Has a vole settled in your garden? Get rid of it before it destroys your fruit trees

If you live near water, it is likely that water voles will appear in your garden. This rodent is a disaster for fruit and ornamental trees and can completely destroy them. It gnaws on their roots and prefers young trees. As soon as you notice its presence in your garden, try to get rid of it immediately.

How to recognize the presence of a water vole?

The water vole is a rodent from the hamster family. Because it resembles a rat in appearance, it is also called a water rat or water mouse. It lives on the banks of stagnant and flowing waters and often settles in surrounding gardens, where it has diverse access to food. You can recognize its presence on your property by small holes in the ground with a diameter of about 10 cm. Dirt may pile up around them, often resembling molehills.

Combine different methods to get rid of them

You can repel rodents with sounds that are unpleasant to them. You can use an old radio, ideally one that runs on batteries, which you place near the holes. Alternatively, you can use special acoustic repellents, which you install directly in the burrow. Another effective method is fumigation with smoke bombs. In this case, however, it is necessary to block all openings through which the rodent could escape. If you have a leaf blower, use it to blow out the rodents’ holes. They hate drafts.

Photo: Pixabay

Natural enemies of rodents

Small rodents naturally have their natural predators. These include weasels, which can penetrate their burrows. Cats cannot get into these places. Other enemies of voles include grass snakes. You can attract them to your garden by providing them with a suitable shelter, which can be a hole in a dry stone wall or a pile of stones. They can also live and reproduce in compost that you do not turn over and that consists mainly of twigs, leaves, and grass. However, grass snakes are only active from spring to fall, so unlike weasels, they cannot help us get rid of voles in winter.

FAQ – Frequently asked questions about voles

How can you tell if there are voles in your garden?

By holes in the ground with a diameter of up to 10 cm.

How are voles harmful?

They eat the roots of fruit and ornamental young trees.

How can you get rid of voles in your garden?

Use acoustic repellents, smoke bombs, or encourage natural predators.

Sources of information: Author

Preview photo: Pixabay