Voles eating your plants?

7 years ago

I have been vegetable gardening for years. Voles are field mice. And they can be very destructive in your garden. I started to have problems with my carrots being eaten at the tops and killing the plant. Then my green beans and peas were being chopped off. Broccoli also. I was infested with Voles. Traps did not work. And I would not use poison. I was at a loss watching my garden and all the hard work going to waste. Then a long time local farmer told me to buy some packs of Juicy fruit gun. Break the sticks into small pieces and place them in the tracks and tunnels. Under weed matts and where ever I saw the droppings. The gum will clog their intestines. They can't poop and will die. IT WORKED! And only cost me $6 for 60 sticks of gum.

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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

6 years ago

The folks who allow me to garden on their rural property have 4 cats which hunt in my garden; I only have trouble with voles late in the season, when the dense growth provides cover. I put out the traps at the first sign if damage. The residents have a dog too, which likes to hunt wood chucks... I doubt that my garden would be as successful, were it not for the hunters on patrol.

They tell me their cats bring them "gifts" too. ;-) They've left a few dead mice in the garden as well.

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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
7 years ago
Traps work, if it is the right trap with the right bait. I use about 50 traps in my gardens each year, when the foliage canopy begins to cover the ground - and especially when growing peas, or when tomatoes are just beginning to ripen. The traps are placed deep under the foliage, where mice make their runs; I mark the locations with survey flags so I won't forget where they are.

The traps that I use are plastic, with bait cups. Cut pieces of dried apricot, jammed tightly into the cup, seem to be irresistible. Voles were almost a no-show last year (thanks in large part to semi-feral cats) but in 2014, I caught over 50 voles, and about half as many field mice. Sometimes as I was baiting the traps, I could hear the first ones already snapping behind me.
drloyd
7 years ago
Thank you Bill and Zeedman. My large tuxedo cat catches a lot of them but not nearly enough. I will do both the gum and trap methods. I got some mouse traps online with a little cup for bait and a large trigger area around the cup. They worked great in the house and I can try them in the garden. Zeedman can you tell me the brand you used?
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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
The traps I've had the best results with are Kness Mfg. They are about 10 years old, and most still work... the only part that really breaks (very seldom) is the trigger. I've also had a few bent or dragged off by predators who took advantage of the free lunch.

The Kness traps were originally carried by my local Farm & Fleet, but they have been replaced by Tomcat traps now. Those have a nearly identical design to the Kness, but I find the trigger to be so temperamental that they are hard to set, and even a raindrop will set them off.
drloyd
7 years ago
Thank you Zeedman. I have some of the Kness units from

https://www.amazon.com/Kness-102-0-019-Snap-E-Mouse-Trap-6/dp/B004B9XPOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469722387&sr=8-1&keywords=mouse+trap and they have worked great. There has never been a stolen bait except over the body of a dead mouse!

So yesterday I dropped Juicy Fruit treats using latex gloves in the holes and pushed them into the tunnels. I then gently covered each hole with dirt. I also washed the traps and baited them with dried apricot and put them near the most active damage areas. This morning none of the holes were re-opened and none of the traps were visited....
drloyd
6 years ago
The Juicy Fruit gum has worked well. Early this spring there were again a lot of holes in the garden so I did the gum thing again. Now I don't see any holes and no bean vines have been damaged by voles this year. I also did my greenhouse which had a lot of damage in the spring but none now. Zeedman I still use the Kness traps a lot with great results as my cat sometimes brings in a live mouse and releases it in the house! - Dick
Cathy Kaufell
6 years ago
I make my traps out of 1 ft long, 1½” PVC pipe. I put and elbow on each end. You will need to remove this elbow to put in your bait so don’t permanently seal it. Use the block bait only. Pellets can fall out too easily.

Voles eating your plants?

zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

drloyd

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