I got rid of a severe infestation of voles and chipmunks that were destroying my garden over some years by finding a guy in the Yellow Pages who dealt with wildlife. I had tried every remedy out there--tho not oyster shells. My heart was broken over all my devoured peonies, baptisias, Siberian and Japanese irises etc etc. They ate the roots.

He came for about two months and set mouse traps and rat traps, baited with all kinds of things. He got a lot of them, knocking down the population to a level that was no longer destructive.

The chipmunks were even nesting in my car heat/A-C system, a common occurrence.

He was diligent and relentless. He checked the many traps often and rebaited them as needed. Now I have him come about twice a year for several weeks each time. It's not cheap but I have my garden back again.

I have some bad news about the crushed oyster shells. Their effect wears off in a few years.

When I first had vole attacks a few years ago, I replanted many existing hostas with crushed oyster shells and got very brave and confident and expanded my hosta addiction. I still always planted with crushed oyster shells, but maybe not as thickly as I originally had.

Well, this year I found some of those original replantings attacked by the voles. I was very sad. I am now replanting hostas in pots in the ground.

fwiw, I get them at a Blue Seal farm supply store. $11 for a 50 lb bag.

also, I am convinced that mulching attracts them. I am doing a lasagna bed now, but there's nothing in it, so if they are attracted to there, that's fine. Let them eat the grass roots! It will keep them out of the perennial beds. THere are shrubs and trees nearby but large plants seem to be safe (so far...)

I found some mouse traps that I might try too. They are from d-con and called "no see no touch" or something like that. That's the only way I can deal with traps! Just uses peanut butter for bait.

I am also having a big chipmunk issue. THey are digging cities right up against the house foundation. I was hoping to create a hardware cloth barrier if I find time.

I don't have a vole or chipmunk problem here, probably because there are so many predators around in this rural area. Between the hawks, foxes, coyotes, cats and dogs, the populations are kept down. When I do see a chipmunk, it's moving very very fast.

I was amazed last winter to see a crow catch and kill a vole under a bird feeder. I actually have photos of the attack but I hesitate to post them. It's one thing to be grateful the voles are controlled, quite another thing to watch the process.

Claire

Whitegarden, I get my crushed oyster shells at a local garden center/feed/farm store. They used to be associated with Agway, but I'm not sure if they are any longer or not.

Wendy, I'm sorry to hear that the oyster shells you used had a limited-time effect. I just re-read the other vole thread that was resurrected, and it seems you had such good luck initially.

But I'm glad you posted. I have to admit that I did absolutely nothing this year with regard to vole prevention, and luckily I had no damage that I could see. (I did see a new area of infestation, near a small stone wall, but the few plants that are there were not damaged.) Well, I did plant any new perennials with the shells, but that is pretty routine for me now.

But because you posted your latest experience, I'll nip my complacency in the bud and get back to a regimen of some sort. I'll probably throw down some oyster shells before I mulch (in late December or later/colder - if at all) and I'll stock up on some MoleMax for the spring.

I know no matter how much damage they do, I can't bring myself to trap them. I can't deal with that, wimp that I am. Ginny, sounds like you found a good solution. Too bad I can't afford that otherwise I would gladly pay a pro to come in and handle it - I guess I'm lucky that my infestation isn't as bad as yours seemed to be. Sounds like you lucked out, too, in finding a person who was consistent in keeping after them. That's half the battle!

Now this year I seem to have a deer problem for the first time. Sigh.

:)
Dee

Dee, I guess the 4 year oyster shell protection shows that the dang critters were never far away. They must have been lurking and populating somewhere close by. Yes complacency is dangerous. Last fall I was very complacent and mulched a bed late in the season after major dividing and moving stuff around. Over the winter, I lost a ton of plants in that bed. Prior to that it was only hosta.

for deer, try Deervik: Deervik

I have only a rare deer visitor, but a friend of mine has deer really bad. She swears by this stuff. I put it around once or twice a year as a preventative.

Thanks for responding. I will have to find an Agway nearby. I can't believe how bad my problem has become. I think I was especially lazy this year with monitoring and acting quickly. It was a tough year in general. I might resort to a wildlife specialist if I can find one.

Thanks to you all again!

Glad to see this thread, as I am wondering about voles at the moment. I thought I saw something that looked like one scooting through the leaves. I have not at this point seen anything else, or any damage, but I do like to mulch a lot and have read recently that is a welcome mat for them. I did read that I should wait until the ground is frozen to put mulch down. Has anyone tried that? Can someone tell me how they monitor for moles so I can stay on top of it before I do have a problem? Also, I wonder if there are certain environments that attract them, like if you live near woods or meadows? We are in a pretty urban area with small lots surrounding us with nothing but grass and very few gardens.

pm2

I have plenty of predators here--foxes, coyotes, fishers, hawks. Unfortunately, some of them eat cats and small dogs so you cannot in good conscience let them out anymore. I have to trap the voles and chipmunks. And the flying squirrels in the attic, now mercifully gone.

Deer. Did you say deer? I can't put into words how I feel about deer. I would be banned for life, or sent permanently to Disney as in the good old days with the legendary Spike.

I can't fence my whole property but have had good luck with a spray called Invisible Fence. It has to be renewed every few months or else.

I have even had a moose twice. The damage was monumental. And only 30 minutes from Boston. Can't believe it.

That's odd that ginny12 has lots of predators, and still has many voles and chipmunks, etc., while I have lots of predators and few small critters. Maybe something else is at work here?

Claire (thinking about the damage a moose could do...)

I just glanced up from my computer and glimpsed one of my neighborhood predators, come to collect payment for his patrolling the property.

Could Roscoe be the answer to the diminished vole population? I gave him his treat just in case.

Claire

I finished the clean-up and lost about 6 sedums, three huge phlox, four echinacea, a couple of day lilies and one huge alchemilla. Some damage to lamb's ear and creeping phlox, but that should all come back.

For me the deer hit in one instance this year and then didn't return. I used that spray stuff they sell by the gallon at Home Depot and refreshed my sachets of human hair, but I wouldn't completely credit those solutions. It could just be that they were passing through.

My Molemax is due to be delivered tomorrow so I will treat immediately tomorrow, them again in two weeks and report back. I hope it works!

Thanks for everyone else's critter stories. It is nice to know that I am not alone. I was feeling very dejected.
WG

PM2, I do wait to mulch each year, until the ground is frozen or close to it. And now I usually broadcast the oyster shells under the mulch too. Not very pleasant to be out there throwing down shredded leaves when it's that cold, but what can you do? Supposedly, if you mulch earlier, it's just laying out the welcome mat to a nice, cosy Vole Hotel! I guess the theory is that once the ground has frozen, the critters have already found quarters other than your garden bed in which to winter.

As far as environment, rock seems to be a recurring theme. I know that the bed in which I have the most vole problems has several large rocks (unmoveable, they are so large) and the voles seem to like to travel underground along these rocks. And as I mentioned earlier, I found new vole damage near a stone wall. The rocky bed is near the edge of the woods; the stone wall is 8 inches away from a busy road. Go figure.

Thanks for the ideas on the deer repellents. I've heard the key is to mix them up, because the deer get used to them. There is a nearby farm (with woodland) that was just sold and that is being developed (boo hoo) and I think that is why I have a sudden deer problem. I'm hoping it is not a lasting situation, although I have been incredibly lucky in my area NOT to have had a deer problem sooner. I know people in the area who have paid to have deer fencing installed, the problem is so bad - on a regular basis, for them. I've not had that problem in the 12 or so years I've been here.

WG, you are definitely not alone! It's hard not to get discouraged, but I think that gardening spirit of "there's always next year" is in us all, and wins out! Are those plants you lost recent losses? I ask because most of my vole damage is in spring, and then it (or them!) seems to disappear until the following spring. Perhaps I've got seasonal voles, lol. They must summer elsewhere, and then winter in my garden!

Claire, looks like you've got yourself a good helper!

:)
Dee

Hi digger, yes that was the inventory from yesterday and I will add one rose bush to it. The costs are just stacking up. Autumn is supposed to be an active time for them as well as Spring so don't let your guard down!

How pathetic is it that I am anxiously awaiting my Molemax delivery today? :(

Ah yes, big boulders for sure!!! My first and worst attack was around a garden with a 4' accent boulder.

Even stone stepping stones may be attractants. Have you ever picked up a flat stone laid directly on dirt and noticed a small maze of runs? that's them.

They have definitely been in other non-stone areas and there are other stone-areas they have not attacked, but definitely stone is a big part of it.

My problem too is in the area of the garden by stone walls. They are critter condominiums. But they are such a beautiful part of our New England landscape that I would never remove them--even if I could.

It took my husband several years to build the stone walls and paths and now they are growing the lichens and mosses that make them so wonderful and old-looking. But they are definitely a haven for all kinds of little pesky critters.

It is well worth noting that I don't have this problem except near stone walls and paths. The rest of my garden seems untouched.

I strongly second (or is it third?) the stone hypothesis and meant to do so in my last post. My worst problem is in a garden bounded by a dry stacked stone wall and I had the other garden under control until they moved into the stone terrace at one end of the garden. I would advise anyone building a stone wall to put in a layer of fine wire between stones and soil everywhere they can.

WG

Hi WG, so sorry to hear about your vole problem yet again this year. Hope that mole product works.

Claire love that picture of Roscoe! Go Roscoe!

I know that outdoor cats are a volatile issue for some, but I have a small female that has limited outdoor privileges 1) because she's a smart cat and knows how to avoid the hazards of the outdoors 2) she doesn't wander much beyond the boundaries of the property and 3) most importantly because she is my rodent control! She is probably the reason that I have never had vole problems. Sorry if this picture grosses anyone out! ;) (I will remove if it's offensive.)

Vole Control -

{{gwi:360801}}

terrene: Your great photo of your exterminator tabby startled me - I also have a tabby, very similar looking, although a fenced in deck is her only experience of the outdoors. Too many coyotes here.

I'm interested in the theory of stone walls as the epicenter of vole invasions. I also have stone walls, but I've often seen snakes near them. Maybe snakes are my environmental control.

Claire

Perhaps my two control methods might be helpful, especially for those with stone walls. They have been dreamed up and well tested by this gardener frustrated by moles/voles.

1. Buy a very cheap watering can. Put 3 tablespoons of castor oil in it and fill with water to the top. Stir with a stick. Pour this mix in a light stream along walls and stone work. When you spot a tunnel, open it up with a trowel and pour about 2 tablespoons of the mix into the tunnel and seal it up again. Moles/voles hate castor oil. They seem to locate newly installed plants quickly. When I plant I water each in and then add about 3 tablespoons of the castor oil mix to the surface. Does not hurt the plants at all. Two weeks later I again give each plant another castor oil watering. I also water lightly whatever the critters seem to be chewing on. If you have a serious problem you will want to order a quart of castor oil from your drug store. Not inexpensive but cheaper than replacing plants.

2. This second method is unusual but works. For this you need the thick, gooey Tree Tanglefoot Pest Barrier. Some nurseries carry it or go on-line to www.tanglefoot.com. to order. Again, not inexpensive. Wearing rubber gloves because it is impossible to remove this stuff from your hands, dunk a tongue depressor in it so you have a nice glob on both sides of one end. Cut the tongue depressor in half. Now, open up an active tunnel just enough to slide the depressor in and then cover again. As the mole/vole scampers through the tunnel its face will hit the gooey stick, covering it. This will make it difficult for the mole to eat and it will starve. I have found that a few minutes spent placing these treated sticks about 25' apart on active runs when noticed has quickly ended my problems.

Those molemax,molemed granular repellents are based in castor oil and I think they kinda-sorta worked a little, but they were expensive and I have a large yard. But the watered down version sounds more effective and probably better price overall. Does it smell?

The #2 starving version sounds gross, but makes sense. I would worry that my dog might find them and get the gunk on her.

A lot of the holes I see are chipmunk holes. I have a hard time figuring out whose holes and tunnels belong to whom.

The MoleMax is castor oil based and I like the idea of the castor oil solution as a back-up. I wouldn't do the sticky stick thing. I REALLY hate my voles, but don't think I could be that mean. I prefer to just repel them or put them to a quick, merciful death. Starving just seems unnecessarily cruel. I couldn't do it.

We have two beautiful stone walls my husband built over the last two years, and I saw a chipmunk scampering over one today. I had a bad feeling. While I'm reading this I have this urge to close my eyes, block my ears, and cross my fingers while whispering, "not me, not my garden, not now!" Funny how primitive our reactions can be.

I have lots of chipmunks, but either they don't do a lot of damage, or I just don't know how to recognize chipmunk damage, lol.

Actually, I had one that was always sitting on the front steps eating acorns. One day I startled it and instead of running away, it ran *toward* the front door, where I was standing... and disappeared into the wall next to the door! Not good. Luckily for me, it seemed to move out on it's own.

Nandina, the liquid castor oil is a good idea - one of those "Duh! Why didn't I think of that?" ideas! I mean, I do all this research on castor-oil-based products, but why didn't I just think of using actual castor oil? I think I'll give it a try.

Thanks!
:)
Dee

Well the MoleMax arrived and I put it down today just in time for the rain. I will report back.

BTW, I bought the MoleMax in 10lb bags from Ace Hardware Outlet online and it was pretty well discounted.

Also, the Lancaster Agway has oyster shells in 5lb bags for 9.99.

To answer a question asked above...no, castor oil does not have any fragrance. BTW, the reason I suggested buying a cheap watering can for castor oil treatments is that it will become black and slimy. You probably will want to save it for just this one purpose, although nothing will be hurt if you do use it for regular watering.