Get Rid Of Voles & Keep Them Out Of Your Yard

This is a pretty good subject for you. Why? Because they’re already in your garden. They eat everything they can. So you really need to know a little bit about what you’re up against. These pests are sometimes referred to as meadow mice or field mice. They can do visible damage with tunnels near the surface, about two inches wide. Thus, if any lawn and garden pest can destroy your grass, it’s the voles. Learn here how to get rid of voles and how to keep them out of your yard.

Best Natural Solutions to Get Rid of Voles

1. Castor Oil

Castor oil is non-toxic and it won’t even hurt the voles. So, this would be an easy one. Just spray the castor oil where you need to. Immediately, the unpleasant smell and taste will repel the voles successfully.

2. Capsaicin

Capsaicin is an oil found in hot peppers. It is available in different types of sprays, specifically for this problem of voles. Due to its hot properties, the capsaicin will keep the voles away.

3. Owls

Owls are proved to be an amazing animal predator for vole control. They will never eat all the voles, but they can certainly decrease their appearance in your yard. The best thing you can do to encourage owls to nest in your yard is to purchase and mount some owl nest boxes.

How to keep voles out of your yard?

1. Change the habitat

You need to change the habitat in your yard. You can do this by clearing away all piles of brush. These make great shelter for voles so don’t encourage it. Also, disposing of any ground cover will get the job done. This could be low bushes, trash, wood piles, or even the spaces underneath small raised sheds. Another change would be avoiding using mulch around trees. This mulch makes good vole cover.

2. Build a fence around the garden

Also, you can take control by putting up a little fence. Because voles dig, you need to bury your fence about a foot down. They won’t climb, so this method is actually worth a try.

3. Fence your trees

Also, you might face the problem of girdling. Girdling from voles is non-uniform and comes from any and all directions. Thus, avoid it by making a fence with your hardware cloth. Ring the trees with this fence and the voles will be girdling no more.

4. Set some vole traps

There are different traps you can use. There are a number of different trap styles you can use. If you want to be a cheap ass about it, just get yourself a bunch of those old school Victor Traps (that’s what I would do). Otherwise, there are a couple of great live traps available. We are all, of course, familiar with Havahart. Great traps. You may also want to look into Sherman Traps (Model SNG). They too are much effective. Whatever you use, place the business end of the traps at 90° angles to vole runways. For vole bait, use either an oatmeal/peanut butter mixture or apple bits. I definitely recommend apple.