Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2018 13:50:40 -0400
From: “Tony Blake”
Subject: RE: Vole and Mole Invasion – know the difference
Hi, I hope this is helpful,
Moles do not eat plant material. Voles do eat plant material. Be sure you know what you are dealing with. Mole tunnels are deeper than Voles and the damage is different.
Moles can be beneficial because they aerate the soil, kill harmful bugs at the larva stage, and do not harm plants.
One long-term solution for Moles is to apply grub killer (per the instructions) either a toxic chemical or milky spore, a naturally occurring and nontoxic soil organism that’s deadly to the beetle grubs that moles feed on. Neither treatment harms the actual Moles; they remove one food source (beetle grubs), BUT Moles will stay if your lawn has lots of alternative food, like abundance of earthworms or sleeping cicadas. I have used milky spore successfully on a small lawn I have in front and a flower garden on the side but it’s impractical to treat very large areas, so I still get Japanese Beetles on my roses.
Voles (field mice) on the other hand do eat plants. Voles have a 3-5 year population cycle, boom and bust. Vole control is a reason not to discourage nonpoisonous snakes like black racers or hawks, owls and foxes. Spring-loaded plunger traps will kill them, but that option always seemed excessive to me. Have-a-hearts feel good, but in my experience not effective. If you have voles in your garden adding a bit of gravel to the soil will often repel then as they seem to hate chewing on small stones.
My understanding is the vibration form the electronic repellents can attract Voles. Bird feeders can also attract Voles.
Old school castor oil will also work to repel both Moles and Voles, but you need the stinky kind not the deodorized variety more common now. I think most commercial mole repellents use castor oil. I have heard of people using cayenne powder, garlic, onion, castor oil, a little nitrogen fertilizer, moth balls, or ammonia. I don’t have experience with those, but I think it would be labor intensive reapplying after every rain.
If you have the time & patience you can rescue a big dog that has a digging habit or an aggressive outside cat which also has a fair chance of success. I discourage my GSDs from digging, because they have a drive to find them. Note to self; I should try truffles.