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How to Get Rid of Voles in Your Yard

Team McFly Jan 04, 2024
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Table of Contents
  1. Here are some Tips to Getting Rid of Those Little Critters
    1. Introduction
    2. Bird Feeders Attract Voles
    3. Mousetraps
  2. Repellents
    1. Fencing

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to me at no cost to you if you decide to purchase. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking  

Here are some Tips to Getting Rid of Those Little Critters

Introduction

A few things you can do to get rid of voles in your yard are: to avoid placing bird feeders around your yard, fence your property, and put up a mousetrap or repellent. Voles attract water sources, so keeping a close eye on them is important. These small rodents will also gnaw on plants, so you may want to keep your bird feeders away from the water source.

How to Get Rid of Voles in Your Yard

A few things you can do to get rid of voles in your yard are: to avoid placing bird feeders around your yard, fence your property, and put up a mousetrap or repellent. Voles attract water sources, so keeping a close eye on them is important.

These small rodents will also gnaw on plants, so you may want to keep your bird feeders away from the water source.

Bird Feeders Attract Voles

When birds are attracting voles to your yard, you need to remove the feeders and clean up the mess. Voles are a prime food source for a wide variety of predators, so you need to eliminate these sources as soon as possible.

Removing weeds and brush piles can also keep the vole population down. If voles are a persistent problem, you can hire an arborist to help you with the problem.

Voles live underground in winter and will eat the birdseed that spills on the ground. To prevent this, install a catch tray beneath your bird feeders. If you do not do this, you might attract mice or voles to your yard, and if you don't know what to do, you may end up with a rodent infestation! It's also important to get rid of woodpiles and bushes.

Mousetraps

If you are looking to get rid of voles in your garden, you can use mousetraps. These small devices are placed throughout your yard and will catch up to 10 voles in each setting. The traps should be placed near known burrows.

It would be best if you also considered using rodent poison, but be cautious that it can be dangerous to pets and beneficial wildlife. Furthermore, children may accidentally eat the poison, so keep this in mind!

Voles are small creatures living in trees and ground covers. Their average lifespan is only a year, but they are extremely fertile and can produce up to fifty thousand voles in two years. Voles are active all day and night and will gnaw at the stems and leaves of plants and grass. If you want to eliminate them, it is best to use mousetraps.

Repellents

The first step in eliminating voles in your yard is to identify their food source. Voles can eat the corpses of dead animals, so it is best to eliminate this food source. Another option is using predator urine, which is available in home improvement stores.

The smell of predator urine makes voles run for their lives. Fortunately, this is an effective repellent for both moles and voles.

Another way to keep voles from invading your garden is to build physical barriers. Troyano suggests installing steel mesh around the perimeter of your yard, but it must be no higher than two feet high. Another way to deter voles is to attract natural predators like owls and coyotes.

You can also spray the perimeter of your yard with coyote urine. Voles can spread diseases and parasites, so keeping them away from your yard is important.

Fencing

Adding a layer of fencing around the base of young trees or vines can greatly reduce your vole problems. The fence should be about six to ten inches deep and extend about 12 inches above the ground.

If you can't afford a full layer of fencing, you can buy wire mesh and bury it about six to 10 inches beneath the soil surface. If you're concerned about privacy, you can put up a mesh fence on the perimeter of your yard to exclude voles.

In addition to installing fencing, you can also use live traps to control vole populations. A woven wire or hardware cloth fence with a mesh size of 1/4 inch will keep voles out. Start the fence at least 12 inches above the ground and bury the lower edges at least 6 to 10 inches.

Taller fences can discourage rabbits and ground squirrels from entering your yard. Hardware cloth cylinders around young trees can also help prevent voles from eating their bark. See here for fencing options

Table of Contents
  1. Here are some Tips to Getting Rid of Those Little Critters
    1. Introduction
    2. Bird Feeders Attract Voles
    3. Mousetraps
  2. Repellents
    1. Fencing

Disclosure:  Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to me at no cost to you if you decide to purchase. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking