| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| iamacountrygirl |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 09:47:24 AM
If you don't know what they are, they're like moles, but smaller, and they burrow right along the ground, pushing the grass aside, disturbing bushes and flowers and tree roots. This winter they must have multiplied like rabbits - OMG - those little trails are everywhere in my yard! there's been so much rain here this spring, I have to mow thru water puddles still and I think they eat slugs or worms or something, anyway they are driving me mad. Any ideas? They don't respond to mouse bait. The neighbor's cats are in my yard every day, but obviously they don't kill them. Maybe they don't taste good? (haha) I'm thinking of buying a couple of those stakes you put in the ground that emit a sonic pulse to scare them away...or put some strong pepper around my bushes and flowers...but that will only last until the next rain, which is all the time lately...does anyone know what will work?
Thanks!
Kathy
www.madebyacountrygirl.etsy.com |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| herblady55 |
Posted - May 15 2011 : 4:36:56 PM
We used the Milk-spore to get rid of Japaneese beetles. It works great!....ooops, didn't mean to print twice...sorry....puter troubles! lol
Sister-chick# 905(Sept.14th 2009)
Judy
French-Hugs&Squeezles!
I am not contained between my hat and my boots! -Walt Whitman-
"Why couldn't I have been born Rich instead of So Good Looking?" |
| herblady55 |
Posted - May 15 2011 : 4:33:50 PM
We used Milky-spore because we had jap-beetles and that kills the eggs & grubs in the ground and they don't hatch into beetles. It worked AMAZINGLY!!! It doesn't work the year you put it on but every year after that. Dunno how often we'll have to apply it, but it's worth it! Good luck!
Sister-chick# 905(Sept.14th 2009)
Judy
French-Hugs&Squeezles!
I am not contained between my hat and my boots! -Walt Whitman-
"Why couldn't I have been born Rich instead of So Good Looking?" |
| KD Earthwork |
Posted - May 14 2011 : 8:28:06 PM
No, Fish emulsion has not worked as well. If you have a garden supply or you could probably order by mail.
I always wanted to try some sort of birth control thru the water system... no killing just gradually diminishing population.
Katie
http://www.rosemancreekranch.com |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 9:29:45 PM
Katie - I haven't seen fish meal before, but I do have a bottle of fish emulsion out in the garage... do you think that would work? That actually sounds pretty good to me - fertilizing and vole removal at the same time! I'm ready to give it a go! :) Thank you!!! - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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| KD Earthwork |
Posted - May 13 2011 : 8:52:02 PM
We have used Fish Meal around all the plants or where water will wash the smell of it to the plant ( under irrigation emitters . It has worked for us for exactly one month, then you have to reapply. We tend to have the most problems October through March, when there is the most rain in California ? We have also used a mild acid in a fertilizer injector system and both of these methods have worked for limited periods of time. They seem to have a sensitive nose/pallet and stay away.
The only disadvantage with the fish meal is that sometimes it attracts other critters. Here, dogs and raccoons really go for it and can make a mess.I think it helps to get water on it as soon as possible It is also a great fertilizer , but you smell rather horrible for the rest of the day after applying it.
Good luck ! Katie
http://www.rosemancreekranch.com |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 10 2011 : 8:09:41 PM
I've never heard of that before, Cindy... I'll look for it. The only thing is, voles are vegan whereas moles are carnivores. The voles won't eat the grubs... but the moles will, definitely, so I'm going to see what I can find! Thank you!!! - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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| prariehawk |
Posted - May 10 2011 : 7:17:32 PM
Isn't there a type of powder you can put on your lawn and when it is absorbed into the ground, the grubs eat it and it kills them, and keeps on killing them, so that eventually there's no food supply left for the voles so they go elsewhere? i can't think of what it's called--no, wait! It's called Milky Spore! I've used it before with moles but it should work with these critters as well. It doesn't harm the environment either. It takes longer to work than some methods but the results are long lasting.
cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead O'Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| grace gerber |
Posted - May 10 2011 : 06:52:10 AM
Cats are the fastest way to attract coyotes and such onto your farm. The are favorite targets and so I would be trading one problem for another. At the beginning we tried a couple of barn cats but the large owls soon made short work of them. If it isn't one thing it is another...
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| iamacountrygirl |
Posted - May 10 2011 : 06:27:41 AM
so glad I'm not alone in this fight!
I had a cat in my little horse barn that killed a few, but he moved on. A couple years ago I had corn snakes in my barn and yard (ewwwww! I hate snakes!) - and then all the voles were gone, but the snakes moved on (thank goodness!) and the voles have come back in record numbers - I'm thinking the neighbors are doing something that's sending them my way. I don't have the funds to spray my yard all the time, nor do I want to.
I'll check out that site Ninibini - and let's see what we can do about this...
will keep you informed
Kathy
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| Ninibini |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 8:57:07 PM
<<<CHILLS>>> SO glad you're outta there, Winona!!!
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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| goneriding |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 7:42:14 PM
I asked hubs what would work on voles and he said a 12 guage shotgun.
Actually, 2 yrs ago we were overran with voles and mice. The whole valley was too. They even got btween my bedsheets! I'd clean my counters with bleach water and the next morn, it was like I'd never cleaned.
Matter of fact, after we moved, the house was condemned for a while till the owner "cleaned up".
Our mini doxies chased and killed till they were sick of them. Hubs put out mouse traps and from Sept to Dec, he caught 346 of the varmints.
Some of our neighbors ran gas down their holes and lit them off. That wigged me.
Most of the ranches will let you sit out and practice target practice. Doesn't matter, it doesn't diminsh the numbers.
Well, good luck at any rate.
For some 'venting'-type of entertainment, please read my blog, http://lostadventuresintrucking.blogspot.com . Now with pictures!!
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| Ninibini |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 6:09:19 PM
Oh, you know what, Grace, I'm sorry: I did see that you said that about the windmill - thank you for saving me some coins! Isn't that interesting how the bear and mountain lions don't kill on your property. That is pretty great, I think. 'Sounds like all the wildlife appreciate your "sanctuary." :) I had read that cats and voles are arch enemies, with the cats usually coming out on top. I have a serious allergy to cats, but I'm wondering if you have tried that, and whether it works? So frustrating, isn't it? - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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| grace gerber |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 1:44:10 PM
I tried the pine needle, moth balls and also the flooding thing too. No luck. I have two new companies who have been going farm to farm sending down gas to kill them so I understand they are running for their lives but I can not be the haven for all those who are being threathen by other humans. I have a large herd of deer and also elk who now live with me because I am the only farm who will not allow shooting. I have coyotoes I deal with by peeing on the fence lines and running llama's and great pry's. I have bear and mountain lines who cross this farm but have not killed here (killed everywhere around us) but I must admit this is the first animal I have thought of killing.
We have rattle snakes and bull snakes but our numbers of voles do not go down. I had even trained one of my American Eskimo Dogs to dig and grab them but she now lives with my son in town. I will warn you the windmill sound thing did not work and is very expensive..
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| Ninibini |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 12:26:17 PM
Corrine, I know what you mean... Even as I typed that I winced, believe me. I don't like it when our dog brings us dead "presents" and I don't relish the idea of killing animals, either. When we were young, one apartment we lived in had a rat - it was a HUGE rat. We were the only house in a little alcove of small industrial buildings alongside the water. Our landlord decided to resolve the issue by paying the pest control company to set poison that did exactly the same thing that the grits will do to the voles. We were warned at the time that the worst case scenario would be that the rat would die in the wall... NOPE. Instead, the rat was lying half-dead in our livingroom one morning. It was horrifying, to say the least. So, no, I don't relish that idea at all - I just know that it IS going to be effective.
Having said that, though, Grace brings up an EXCELLENT point. Last year, my neighbor warned me about two or three weeks after the fact that she had set poison out for the moles/voles and that I needed to be careful about my dog catching them. I about had a heart attack and worried terribly for our girl's sake. She went on to explain that the moles/voles had probably come our way as a result of other neighbors who had been setting traps for them. Since we had "goods" in our yards, they were favoring our gardens. She said her daughter and her friends could hear and see them moving out in the backyard at night, and were extremely upset and disturbed by what they were experiencing. We had a much bigger problem than we suspected. I tried lots of different things, including the mothballs, the pine needles, traps, flooding the holes, etc., but they kept coming. I didn't want to poison for MANY reasons, not only because it would endanger our dog, believe me. I promise you, I will try the little windmills and the snake poo before harming them like that with the grits. But if those options don't work, and if we encounter such a serious problem this year, I may try it unless someone else can offer an even better alternative. Let's just hope the snake manure works - that sounds like it might make the most sense, to be honest - I'm thinking it might dissuade the rabbits from dining with us, too! :)
Hang in there girls - there has to be an effective, humane way to resolve the situation!
Hugs,
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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| Annika |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 12:15:27 PM
I'm having the same problem, but don't have a solution either. There are hundreds of these golf-ball sized holes in the ground and ugly tunnels through the grass every where! It's driving me nuts!
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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| grace gerber |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 11:23:22 AM
Connie I do not like killing things either but they have been a pain in my side the 15 years and the last three their numbers are getting out of control around a 10 mile circle of me. The problem is others are driving them to those of us who do not spray the crap out of our land... I have even had one of my son's bit and they will bit the smaller goat kids and even the chickens. Not to mention twisting my ankles every time I step foot out of my house. So I figure if you can not behave and live without attacking then you are fair game.
I had not read this sight but will and since the grits will not harm my organic farm or the animals who call this home well it is a workable way of dealing with them. Trust me I have trying other ways - such as windmill things that you stick in the ground and the sounds is to drive them away - did nothing but cost me a huge outlay. Then there was the herbal sacks dropped into their holes - which again did nothing but again cost me money I did not have. We even did the cover their holes with large rocks - imagine on 35 acres how much time that took and all it did was place rocks where I did not want them. So I feel I have been kind, patient and now want them to move on - either to other grounds or to the after life...
I will be following this thread with great intrest and if you have any ideas that does not require their deaths I am always willing to listen.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| BarefootGoatGirl |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 10:54:59 AM
Please, please, don't go for the grits...that sounds so aweful! I know that they are a nusance, but I hate killing anything if it's unavoidable.
www.barefootfashion.wordpress.com
http://www.corrinemackrell.carbonmade.com |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 09 2011 : 10:25:21 AM
Yes! I do! I do! And I hate the little buggers, Kathy! As a matter of fact, I just went online last night to search for a solution. I think this website was very, very helpful: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/organic/msg0514473626890.html. Among my favorite suggestions were using snake manure as a deterrent (my son's friend has a snake - we'll see!), and grits (the voles eat them and then they swell and burst their stomachs). I am eager to find the "perfect" solution, because last year, they ate almost all of my potatoes! I also didn't know that they are lovers of straw, which just happens to be my mulch of choice. I just laid down a whole bunch of it yesterday - go figure. Oh, well, we'll figure it out! Let me know what you think of the suggestions on that site, though, okay? Good luck! - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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