Vole Hole

crazygreenthumbs

June 6

So I have voles tunneling around my high density fruit tree bed, inside the hugelkulter base.

Under these trees is a real hugelkulter set up. Never again.

I own some poison peanuts. Which I read the instructions on: post purchase. They aren't meant to use around fruit trees.

Then I have a couple of mouse traps, that I bought almost a decade ago and haven't used yet. I read a combination of peanut butter and oatmeal will tempt the nocturnal voles to their doom. I mixed some of that up, and baited the two traps I have. However, I needed 25 snap traps per half acre. That's a lot of traps to try and hide from my dog.

Well. I sure have enough bait made for 25+ traps.

I really didn't like either of those answers. I don't want to eat poisoned (peanut) fruit, from vole free trees. I also don't trust my food motivated, sight hound, to not move whatever I set over the traps and then set them off on his tongue. Although, I bet he'd only do that once.

This is my whippet. He has two modes: couch potato (90%) and racing (10%). He would also seek out the mouse traps.

So, I thought about it and came up with a totally poison and trap free answer. I put essential oils into the holes and around the soil in the bed.

I must say, essential oils are pretty pungent. I don't use them usually. I'm not a hippie. (I spent my youth in the punk scene. I really can't imagine 16 year old me going to a friend's house to cure what ailed them with essential oils.)

However, my husband bought every oil melaleuca was selling one year so I have a huge box of them. BTW. My husband has never used them either. He is so weird with purchases.

Anyway, I grabbed some in a random fashion (I knew where these particular bottles were, so these are the ones that I used!) It turned out to be peppermint, spearmint and cinnamon. I went outside and dribbled, some of each one, into the holes and around on the soil. I'm pretty sure the voles will move on. I would! I accidentally wiped my eyelid with some still on my hand. OWWW!! Make sure after you try this that you wash the backs of your hands (and not just your palms and fingers, without thinking.)

Vole hole, under each side of one of my cherry trees.

I'll report back in a couple of weeks and see if this was enough to chase these varmints out from this bed. I'll know if there are still open holes. In the mean time, I plan on reapplying every few days.

PS Don't make real hugelkulter in Texas! Use my version: perfect raised hugelkulter beds. I don't have this problem with voles the way I usually build mine.

Meet you out in the garden to see how much spearmint oil a family of voles can take!

Crazy Green Thumbs