Voles are rodents often known as country rats and are quite annoying if they decide to take up residence in your garden, yard or even inside your home. They reproduce quickly and can grow to the point of causing a real infestation if you don't deal with them appropriately. The best way to wipe out the colony is to make sure it is indeed these animals, make the environment less attractive to their habits, use traps or other deterrents.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Get Rid of Voles in the Yard, Garden and Lawn
Step 1. Keep the grass well cut
Grassy areas and under bushes are ideal environments where these creatures can create hidden paths. Eliminate any weeds and tall grass that could make for excellent shelters for voles. Be sure to throw away the grass and leaves once you've cleared out the yard, as piles of plant material are perfect for these rodents, as are piles of wood and debris.
Try to figure out what could be suitable as a hiding place for voles and eliminate any elements that could cause them to settle in your garden
Step 2. Pay special attention to fallen fruit from trees, pine needles, and mulch
Voles feed on dried fruit, almost all fruit and tree needles. They especially like apples, so be sure to properly eliminate all falling fruit and rake pine needles from the ground. Additionally, you should also avoid mulching within a 90cm or less radius of the tree base.
Keep all food sources away to discourage these rodents from settling in your yard
Step 3. Try moving the soil in your yard or garden
At the very least, you will be able to destroy the tunnels created by the voles, but you may also be able to get rid of them completely by suffocating them inside the collapsed holes thanks to plant residues and fertilizers or you may be able to permanently injure them.
Use a shovel or spade to loosen the soil. Define strips in the garden and lift the sod slightly to turn the earth and fill the holes with the soil from the strip next to it. This way, you should be able to discourage rodents from burrowing. The soil should be loosened in spring and autumn
Step 4. Bury some sharp material in the tunnels
The presence of these objects makes the tunnels inhospitable. Prepare a mixture of 90% soil and 10% coarse gravel. You can also add other products, such as drainage substrates. Use a shovel and a hoe to open the burrows and insert the material, then, plow the soil.
Step 5. Add barriers near the trees or the gate leading to the garden
Do not wrap the plants, but use a wire mesh with 6 mm or finer mesh to fence the trunks. This barrier should penetrate the ground for at least 30 cm and protrude from the surface for 45 cm (in hot climates). In colder regions, on the other hand, make sure that the barrier is as high as the blanket of snow that usually falls in winter. Eliminate any weeds and shrubs before installing the netting to protect your yard, garden or lawn.
- When installing a fence guard, follow the same criteria as you installed the tree barrier, choosing a wire mesh and burying it at least 30 cm. The portion above the ground should be at least 45 cm high in hot climates or as high as snow that settles in cold regions.
- This system is quite laborious and time-consuming, especially if you need to protect a garden with an extended perimeter. When the property is very large, this may be an impractical technique; therefore, you should ask your local garden center for more information to find the best solution in relation to your budget and commitments.
- Voles continue to proliferate even in cold winters, using the snow cover as a protection. Eliminate what accumulates near trees for at least a 90cm radius, as well as creating a barrier to keep these animals at bay.
- The wire mesh is available in hardware stores.
Method 2 of 3: Using Traps and Poisons
Step 1. Set up a trap
Verify that it is legal to kill or release voles in other areas of your territory, as municipal ordinances may prohibit this. Set the trap in the season when these animals breed. You can choose different lethal models, depending on your budget. Lay it down so that it is perpendicular to the tunnel or near the entrance. Check it daily to get rid of all captured and dead voles.
- Snap traps for mice are the cheapest solution you can use.
- Set up traps in late fall or early spring when voles breed the most.
- You can choose disposable or reusable models if you feel you can handle the dead animal and its carcass. Do not leave dead voles in traps, otherwise other pests and live voles themselves will feed on them. Furthermore, they could attract far more dangerous animals.
- Protect children and pets from traps by covering them with a box. This way, you can also hide them from other voles. If after a few days you don't notice any activity near the traps, change your location by choosing other tunnels.
- You can use apple, oats, or peanut butter as bait, as they are very effective.
Step 2. Set up a trap to catch live voles
If it is illegal in your municipality to kill these rodents, you can catch them with a non-lethal trap. Do some research online to find the model that best suits your needs. Remember that, later on, you will have to free these country mice away from your home and that of others, so choose a suitable area, which is at least 800 m from the inhabited center.
Non-lethal traps are difficult to use when dealing with a large colony of voles, as they require a greater investment and a lot of work. You will need at least 12-50 items, depending on the extent of your property
Step 3. Choose the right poison
Know that not all substances are effective and most of them are dangerous to your own health. Poisons are a threat to children, pets and could even contaminate the water system in your home. You can use them in early autumn or late winter, as there is a greater shortage of food during this time and voles are less "picky". Always observe the safety precautions on the product packaging.
- The safest and most effective method is to place poisonous warfarin baits, which are available at garden stores. It is a slow-acting anticoagulant substance. For this reason, it reaches its maximum effect on voles after 5 days and you have to rotate the traps every week or place two at a time every few days.
- Follow the safety instructions, so as not to poison other animals with the poison. Use containers to store the bait in or place them directly in the opening of a tunnel. You can also make a box with an open end in which to place the traps.
- Always touch voles with gloves, regardless of whether they are alive or dead. These rodents could carry diseases, such as plague and tularemia.
Method 3 of 3: Eliminate Voles from the House
Step 1. Use ultrasonic repellent devices
Do some research and read reviews of the specific product you would like to purchase before proceeding. These instruments emit ultrasonic waves that keep voles and other pests away from the home. Just plug them into an electrical outlet. They are available in home improvement, gardening and hardware stores.
Step 2. Set up snap or non-lethal traps
Look for rodent droppings to figure out which routes they use. Place the traps along these paths or near the access points used by the animals to enter the house. Remember to protect children and pets from these devices. You must use non-lethal ones if your council prohibits the killing of voles.
Remember to immediately dispose of any rodents, live or dead, that you find in traps. Cyclically change the position of the devices every few days, because these animals are particularly cunning. You can use pieces of apple, oat, or peanut butter as bait
Step 3. Poison the voles with special traps
Generally, the use of poisons inside homes is not recommended, due to the presence of pets and small children. Always read the instructions on the labels and obey the safety regulations. You can buy poisonous traps at hardware stores or garden stores. You can use bites of apple, oat, or peanut butter as bait to mask the flavor of the poison.
You can also hire an exterminator to deal with poisonous traps, but make sure he is qualified and his fee is within your budget
Step 4. Let the cat chase the voles
Allowing the pet cat to go to the garden is the best and most environmentally friendly solution to tackle the problem. Cats are natural predators of rodents, but keep in mind that they could bring their victim back to you both alive and dead.
Advice
Voles are smart enough to understand that a bait trap is killing their mates. For this reason, you must avoid their circumspection, often changing the method or brands of the various products
Warnings
- Voles don't often venture to the surface, so make sure it's this rodent and not a mouse.
- Take every precaution and follow the instructions on the package when you decide to use a poison.
- Remove any dead or living animals from traps as soon as you find them.
