd re;eased it and the stink of burnt rubber remained on my had for over a week. So don't handle one if that bothers you.

I have read that Indigo snakes are natural predators of other snakes and will eliminasate Copperheads and rattlers.

Les

Vole eaters

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

roblksd
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Vole eaters

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