Garden

[CritterKeeper]

Voles obliterated our garden a few years ago. We couldn't figure out what was eating the roots of our plants. Just happen to see one of the little buggers while weeding one day. They dig from underground and eat the root, killing the plant underground.  May be beneficial for bugs but not for my carrots and other roots veggies. Then we had the rabbits eating our chili pepper plants to the ground. It was not a good growing season that summer. :-/

[JustJazzmom]

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@FranandZoe wrote:

There's a product called Milky Spore that kills the grubs that they're after.  If I'm remembering right it works for seven years.  It really worked for us.  Lowes sells it.

By the way we had "holes" in our yard not just mounds of dirt.

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Milky Spore is only effective against Japanese beetle grubs not the other grubs.

Milky Spore is most effective when soil temperatures are constant (warm -- so hardiness zone 8 and up it works best)

[JustJazzmom]

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@goldensrbest wrote:

How to kill them,without harming birds,and other animals?

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You can deter them -- the moles dislike the smell of castor oil. If you can put some into their tunnel runs that might discourage them.

Voles are small rodents that eat vegetation (not grubs). Mousetraps might work. 

[goldensrbest]

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@FranandZoe wrote:

There's a product called Milky Spore that kills the grubs that they're after.  If I'm remembering right it works for seven years.  It really worked for us.  Lowes sells it.

By the way we had "holes" in our yard not just mounds of dirt.

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I put that down last summer.

[FranandZoe]

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@JustJazzmom wrote:

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@FranandZoe wrote:

There's a product called Milky Spore that kills the grubs that they're after.  If I'm remembering right it works for seven years.  It really worked for us.  Lowes sells it.

By the way we had "holes" in our yard not just mounds of dirt.

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Milky Spore is only effective against Japanese beetle grubs not the other grubs.

Milky Spore is most effective when soil temperatures are constant (warm -- so hardiness zone 8 and up it works best)

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I'm in Zone 6.  All I know is it worked for us.  We put it down again after 7 years and not since.  That's been many years ago  

[shellgirl]

Do the discs make noise that you can hear?  A couple of years ago I tried some battery-operated stakes that emitted a beeping sound that was supposed to annoy these pests eough to make them go away, but it drove me crazy when I was working in my garden and had to toss them.  Thanks.

[Venezia]

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@shaggygirl wrote:

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@Venezia wrote:

Moles are very beneficial for aerating the soil and keeping insect pests (grubs and such) under control.  I'd be loath to kill them.  They will leave once they've exhausted the food source (insects) in your lawn.

I understand their tunneling can be a nuisance, but you can simply flatten the mounds out.  I agree with the suggestion of trying to get them to move on, rather than kill them.  They play an important part in the ecosystem.

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@They're also very good for creating sinkholes in your brick patio from their tunneling. Had to pay a stone mason for those repairs. The hole openings in the grass are also quite good for spraining your ankle. 

I had them so bad a couple of years ago that I hired a professional to come set traps. It cost a basic fee for the service which I forget and a set amount for each dead body he took away over a two week period. They caused other headaches as well but I won't get into it all. I hate them. It was worth every penny. I still see their mounds now and again way in the back of my yard but nothing like that one year.

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@shaggygirl- Clearly, your yard was overrun with them.  I remember one morning, we woke up and my DH said "What has happened to my lawn!?"  

Dozens and dozens of holes and small mounds of earth on three sides of the house.  We don't have a brick patio, just lawn.  Filled in all the holes and have never had an issue like that since.  Only the occasional sighting.  Being a country girl, born and bred, I still wouldn't kill them.  Drive them out, if they get too close to the house, yes.  But that's just my choice.

[gardenman]

Cats love voles. They're like the perfect cat toy. They small, fast, shifty and really entertain cats. One advantage to feeding neighborhood strays is they keep the pest population well under control.

[Jtdmum]

@goldensrbest I used moletox.  It's a product from Bonide.  I was very concerned about any chemical where I have dogs and lots of kids come to use my pool/backyard in summer.  It worked great.  Basically you spread it where the moles are not active and it prevents them from moving itnto that area.  Then you go over the area where they are - They moved out post haste!  

[Jtdmum]

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@shaggygirl wrote:

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@Venezia wrote:

Moles are very beneficial for aerating the soil and keeping insect pests (grubs and such) under control.  I'd be loath to kill them.  They will leave once they've exhausted the food source (insects) in your lawn.

I understand their tunneling can be a nuisance, but you can simply flatten the mounds out.  I agree with the suggestion of trying to get them to move on, rather than kill them.  They play an important part in the ecosystem.

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@They're also very good for creating sinkholes in your brick patio from their tunneling. Had to pay a stone mason for those repairs. The hole openings in the grass are also quite good for spraining your ankle. 

I had them so bad a couple of years ago that I hired a professional to come set traps. It cost a basic fee for the service which I forget and a set amount for each dead body he took away over a two week period. They caused other headaches as well but I won't get into it all. I hate them. It was worth every penny. I still see their mounds now and again way in the back of my yard but nothing like that one year.

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@shaggygirl, I had such a bad year last spring/winter I thought I was going to have to dig one side of my yard.  Very destructive and dangerous.