I've got voles!

[biankat]

Not moles, but voles. Anyone else have this problem? I’d prefer a humane way to rid of them, but will do what needs to be done. Any words of wisdom from other vole-affected peeps?

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[jwws]

Hi biankat,

Try this link as a starting point. Good luck, sounds like Carl Haissen may have visited your yard! ;-)

http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/tree012/tree012.htm

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[biankat]

Thanks :) I appreciate your link, jwws. Wish me luck!

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[shed22]

I think I may have voles, too. Not really sure how to tell the difference between a mole and a vole by only the earth mounds they leave behind, but I’m guessing a vole.

This is not my first experience. The last (and only) time this happened to me, I asked a neighbor friend what to do. He said, “nothing”. So I did nothing and it was gone by late fall/early winter.

That was about 3 years ago. I now have the same problem. Ugly mounds around the home, as with a few neighboring houses.

I still feel inclined to do nothing with the anticipation that nature will run its course and these little buggers will be gone in a few months.

I do wonder where they go when their gone. Anyone know the migration patterns of voles in West Seattle? I don’t have a garden to be proud of, so it doesn’t bother me. Does my doing nothing affect neighboring homes, who do have gardens to be proud of?

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[Genesee Hill]

Moles, and/or voles. I learned this summer they are far smarter than me. Of course, that is not saying much. I set a trap and they avoid the area, until I move the trap. I think they eventually move on after your yard looks like Omaha Beach the day after D-Day.

I also think they invest in Amazon.com. That is where I have spent a bundle on mole traps….

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[shed22]

Yes, Genesee Hill, but to where? Perhaps you need vole traps. Any moleologists or voleologists in the hood? If so, educate us.

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[Genesee Hill]

shedd22,

They move, like many of us, to greener pastures. To the land of milk, honey, and perhaps more importantly, worms. Moles, that is. I understand that voles will eat roots. Moles don’t. I thank goodness that I have moles. They bypass the roots of my plants.

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[shed22]

Still waiting for my greener pasture, GH. I hope these little critters find theirs.

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[hammerhead]

It is grass people just grass. It always greener some where else.

They are doing what they do, piss you off:)(and live of course)

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[shed22]

True, HH. Still trying to understand these little visitors. What is their “cycle”? Where do they go? I would invite them stay, but I don’t supply the best environment for any underground animal to live happily. Except, perhaps, rats. Those little shits are all over the place.

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[Genesee Hill]

The rats I can catch. The moles snicker in their underground home at me. I don’t blame them. They know a dork when they see one.

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[Genesee Hill]

Or, in the case of moles, smell a dork…

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[biankat]

Ultimately I ended up having both moles AND voles this year. Voles (field mice) made little tunnels in my raised beds – no mound of dirt at the entrances…just nice holes. The moles are the culprits for the mounds. I tried to trapping the voles, but they’re too smart for me I guess. I actually watched a couple scurry around the yard a few times. They drove my pups crazy with their scnet trail. Eventually they went away. The moles I noticed started making their appearance when I began watering a lot. They apparently like the worms and stuff that come out for the watering. I didn’t bother trying to do anything about them. I just picked up the dirt from the mounds they created and kept on with my normal gardening business. They’ve eventually moved along too.

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