Moles, Voles and Holes

Here is what I have learned over the last couple years battling these beasts.

It starts with Moles. They aren't really garden pests per say. That is, they don't eat produce. They just like earthworms, but they make great paths for voles (field mice) to find your produce. That's the problem really, the paths leading to your boxes. Mel's mix seems to be great for making their underground tunnels. From underneath, they eat roots and pull plants down into their burrows. Here's a view from the top...



I have found that there are some voles that are reading Mel's recommendations on spacing head lettuce four to a square. Five doesn't work for them. Once again, I should listen to Mel...




Other voles are into eating their spinach. They must be reading Popeye comic books under my garden.



I must add that last year, they ate half my potato crop. I dug them very early, and every other one had chew marks on it.

I am in the process of digging up beds and and re-building with 1/2" hardware cloth (wire mesh) as the bottom of boxes. If there's a chance voles are in your area, a 4' x 25' roll is 50 bucks at Home Depot. If you have mole paths near your boxes, mash them down with a truck or stomp them flat. I am putting many sticks of Juicy Fruit gum into their holes (it seems to stop up their digestion).

see also:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t2534-name-this-vermin
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t5998-vole-warning-tomato-destruction-overnight

Squat, Thanks for that informative and funny post with great descriptive photos.

Sorry you have had so many problems, but having to dig up all your beds and install hardware cloth, that is awful.

I would not have your wonderful disposition or sense of humor if it were my garden. Kudos to you and good luck with the juicy fruit! I know Ander swears it works. One thing I remember her saying was do not touch it with your hands.

For what it's worth, your avatar is perfect for this thread! I'm sure it's by design from the Cinderalla Story Out of Nowhere!!

Hope you get 'em.

Just so you know, this is what a vole looks like... This one was fattened up with potatoes for a few months. Although he looks alive, I had just released him from the snap trap. I have never seen one alive




apologies for the double post,

Excellent post!

I have a belated update. I dug out a 24 x 4 bed and replaced it with boxes and wire bottoms (hardware cloth).
I threw a couple hundred sticks of juicy fruit gum in the various holes.
Here's a construction photo...

At this point last year, I pulled all my potatoes out and they were half eaten.
see old post: https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t2534-name-this-vermin
It's been a couple of months, but I haven't seen any new holes or damage.
Potatoes are looking great. I would not have been able to grow these without the
wire bottom.

The cost of the hardware cloth is definately worth it. I have found numerous holes around the garden, and they ate hundreds of iris bulbs that are only a few feet from my gardens---but the gardens have survived.

That must have been a ton of work to empty your boxes and redo! Did you save the MM and reuse it?

They don't do well with juicy fruit gum?

Glad it is turning out well in the end. Those potatoes are beautiful.

I guess we don't have voles here because never heard the name before. Naturally I am no expert on voles but after all that work to plug the bottom of your boxes what will prevent them from moving in from the top side. Thats ok if you think it's a dumb question eventually I will understand the answer.

@NHGardner - voles evidently like the sugar, but can't digest the gum. Yes, it was quite a workout to dig all that out.

@westie42 - there are no dumb questions. From what I have read, these animals are very shy, and don't move about in the open. They stay underground, and will often use a mole's tunnels. They don't seem to climb like mice.

Thanks S_J for explaining. Have read that gum plugs up several other small critters and think I was told it's not good for pets, the same danger goes for automotive anti freeze.

Glad I found this thread. Kicker is I just made 4 new beds this spring! (4x12) I considered using weed cloth but it sounds like they would have chewed through that anyway. Thanks for the information. This will be my fall project.

Voles really like chewing up the weed cloth. They floss tomato seeds from between their their teeth with it, and it makes good bedding for their nests. I rehabbed half my beds last winter, and found several snuggly nests.

Thanks for this information. My shopping list now includes a roll of hardware cloth and sticks of juicy Fruit gum.

Thanks for the post! I bought and was planning on using chicken wire mesh for the bottom of the boxes I'm building but after reading this I think I'll go back to home depot and exchange it for the 1/4" mesh. I haven't done any veggie gardening at my current location, but I've dealt with voles in flower beds and the lawn here. I can say that in other locations stuffing good old fashion rat poison in the holes seems to do the job. Some of my neighbors have spent tons of time and money on other gummy worm type poisons that haven't worked and one even tried the electronic deterrents without success. At this point though, I suspect we just keep evicting voles, they move to a new neighbor, they get rid of them and come back to us! Evil critters, but I guess they are good food for the hawks and owls! Thanks for the info!

kgooding -
Before you take back the chicken wire -- will you need any to make critter cages? I use them extensively and they work very well giving 100% protection.

Shopping list - juicy fruit. Found the first vole this morning. Took the tarp off the box, put a thermometer in mel's mix and fluffed things up. Lots of worms and cocoons then the mix began to move...from beneath the mix first a nose, a little head and one fat vole came cruising up out of the mix and ran out of the box with me chasing it around the box four times with me calling Sabrina the barn cat. Sabrina was relaxing under the tarp being useless as I kept calling her to get over here and go to work. Wanted so bad to kill this vole with my trowel or a nearby brick. Still mad at myself I couldn't do it. The vole disappeared into a little ground level hole under the hardware cloth. That's where the juicy fruit is going. Either the hardware cloth came away from someplace at the bottom of the box or would the little stinker gain entry above the box and go under the tarp? What would I put in the mousetrap? Juicy Fruit, or is something else better?

I've had great success baiting mouse or rat traps with store bought tomato chunks to catch voles.

Either that or just put the trap(unbaited) where you notice them running in and out. Typically they have a set path and if you find that, just put the trap there and.....

Store bought tomato chunks, thank you very much!

llama momma wrote:Store bought tomato chunks, thank you very much!

You're welcome.

And people think that store-bought tomatoes are worthless

Squat_Johnson wrote:I have a belated update. I dug out a 24 x 4 bed and replaced it with boxes and wire bottoms (hardware cloth).
I threw a couple hundred sticks of juicy fruit gum in the various holes.
Here's a construction photo...

Hi there! Quick question - very new and just getting started with our SFG attempt and we're 'installing' tomorrow so I wanted to try and clarify...on Mel's blog post about pests he said to put the weed fabric on top of the hardware cloth, but in your picture I noticed the opposite and then read you mentioned the vols chew right threw the weed fabric, so Mel's suggestion made sense. However your picture looks like the hardware cloth is stapled to the box, which I think also makes a lot of sense....so question is, any opinion on one way or the other??? Thank you!!

Squat_Johnson wrote:Voles really like chewing up the weed cloth. They floss tomato seeds from between their their teeth with it, and it makes good bedding for their nests. I rehabbed half my beds last winter, and found several snuggly nests.

The only good vole is a dead vole! They ate ever potato I had last year but this year I dug out everything and put down hardware cloth. So, they marched around front and ate up most of my flower beds.

Grandpop wrote:

Squat_Johnson wrote:Voles really like chewing up the weed cloth. They floss tomato seeds from between their their teeth with it, and it makes good bedding for their nests. I rehabbed half my beds last winter, and found several snuggly nests.

The only good vole is a dead vole! They ate ever potato I had last year but this year I dug out everything and put down hardware cloth. So, they marched around front and ate up most of my flower beds.

Amen to that.

2 years ago I caught about 2 dozen voles in rat and mouse traps I had scattered about my tomato patch. I used store bought tomato chunks as bait.

I use the weedblock to hold the MM inside my tabletops, but if boxes are on the ground, then under will block any weeds under and around the box.

Kay