😥..how disappointing..you took precautions and that didn't stop the destruction..I've had moles and chipmunks..they're aggravating but didn't destroy my hosta..never had a vole..squirrels have destroyed lots of my annuals..

so will you try to trap them?..I have no advice or experience with voles..can anyone help utog?..

I will trap and poison.

I lost a number of hostas to voles then went on a rampage of digging out every single one remaining and replanting them in gopher bags. But the cost of the bags soon overwhelmed me and after the first 60 or so I balked and started trying to cram 5 gallon roots into one gallon bags,so lost a few that way. I may have another 50 out there in NO bags, but they are the larger ones that can hopefully survive nibbles.

I gave up- I can't poison due to dogs and hate to trap as I'm too soft to handle disposal.

And yes, I have as much trouble with chipmunks, but at least the dogs can catch them. I've got them trained too well as they know not to dig in the gardens, lol, so they don't go after voles.

utog and cearbhaill..good luck to you both..

looks like it might be time to get the garden manicure ... lol ...'

ken

Yes, lol Ken. I was so shocked to see the damage that I forgot to put gloves on. Nails have been clipped.

Those are big projects. You are wise to get them done before moving in. It will all turn out well.
I recall that your hostas are growing in spin out bags. I have heard that those are great for keeping out voles, but I have not experience with them.

I haven't had vole damage but I sure do sympathize with those of you who have had. I sounds like you have very smart voles in your garden UTOG. I have a lot of pots and continuously find that the squirrels have ripped the roots and buried their goodies. I don't appreciate it at all.

These critters are just doing what comes naturally. I'm not sure we can really get rid of them. One of my neighbors has been seen to trap critters (probably squirrels). We are "allowed" to trap and take them somewhere else. But it doesn't work. The squirrels keep coming. All the critters will keep coming! I always think that humans have to be able to come up with something to protect our gardens. Are brain is bigger than theirs!

UTOG, the vole must have been digging to get in the ground to your hosta, but then discovered that the pile of soil it made helped it to get inside the pot.

Having the basket 1 to 1-1/2 inches out of the soil is not enough. I believe the recommended height is 2 inches (from Bob Solberg). That's what he recommended for a pot in a pot and to deter voles. Can you try having the mesh pot higher?

I feel for you and cearbhaill.

Wow Esther, great and somewhat concerning news about your new home. Sounds like a lot to get done by tomorrow. Good luck with your move. Looking forward to seeing the new look garden (some day).

I found some wire baskets at the dollar store ($1.25 store, lol). I was tempted to get some even though voles haven't been a problem here (yet) just remembering your post. I think they might have been a little short if I had to leave them 2" above the soil. Hard to believe a 1/2" would make much difference to the voles or do they never run around above the ground? I wonder if any of the sprays or granules would help. Seems like I did see one that advertised mole/vole repellant.

NHL, I did find that the hostas that were in bigger baskets that I could not plant as deep were all fine. The big baskets require really deep holes, and I give up once I have to get out a pickaxe to dig. So, the plants in the big baskets have a lot of basket rim showing, 2 inches or more. I think I may get lazy with this and just hoe some soil away from each of the little baskets instead of digging them up. If I hoe to soil level outside the basket lower, the basket rim will be higher.

Sounds like a good plan UTOG. I know what you mean about digging deep holes. I had my son help me dig a big hole for a big pot once. I planted my small Sagae in it. It died. I'm smarter now, but since then I've never had a hole dug that big! Good luck.

Oh, boy, do I feel your pain. This happened to me on a big scale in 2016. I almost lost all my hostas, and DID lose my prized 'Atlantis' which was about 5-feet wide in 2015. I managed to rescue the others, nursed them back to life, first in vases, then in pots. I now plant all hostas bigger than BME in pots, with rims several inches about soil level. So far, so good.

June 2016. One spot in my yard. Gold Standard and Queen Josephine.

September 2016

2019. I apparently didn't get a photo last year. But they are starting to look healthier, though I doubt they'll ever get as big as they were in the ground. I do hope to bury the pots deeper one of these days. (I did get rid of that enormous dandelion.)

LLS, you do understand! Your plants are recovering well. I would love to put my plants in the ground to allow them to grow big, but planting them in pots allows them to live.

Sagae spring 2021, same Sagae 5/5/22. I despise voles. I am impressed with Sagae’s attempt to recover. Cloudburst and Climax will survive, just set back from their growth stage by 4 years due to the voles.

Once I thought a hosta was lopsided and grabbed a couple leaves. The whole top of the hosta came off like a topee. I've still not figured out if it is voles or chipmunks. I see holes smaller than a quarter and never any runs.

Best of luck to you.

Here is NH Hosta link. They swear by old fashioned caster oil. I might try it this Fall

NH Hosta

You have to give it to Sagae, what a trooper! Now there is a will to survive.

Pandora, I might try the castor oil treatment this fall too.

I did try NH Hosta's trap method from that page a few weeks ago, much to my regret. I didn't catch any voles, but the trap disappeared after a few days. I'm worried a raccoon might have gotten into it.

I am seeing a lot of cotton tail RABBITS in my yard after dark. What can I do to protect my hostas and other plants against those? I am taking estimates for a vinyl privacy fence now, and I found a product called Dig Defense which might prove good to insert under the privacy fence panels to keep varmints from burrowing into the yard. Would I need the 8" deep ones or the 15" deep ones? By the time I'd enclose the yard and the bottom of the garden shed with those, it would be pretty expensive, but in the long run, cheaper than the heartache of constantly having to order new plants. Dig Defense

I spray mine with Liquid Fence deer and rabbit repellent. I have to do it every week or so, but I'm willing to because I love hostas! Repellent

Best treatment for voles, etc. ( relatives are rats and mice) is a rat poison- You Tube video on proper 'treatment' using pvc pipe,etc. so pets, etc will not eat it . Keeps rodents of your house/garage, etc plus the voles out of your gardens and lawns.

HT, agreed. I also used kill traps baited with peanut butter, often killing half dozen per day. When I used rat poison, my dog ate a vole that came to the surface to die. $600 vet bill for the dog.

Man O man, am I glad I don’t have any of these pests! Only slugs……..🐌

debra

Aww, is system of your choice working? I am not sure I have seen tracks but did see holes in front of my garden. I am not seeing much of it this year but also have cat that likes to hunt.

Voles sound like big headache.

I do feel like am in need to invest in gallon sized essential oils as I am using this as major deterrent for mosquito and ticks. Also am planting lot of ornamental onions, garlic and peppermint.

My "system" of hostas-in-half-buried-pots seems to be working, but only time will tell, as hostas-in-the-ground had worked beautifully for 10 years, until it didn't. I've tried the poison-in-pipes system, but it is too high maintenance for me. You have to keep going back and hiding more poison. In fact, the pipes are still scattered around the garden, presumably empty.

Planting in baskets worked well until it didn’t. I lost two more this week, nearly 3. So, plants are in pots in baskets sitting on the ground. Why have the potted plants sitting in baskets, you ask? I have had voles enter through pots’ drainage holes and eat the entire plant in the pot. Some days, I have garden despair.

I'm hoping the drainage holes in the pots I am using are too small - and that these voracious critters don't eat plastic. I have one new hosta I want to "plant" and got a free used tub from a garden center, but then realized that the drainage holes are big enough for vole, mouse or chipmunk to crawl through. I'm trying to figure out how to use 1/8" hardware cloth to block the holes. Do you have any pictures, UTOG?

I'd go back to Home Depot and get another 20" pot, but they now cost $19.48! For the past several years, they were less than $12. Of course, my investment account hasn't gone up that much. Or at all, for that matter. :(

I used a small rock to block the drainage holes about 50-75%, then watch the drainage when I get the soil wet. If water is not coming out of the bottom or water puddles on the surface of the soil, I remove the plant and try smaller or narrower rocks.

If the drainage holes are 1.5 cm or bigger, I block them partially with rocks or put the pot in a basket (or drip tray). The basket in the ground is quickly becoming a failure for me with my clever voles.

Thanks for the pics. Those baskets really look like they should have worked! Wicked voles!

Thanks, LLS. I must admit that I am discouraged, thought not ready to consider myself defeated.

Sagae yesterday.

Yay! I know it is probably easier to just buy another plant specially common like Sagae but I do feel satisfaction from getting them back to growing. I did have some damage last year after the move and some hostas just went to minies ...

I have couple with dry rot including Sagae... Have not figured yet if it will survive.

My cat bless her hunters luck got me many gifts of chipmanks on doorstep.

She is 16 though.

I do like it when they recover.