Voles & Japanese Forest Grass
Japanese forest grass, or Hakonechloa macra, was named by the Perennial Plant Association as its 2009 Perennial Plant of the Year. While voles are known to enjoy eating grasses, this plant does not appear to be among their favorites. Does this Spark an idea?
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Growing Forest Grass
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According to Dave's Garden, Japanese forest grass grows best in sun to part-shade in USDA zones 5b through 9b. It doesn't require above-average water, or unusual soil conditions, to thrive, although it is slow-growing.
Voles and Grasses
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According to IMustGarden.com, voles create underground burrows, where they can eat plant roots or tubers from beneath the ground. Some voles live under ground all the time, while others may be seen above ground.
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Detecting Voles
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Voles may leave runway-style markings on your lawn if they are burrowing beneath the surface. You may also see small holes in the lawn, with very short grass around them.
Signs of Vole Damage
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Voles eat a variety of plant matter, including roots, bark, stems and seeds. If a vole is eating your Japanese forest grass, it will go after the roots. You may not know the vole has eaten the roots until the plant has died. When you pull it up from the ground, the roots will be gone. Voles may also gnaw on the bark of shrubs or small trees nearby.
Warding off Voles
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Adrian Higgins of the "Washington Post" suggests wrapping the roots of Japanese forest grass with hardware cloth to prevent voles from gaining access to the plants. He also suggests that having cats in the yard may deter voles. Commercial products and household chemicals may claim to deter voles, but their effectiveness is not guaranteed.
Removing Voles
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Pesticides and traps are surefire ways to remove voles that might feed on your Japanese forest grass. Traps are most effective in fall, and trapped voles should be released far from your home in a grassy or wooded area.
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References
- Photo Credit little mouse image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com
