You can get some mole and vole deterrent from a garden center,or buy their own "special" food,but if they are there you will have to be diligent all winter.Mice moved into our motorhome last winter,and we did run them out using cottonballs with peppermint oil on them.Good luck.

Betsy

Get a large commercial sized can of cayenne pepper and sprinkle over the tops of the pots and any plants you want to keep rodents out of. It is very effective but needs to be re-applied after a rain. If you get the flakes instead of powder, it lasts longer.

I grow hot peppers each year for this very purpose. I have an old coffee grinder that is used only to grind dried peppers.

Thanks for your suggestions. I heard about the cayenne pepper before, but forgot. I am sure I saw that some pots were disturbed on the top. We have been so lacking in rain, but once I get some pepper it will probably work as a rain maker.
Jane

You can make your own bait traps to put under the mulch and around the containers.

Use the small disposable (although I've had some of them for years) plastic food storage container. Cut a 1" diameter hole in the container on the side of it. Put a rat poison inside the container for the little visitors to nibble. Use the bait that come in blocks, not pellets because you don't want them dragging it out. They will happily dine and disappear. You can check to see if it is working and if you need to replace the bait during the winter. If you find little tiny teeth marks, you have succeeded.

With the sealed container, weather won't be a problem and no other critter can be harmed.

Brooke

I have also used the same type of trap as Brooke. Works wonderful. I have a rubbermaid container permanently in the garage. A hole in the side small enough for a mouse but not large enough for the dogs or cat. Inside I have a shallow tray and in that is the poison and a mouse trap. The mice have to go into the tray but have no ability to take out the block of poison then or the mousetrap. I have also used this idea in the garden. The weather doesn't affect it and I can easily check to see if there is any activity in the container (and remove any mice in the trap).

I also find that empty sunflower shells with a mousetrap set in the center works great too, in or out of the rubbermaid container. They must think that there is sunflower seeds there yet. With this method of empty shells I have caught 3 dozen mice and 3 voles in the last 2 months. They are coming in off the field and looking for shelter for the winter I guess.

Brenda