Very likely voles. And I'm not sure you can be rid of them completely.

I haven’t seen any chipmunks but I had them last year and I took some drastic measure and let’s say by mid-summer they were all gone. This is such a nuisances. Those rodents are killing the root of my plants now this morning I noticed holes in my tulips beds. I’m so annoyed

pix of the holes.. might help define the vermin ....

just because you seemingly solved the issue last year.. unless you cleared the neighbors yards ... i suspect anything might return ...

you might contact your county Ag or extension office.. and ask what the common county wide problem is .....

i dont know why it might matter... but your location might make a difference ....

ken

A photo with something like a pen or ruler for scale may help. IME chipmunk homes and vole holes look a bit different. Also, chimpmunks undermine plant roots and damage the plants that way but typically don’t eat the roots, though they may eat bulbs. Voles will eat plant roots and often I have lifted out the remains of a plant with nothing but a stub at the base of the plant where the roots used to start.

How do you suggest I get rid of them?

Most of my plants are Bare roots I planted last year and some this year as well. Do you have any suggestions?

Before doing anything, first confirm if the problem is mice, voles, or chipmunks. Different strategies work in different critters. We still don’t have a photo, and having gotten rid of last year’s chipmunks doesn’t mean you won’t have them this season. Rodents reproduce at an amazing rate and move into empty territory.

Here is a list of vole related posts from the hosta forum which may give you some ideas if in fact voles are the problem.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/hosta/query/Vole/nqrw

Over the years I have tried many suggested solutions: dried blood, ground up hot peppers, castor oil, diluted urine, and a mix of them; snap traps baited with various things and placed near a vole hole and covered with a box to keep out birds and snakes; and spiked spring-loaded vole traps placed in tunnels; one of those solar powered vibrating gizmos, among other things. While they may reduce the population slightly and temporarily, my gardens are surrounded by rough field because I live on an old farm, and there are simply bazillions more voles waiting to replace them. There is no way I can or would even want to try eliminating acres worth of voles. I am not willing to use poison since it risks the lives of predators who do eat voles if they inadvertently eat a poisoned vole.

The only things I have found that work are either growing plants they don’t like or are toxic, or surrounding plants they do like with a large circle of hardware cloth (1/4” wire or heavy grade plastic mesh) that I make from rolls. I usually go for just under 1' diameter like the one on the left since I can get the hardware cloth in 36" widths (36/3.14=about 11.5” diameter and a bit of that is overlap). I cut off an 8" band and create my cylinder. I stitch the edges together with wire. When I plant, I leave about an inch of the cylinder above ground to discourage voles that tunnel at ground level under the snow, and after planting I top the soil with sharp gravel.

They hurt to step on and have a risk of tetanus if you aren’t up to date on your vaccine, so I no longer walk in the garden barefoot.

A cat or terrier will also help control voles, but there may be some plant damage along the way.

we cant suggest a remedy.. until we define the problem ...

and.. to be clear.. as babs alluded to.. a hole is not the real problem.. its what they are doing underground ... if they arent hurting the plants... whats to solve???

ken

Tulip bulbs are a favorite snack in my garden. I lost 100's one year and have come up with this method:

Planting: presoak bulbs in a mixture of water, deer repellent and cayenne pepper for hours/overnight before planting. Put a generous layer of cayenne pepper over the area after planting.

Winter: The bulbs are at risk during this period. reapply cayenne pepper several times.

Spring: bulbs and foliage at risk. I use a rabbit deterrent that's in pellets and made from aromatics like cloves. Works great for foliage near ground. Reapply several times.

Bloom: Spray deer deterrence often.

“having gotten rid of last year’s chipmunks doesn’t mean you won’t have them this season. Rodents reproduce at an amazing rate and move into empty territory.”

I can attest to this. After trapping and relocating many...new ones just took their places :(

I’ve just learned to live with them and just keep filling in the holes. No real damage done....just an annoyance.

I guess I’ll just keep filling the holes

Cat. We didn't have this problem until after the cat died. I, too, am not certain about which holes the chipmunks cause and which are the voles. I spread that castor bean vole repellant (Walmart) last year and things were a lot better, but there were still a couple of casualties. When you pick up the dead plant and it is no longer attached because the roots are gone, I believe those are voles. I'm going to try the ring of gravel around new plants. Oh--and also, I've heard they don't like mint or onions, so I'm going to try using more catmint and alliums in the garden. Good luck!

Here’s above post contains a few pictures of what I’m going through with theses little vermins

They dig out my bare Roots, my bulb. Oh! If only I could catch those little things

Good luck with the Alliums, violet. They ate several culinary onions and leeks in my garden plus some Globemasters; they may not be a favorite, but are definitely eaten. They don’t eat the Nepeta (or else the Nepeta grows so fast I don’t notice) but do like its shelter and often have burrows under it in my garden.

One kind of vole I have makes runs right at the ground level, and gravel would work for those, but the other type tunnels about 3” deep, and for those, surface gravel wouldn’t help. Those need the cages that extend below ground.

TT, the last photo is vole runs.

So it’s definitely voles?

It may be chipmunks also, but you do have voles, yes. I can’t tell what size the first photo’s hole is and no idea of what caused the second pattern.

I have baits all over the place that they don’t touch. And one seems to scratch and dig out my bulb and roots but eat and touch them, just left them there. I replanted them.

Baits aren’t a good idea IMO. They can poison vole predators and leave them to die a slow and nasty death. The surface scratching and digging out is more likely chipmunks or squirrels IME. Put a piece of wire mesh across the bed until things start sprouting. Snap traps under boxes can work also. Favorite baits for us are chocolate, peanut butter, and peaches. Your rodents may have different tastes.

Ok thank you. I will try the wire mesh idea. Thank you again

Oh, rats, Babs! I was hoping adding alliums and things in the mint family (not actual crazy, taking-over-the-garden mint!) might help. I'm hesitant to mention traps, since some people get nuts about the idea of offing critters, but there's something about a 5 gallon bucket with water in it and bird seed that catches lots of chipmunks--google it, if you are so inclined.

I use the 5 gallon bucket method. Fill with water about 2/3-3/4 full, and toss in a handful or two of black oil sunflower seed to cover the water. A ramp or two to lead up to the bucket, preferably a bit in line with their holes. Works well for chipmunks and voles/mice.

The bucket seems like a cruel tactic. Snap traps would be a more humane choice.

These traps especially the snap traps can kill unintended victims. I ignorantly killed a beautiful wren and crowned sparrow with traps intended for voles and ants. The sparrow got killed in the snap trap and the wren got stuck to a piece of sticky paper. I'm not really happy about all the voles I killed either. They are pests but also quite cute. Just sharing so nobody else makes the same mistake. It's better to find a solution that doesn't involve killing things, and how many animal lives are your precious bulbs really worth? These animals were here before us. We move into their territory and plant alien plants and then question when things don't go smoothly like we expect. We are eradicating and pushing out their native food sources.

That is why I put a box over the snap trap, to keep out birds and snakes. I honestly don’t feel guilt over killing voles.

I would definitely not want to hurt the pretty birds but I don’t want vole destroying my garden