That is heartbreaking. Have you tried the various vole controls? Any thought of being a foster home for cats?

tj

Deanna - I totally ditto tj. That is heartbreaking and I feel for you. You can recover from this!

Deanna, looking at your beautiful hostas, especially that gorgeous Dark Shadows (I have one too), I too, feel your pain. And Yes, it IS possible to get it going again!

I'm in the "adopt some cats" camp too, but I also am suggesting that you don't give up yet! Have you considered potting the survivors up...then sink the pots into the ground, making it look like they are planted?

I've also heard of hostas planted in baskets as well to stop voles from getting at the roots...(dollar stores carry wire baskets) here on this forum. You can use Mother Earth for the baskets, potting mix for the ones in nursery pots. If you can find what you need at the dollar store, that might be the cheapest and most effective way to go.

It will be a fair bit of work to dig the plants up, but worth the effort - don't let the voles have their way. As Peren encouraged you, so shall I: you AND your hostas CAN recover from this! :-)

Re heuchera:. I've saved heucheras that were either languishing or looked like they were dying out by digging as early as I could or simply snapping sections off and replanting. Just about 100% success rate if I watered as required. All you need is sections/crowns that have live leaves, no matter how small! Look at these little gaffers! You go, girl!!

I understand, Deanna. I'm really sorry. I really do understand your loss. I had a bout with a really ugly fungus this summer and lost about 60% of my hosta. I had spent 100's of dollars on pots, hosta, potting soil, etc. The ones that didn't die are smaller than they were before. It's heartbreaking to look at the photos. I guess the worst loss was my Paul's Glory. It was gorgeous. It was about 48 inches across in a pot. Now it's gone.

I decided I'm not going to build back this year. Mostly because I'm not sure how bad/good the survivors will be when they come up. The other thing is I'm not sure that the problem is solved. The fungus is easily spread, so it could infect any new ones I buy. I also know I'm not willing to spray/treat regularly all the time. If raising hosta involves that, then it's time for a new hobby. I'll go back to having lots of pots of annuals.

In your case, you know your problem is not solved. You don't have a strategy to deal with the voles. It's likely they will return. Are you going to get some cats or a ferret couple? Will circumstances change so that you'll be able to clean up better in the fall? Are you willing to grow in pots? Or are you willing to put your hosta in pots or baskets in the ground?

The way I see it, you have to decide how much you are willing/able to do to solve the problem. Bernd plants plastic runs and puts poison in them, week after week. That said, I live on Texas grass prairie where no vole could possibly dig. I have no experience with them and don't know how difficult they are to control. For me, I know I won't go out there week after week and spray those hosta. It just won't happen. I love hosta, but I really hate spraying. I'm able, but in the real world, I'm not willing.
That's my take on it.

bk

Your story is so terrifying, Deanna. My soil is vole heaven and there was a lot of vole activity in my garden this summer. I've read that sometimes there are spikes in vole populations and I think last year may have been one. Or else I'm just feeding them. I put expanded shale (Voleblock) around the roots of all the hostas I plant and just hope that it will keep them alive. If 90% of my hostas disappeared I don't know what I'd do.

Kathy

I feel your pain as well. This summer was a horrible downer as a result of mole infestation and the rapid double down with the invitable second wave of voles. Rather than enjoying my hostas I would come home everyday and tromp down the mole tunnels and clean up the newly rootless petioles. watching you tube videos and buying several types of traps only netted me 5 moles and one vole and still the tunnels appeared almost daily. I resorted finally to poison baits (reluctantly because the sound of the barred owls calling to each other at night is also as pleasurable, I can only hope the claims that the new baits aren't harmful to anything that may come across the victims and decide on a free meal are true) the baits while visibly effective on mice (gathered and tossed out whenever found) I hadn't noticed a decrease in the smaller tunnels in the grass. I like dafodils so I planted several hundred bulbs this fall in memorium for some of my hosta losses, they say voles won't eat them and I can hope they will find them to be a deterrant as well. As of snowfall and frost they hadn't attacked my daylillies as yet (not sure if they're on a voles list of favorites) but I think about the vermin out there under the ground feasting away on my expectations of spring and I get sick.

Like you I will see what springtime brings and am considering calling the professionals for mole control so at the very least the little bastards will have to dig their own tunnels. Best of luck to you, let's hope it was a population spike and the worst is over for awhile.

If anyone knows of any proven remedies for voles, I'm open to it. I don't believe pots are the answer. Call me crazy, but I believe voles are able to crawl through the drain holes in pots. The reason I say that is because not only did I lose the majority of my hostas in the ground, I also lost the majority that were in pots too - and that was a bunch as well. When I investigated the pots in the spring, what I found was crowns with no roots.

The wire basket idea is interesting, but I don't understand what would keep voles from digging down into the soil inside the basket.

Yes, I've been thinking about cats - feral cats. I had two cats for several years and don't want any cats in the house because of the hair everywhere and the litter box smell. I would only want cats that are used to living outside year-round and hunting their own food. I don't know if any animal shelters have feral cats for adoption. The only local animal shelter I'm familiar with makes you sign something saying you'll keep your adopted cat indoors.

One thing I've been thinking about is one of those hoses you can attach to your car exhaust and stick the other end down the vole holes. And I was thinking wintertime might be a good time to do it while they're all cozied up in their dens. The thought of killing dozens of them that way feels evilly satisfying.

Poison is out of the question. There is one cat that lives on the next block that shows up once in a great while. I wouldn't want it to get poisoned.

Thanks for all your encouragement and sympathy for my situation. Those that used the word heartbreaking totally nailed it.

Deanna

May you have a weasel show up in your gardens.

No, I'm not putting a curse on you. A weasel would be a good thing! It seemed like the one who found my yard took out several dozen rats in about two days time.

I'm sorry about your losses. Your before picture is so pretty. It's disheartening to have problems when we put all this time and energy into growing our hostas.

Here is a vole deterrent utilizing castor oil which is how a large cultivator keeps them out of their hosta. It is not a poison or trap, is economical, environmentally friendly and it worked for me. Organic Vole Control

It works by giving the voles diarrhea which fouls their tunnels making the tunnels uninhabitable for them and they are forced to vacate. It doesn't kill them (although I wouldn't worry about that) it just forces them into a new territory.

Your hosta that survive will rebound quickly Deanna, unfortunately so will the voles and there is zero chance that anyone can eradicate them. The goal is to rid your garden of them. Good luck.

Jon

Sandy,
I did see your post about the weasel and was impressed with its skill as a predator! Do you live in the country? I've never heard of anyone seeing weasels around here so I don't think they're a native species in Missouri - at least not in the city. Trust me, I'd be thrilled if one showed up! Between the chipmunks and voles, I could keep a family of weasels fat and sassy year round.

Jon, thank you! I am definitely going to try that!

Deanna

Apart from the great suggestion from Jon, there is another non poisonous method on the post you mentioned started by Sandy.

Babka talked about a mix of 3 parts oatmeal to 1 part plaster of paris. Windymess posted a you tube video of it. I know I was extremely interested in this non toxic method. The more tools in our arsenal the better! ( I don't have many voles but I have plenty of mice)

You might think about a pair of ferrets. It's a weasel. I've heard they make good pets. I read that if you want them to hunt, you get a pair and let them out one at at time. They won't necessarily come back except for the mate. I read about it on a blog or in an email from Southern Bulb Company. If you're interested, I'll search for the post or email the owner.

bk

Would a domesticated ferret even know how to hunt?

Deanna, I am truly sorry for your losses. After reading your heartache I just wanted to give you a big, comforting hug. After voles discovered my Hostas last summer I now have this constant fear I'll lose mine, too.

I went through a vole problem this past summer for the first time ever (from all that I've studied on this matter, last year was the Year of the Voles). I guess I was lucky in that they attacked during a season when I could actually see my Hostas were under attack, so I was able to address the issue before they destroyed too many. For the record, I had 4 feral cats last summer, so while they are certainly helpful they won't solve your problem. I also have lots of Barred Owls and a nice variety of non-venomous snakes.

I started a thread here in search of help and definitely found it. You can read the thread here: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3172063/stiiiiinnnkking-voles?n=77

What I learned is that being proactive is key to saving your Hostas. The baited tunnels mentioned are extremely effective AND safe, as you'll find out if you take the time to read that rather lengthy thread. You'll also learn how to make them.

It appears likely that once voles have discovered your garden you will likely always have them. Now that everything has gone dormant my greatest worry is that the voles are back, eating away at my Hosta roots. So this winter I'm using a hopefully effective repellent. Repellents get mixed reviews so I don't know how they'll fare here but winter seemed the ideal time to try them out. I'll certainly find out this Spring if they are everything many folks claim they are. I'll post my own results in this or a similar thread this Spring.

gardenfanatic, I live on the edge of a small city, but up in the foothills a bit. It's as "country" as I've ever lived. I was lucky to see the weasel, or I would have never known to credit it with the rat disappearance.

Sad story coming up: ......We had a terrible incident not too far from us where a certified pesticide company was called out for voles, and the poison was improperly placed too close to the home. The parents got sick, but the two little girls died. I'm sure it was a rare event, but it's such a tragedy for all involved and a harsh reminder to be extra careful with poisons.

I like that we're hearing about some non-toxic options, both for us and for other wildlife. I hope people will report back on what works for them.

Good luck to ALL who are fighting off voles!

"domesticated ferret" is an oxymoron.

BTW sorry for your losses. I lost almost my entire seedling crop, first and second year, plus a new Bridal Falls to a small animal, probably a vole, last winter. I haven't had vole problems for many years. Maybe 10 years ago voles attacked my few hostas before I started collecting. Neighborhood cats had kept them down sense then until last summer. Apparently the next door neighbors cat died. It used to spend a great deal of time in my garden. It had a favorite spot under Sum and Substance. We also have hawks and a large Owl near by. I don't know what I'm going to do if I have losses this winter/spring. I'm reading this and the other related threads in preparation, but hoping for the best.

I went to the Communities inBloom conference in Kamloops this fall. At the sharing session, one of the delegates said that he had been told that putting Tide on his lawn would get rid of the voles, and it worked!!!! Except for one corner that he missed! So the next year he used no name and it worked too.

Oh now imagooch, that raises some questions:

The laundry soap? If yes, then broadcast the powder type or spray liquid (diluted?)? I wonder at what strength?

Gardenfanatic, have you thought it might be something besides voles? I mentioned early in this thread that I had fungus problems. This fungus eats the roots and leaves the crown. It attacked my hosta in pots and spread to most of them. I spent the better part of the spring and summer trying to figure out the problem.

The hostas were stunted and small. The roots that survived were dark colored. Most of the hosta tried to come back from the dormant eyes. The fragrants were more resistant than any others.

If you think that might be the trouble, I'll try to find the pics. They are on my old computer.

bk

Deanna, I am so sorry for you and others that have experienced such losses due to voles or anything else. The fungus BK had to face sounds terrible.

There seem to be so many threats to our plants. I remember a year when I lost 60+ in pots due to rot. That made me revise many of my ideas. Now I am also facing voles. Last spring I found LOTS of vole damage. Before that it had only been minor. I lost entire plants including ones that had been in place for many years. It was so odd because in a whole garden area there could be one completely gone, one half gone and no damage on the rest.

The result was I became frantic and tried everything all at once. I tried sprinkling capisicum (red pepper powder). I buried the smallest size chicken wire under the new areas. I dug up some of the older, precious, plants and putting chicken wire under them. At the end of the season I sprayed everything, some places twice, with the vole deterrent of castor oil. I also got another cat since my 2 were lazy and fat. The new one lived the whole summer outside. Not because I made her but she was freaked out about everything around here due to her former home. Fortunately she is a good hunter. I managed to get her trust and she now lives on my bed but will be outside again in the spring. If I have less damage this year I won't know where credit is due.

By the way I agree that under the ground is not the total answer. A big part of my losses were potted hostas that were tipped on their sides under a north facing porch. That had been a great location for pots (dry and cool) since the rotting issue in 2009. With those the voles obviously came in from the top and ate down.

One positive note is that if anything survived with a bit of root it will grow back.

D Gregory, he said that he just put the powdered laundry soap in his fertilizer spreader and went around the grassy lawn with it. And the only part that was later attacked by voles was the part where he missed by cutting a corner too short!!!! Hope this helps.