Here are a couple and I'll dig some more up for you. The last picture shows the area that I had to replant and the making of cages to keep the voles at bay.

This year, my gardens are infested with voles and moles...however moles are the ones that do damage most:

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I have these 2 pics showing voles damage:

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Papou

My understanding is that moles are carnivores - eating worms, grubs etc., and voles are herbivores - meaning they're the ones eating our hosta roots. The bad thing about moles, re hostas, is that voles use their runs.

Arlene

Arlene, That's good to hear....because I have lots of moles presently digging all around my hostas. I cant keep up watering and undoing their tunnels.

My raised bed with the loosest, bestest, most organic soil -- and a big S&S, a lovely Royal Standard, my GE, and my glorious, huge Abba Dabba Do -- has been hosting moles all summer. I've tried trapping, poison peanuts, water down the tunnels -- and they just keep tunneling. I'm SO frustrated. I know it's moles, but it's just driving me nuts because I don't want voles to move in! The GE is in a buried pot, but the other roots are vulnerable.

Datdog, Do you have any close up pics of those cages that you use?

Other than being hunted by cats, heavy jets of water is the only way with which I had success to eliminate moles. At one time I let the high pressure water for half hour in the various holes. Everything filled up with mud...I stopped watering when water started to overflow on the lawn. I figured that some must have drowned or sufocated. Anyway one mole tried to exit and I killed it. This was 3 years ago...now moles are back.

Why all the concern about moles. Yes they make those volcano mounds but they dont eat plants at all. They eat grubs (good) and worms unfortunately.

Thankfully in my garden in Alabama I dont have moles or voles.

Thanks for the pics!

I bought some stuff at the garden store that has castor oiL in it. It looks like kitty litter. It comes in a shaker container like Miracle Grow. Then you water. It has seemed to help where the creatures were always digging around the roots of my plants.
Von
PS my sister bought a spray type of the same product.
Its safe for pets which we have a lot of.
Von

Moles and shrews don't harm the plants but when they tunnel under the roots, the roots can lose contact with the soil and perish. This is a big problem over winter. They also can flip newly planted material over and if you don't catch it, they too will perish. They struggle to come through my unamended clay soil to reach the good stuff and then it is party time with my worms.

If I get to vote which pest lives here, I will take my moles/shrews over voles. With the one, I have a fighting chance for the plants to survive.

I found out by accident in the greenhouse this winter that voles will be caught by a regular mouse trap baited with peanut butter. I had it set for what I thought were mice, and I caught several voles in there over winter. So if you put out some traps outdoors where the voles were eating your hostas, I wonder if that would work. you could set the traps in a box turned on its side or a five gallon bucket laid over on its side if you are having rain to keep the trap dry.

bump a rooney

ken

On a lighter note - TCM is running 'The Killer Shrews', 1959, as I type. Synopsis - A boat captain and his girlfriend run from a mad scientist's shrews which are the size of dogs. This movie has hostaholics written all over it. lol

Paul

My dog got to this one last year. Its a mixed blessing. dead critter vs. dog digging in beds like mad!!

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and another pic

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