i don't know if it'll work with voles but at the advice of an old gardener, i sprinkled bloodmeal around my beds to get rid of chipmunks and it worked!

Roll mothballs down the holes.

Hi there!

I had voles a few years ago, and this worked for me. First of all, they will breed themselves out, but in the meanwhile you can set mouse traps for them. You need to set a trap and cap a planter over it so that it is in the dark. A vole eats in the dark. You can also dig up your hostas and fill in around them with pea gravel. They do not like that at all.

Good luck! I hate those horrid creatures!
Deb

tsmith! Naughty!!! lol

Michelle, I am wondering...what are they doing that makes you want to get rid of them? In my experience with shrews, they do little to damage the lawn, etc. in their searching for insects, slugs, and other food sources. Are your shrews creating a major mess?

I'll dig around to see what I find about repelling/trapping shrews. In the mean time, Rocco has some good information in the attached link.

Here is a link that might be useful: shrew information

Rhizo,
At my last house I had a beautiful hosta bed. Voles moved in one day and destroyed every one within a few days. I felt awful. I don't want that to happen here; I feel like when voles are around, I don't dare plant anything!
Michelle
ps-tsmith, would that really work? outside, so I wouldn't have to worry about fumes, down tunnels, so I wouldn't have to worry about poisoning anything else. Or would they just dig more tunnels?

I must be going crazy! I could have SWORN you said shrews! Please forgive my brief brain melt down!!!!

It is said that voles are repelled by the same Castor oil treatment that works for moles. I have not used it for voles, but have had much good experience with moles with those products. There are commercially manufactured Castor oil based repellents, or you can make your own.

Personally, I've trapped many a willing vole in a hav-a-hart live trap, baited with whatever they happen to be eating at the time.

my cat catches them on a regular basis, along with chipmunks. i have lost a few things over the years to voles but a female cat seems to be the best answer for my populations. i think hayes told me that jack russel terriers may go after them, too.
living in a rural area, i accept the fact that snakes will also be around to feed on them. in fact, the cat stalks the snakes, too. come to think of it, she is the best vermin police i have!

Any good terrier worth their weight will rid you of voles, squirrels, etc... within a year. I own a few westies and they solved my vole problem in one summer. They still patrol the grounds for the little suckers.

You can also use mouse poison. Again, cap a weighted planter on top. The voles will tunnel up under and eat in the dark. It really works.

Three years ago I had a horrible problem with voles in my hostas. I tried the traps and poison and have not had any voles since.

Deb

I know I'm afflicted - but I think they are adorable. I fish them out of my pool, and let them go in the woods down the road.

I think they are the sweetest things!

(Of coarse, I've also fished rats, mice, moles and even the neighbors goat out of our pool...) I just can't help myself!

Voles Everywhere - Revolt! Revolt I say!

Okay... I feel better. (And "No" - I am NOT affiliated with PETA.)

Meadow Lark

Funny, we have lots of hostas and voles in our yard. I've never noticed any damage from them. My cat kills vast numbers of them every year (as well as a plant or 2). I thought they were insectavores. Cute little guys.

Debbido..what do you mean they will breed themselves out???

Moles like to eat insects, voles, on the other hand like certain plant roots. I know they certainly love my colocasia! Now I just plant the corms, bulbs, or perennials (vulnerable plants) in hardware cloth cages I make. Between that and the many snakes that abound in and around our catfish pond, voles here are no problem like they were at my last place.

Voles go through a population cycle. They have lows and peaks in a cycle of about 3-5 years.

Deb

We have voles too. Had a terrier who liked to hunt voles. Snakes go down the holes and the terrier was bitten by a rattlesnake while digging for a vole, so we had to get serious about getting rid of them before the last terrier was bitten.
We went to the feed store and bought poison peanuts( not really a peanut) and rolled them down the hole and covered it with a rock, think the numbers are down. Hate to kill a small animal but it must be.
Ruth

Hi. I'm a new member and master gardener intern. If any of you use oyster shells to deter moles, could you share with us how to apply it? What I'm doing, which I am NOT sure is right, is digging the hole a little deeper than I need it to end up being, then sprinkling about 2 handsful of crushed oyster shell around the sides and into the bottom of the hole. Then I put a little bit of dirt over the shells and plant the hosta. I'm just in the process of doing this today and wanted to take a break and see if I'm doing it properly. Any experience out there in plant world? I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.