How to Keep Away Voles & Squirrels
Among the rodents you are most likely to encounter in your garden are voles and squirrels, and both can be destructive. Voles sometimes gnaw away at plant roots and squirrels have a habit of taking birdseed, gnawing garden plants and occasionally digging holes in lawns or flowerbeds. Deterring voles and squirrels is the best way to deal with them. Try physically stopping the animals from eating or gnawing items you would rather they didn't. Controlling them with traps, live or otherwise, may be subject to restrictions in your area and is rarely effective. Remove one squirrel and another will move in. Voles multiply as rapidly as mice. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Squirrel proof bird feeders
- Wire netting
- Carnivore dung
- Peppermint essential oil
- Jalapeno peppers
- Hardware cloth
Instructions
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Determine where the voles and squirrels are causing problems before taking action. For example, dealing with digging squirrels requires a different approach to dealing with squirrels taking birdseed.
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Replace bird feeders with squirrel-proof bird feeders and avoid putting out food on bird tables or the ground. Accessible food not only attracts squirrels, it attracts other rodents such as rats.
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Wrap bulbs and the roots of new plants loosely in fine wire netting before planting. Their roots can grow through the netting but voles can't get access.
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Encourage natural predators to keep vole populations under control. Turning off outside lights at night encourages owls and a loose stack of scrap wood provides a habitat for weasels and other small carnivores.
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Place natural rodent repellents such as carnivore dung, available from zoos, used kitty litter, jalapeno peppers or cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil, strategically in vole tunnels and near vulnerable plants.
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Wrap the trunks of trees in hardware cloth to stop both squirrels and voles gnawing them.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
