Protection Against Voles – What Provides Effective Relief?

If you want to avoid encountering these small rodents or have already had the displeasure, you're looking for effective and sustainable protection against voles.

Volwes may be cute, but unfortunately, they're a real nuisance in the garden. Dealing with them often requires patience, but you can manage them without needing an expert.

If you're creating or redesigning a garden, you can effectively plan for vole protection. This involves burying dense wire mesh half a meter deep and letting it protrude the same height above the ground. The pesky rodents won't be able to access the fenced area.

The same applies to young trees, which you can surround with wire root protection. The same principle is used when planting flower bulbs to protect them from voles, by placing them in a wire basket.

If you already have these unwelcome guests in your garden, you can start with a gentler approach. Devices that emit loud whistles or ultrasound waves into their tunnels can provide protection against voles by bothering their sensitive ears. Attacking their delicate sense of smell can also be effective. Arborvitae or elderberry slurry poured into their tunnels, or essential oils sprinkled on their mounds, are said to deter them. Planting crown imperial, garlic, or euphorbia often helps, but not always.

In such cases, vole traps are more effective. Animal lovers use live traps and release the nuisances far away.

If none of these methods succeed, a desperate gardener might resort to harsher measures. However, if you want to spare the animals a painful death by poison, it's best to call in a professional. They can provide effective vole protection by introducing carbon monoxide into the tunnels. This gas spreads through the underground dwellings, leading to a quick death for the vole family. Never attempt this yourself due to the risk of poisoning!

Convinced nature lovers, on the other hand, encourage the settlement of buzzards, owls, foxes, and polecats. These natural predators have voles on their menu, offering a living form of vole protection.