Great Info Tips

These are the little creatures that look like mice running around outside your home. They have a longer snout and a shorter tail than a mouse. They like to chew on the roots of your shrubs and bushes and they will eat certain flower bulbs. If it looks like you might have lost some of those plants from year to year you can blame it on voles. They dig tunnels in your flower beds and yard, creating soft spots when you walk on the areas where the tunnels are located. They can cause real problems for you, but I have some tips for control.

There are some over the counter products you can use. Some cause internal bleeding and hemorrhaging of these pests. Any poison baits should be put into the vole holes you find. These poisons are not safe for pets and children, so be extremely careful when putting the granules into the burrow holes. You can also use regular mouse traps but you will have to make sure you place these traps where the voles have been making a path. Peanut butter is the best bait. The best time to trap is in early fall and late winter. Put a cardboard box over the traps, leaving a hole on one side for the vole to enter. This will help keep the traps away from children and pets. Good luck with vole extermination. We lost a lot of bulbs to them a few years ago. The daffodils, irises, tulips and other bulb flowers just haven’t been as plentiful as in past years.