How to Rid Voles From Flower Beds

Voles resemble mice, but they have shorter tails.

Voles are small, mouse-like rodents that feed on plant material. Unlike moles, which feed on the insects under the flower bed, voles commonly consume flower bulbs or the roots of perennial flowers. A large community of voles can destroy a flower bed. Trapping and exclusion are the most effective methods of eliminating an infestation of voles.

Things You'll Need

• Vole traps
• Peanut butter
• Garbage bags
• Shovel
• Chicken wire
• Coarse gravel
• Commercial vole repellent

Instructions

1. Bait vole traps with peanut butter or apple slices. Set the traps at a right angle to the vole's runs. For a home garden, set at least 12 traps throughout the area around the garden.

2. Check the traps daily. If you are using live traps, transport the voles to a location at least a half-mile from your property and release them. If using traps that kill voles, remove dead voles from the traps as soon as you find them and place them in a garbage bag. Rebait the traps. Continue the daily upkeep of the traps until you no longer catch voles in the traps.

3. Insert a shovel into the vole's runs to collapse them after you are no longer catching voles in the traps. This may discourage new voles from using the runs.

4. Dig a trench 6 inches deep and 3 inches wide around your flower bed. Line the trench with chicken wire so that it extends 6 inches underground and at least 1 foot above ground around the flower bed.

5. Fill the trench completely with coarse gravel. The gravel and chicken wire will prevent the voles from tunneling into the flower bed. The gravel will hold the chicken wire in place.

6. Spray your existing flowers with a vole repellent. Follow the package directions for application and repeat the application after heavy rains.

References

• GreenView: Voles and Moles in the Lawn
• University of California: Voles