Post by ruffles on Apr 15, 2017 7:23:22 GMT -5
There's been a nasty plague of voles in my gardens. It started last fall. They literally took over the whole yard. I discovered them in one of my new beds as the Paradise foliage was going bad and the rhizomes were sinking into the ground. When I tried to adjust one of them it picked right up. The whole underneath of it had been completely eaten out. The earth was dug out from underneath the clump. I stuck the what was left, just the upper shell, back into the ground. It did begin to root but in September, there's no way the iris would survive a winter. ... It didn't take very long to realize voles had invaded every single iris bed I have. Voles do not hibernate. They were planing their survival for the winter under the ground here. This was a frightening prospect.
They have been invading the day lily bed for years with only occasional side trips to an iris bed. You would not believe all of the things I have tried to gain control over them; gum, traps, various smoke items or gopher bombs and dryer sheets. This includes cigarettes and magician smoke bombs. Those come with long fuses and in colors of pink, blue, yellow or green. The growers all use poisons. I have a well. Further, poison use would be bad news for the hawks. The dryer sheets actually worked one spring. They all left town. I had gotten lucky. It seems when "she" comes into her estrus she gives off a scent but "he" has to get to her within 24 hours. I had accidentally struck the right time. They didn't stay gone but I continued stuffing the stinking dryer sheets into their tunnels. So...what this told me is that scented materials can be a problem for voles.
Garlic sticks are sold as a deterrent. I tried a 12 pack of those. The odor lasts for 10 months and the stick dissolves withing 2 years. They are like little cigarette sized pencils with a point on one end and a rubber cap on the other which must be removed before pushing the stick into the ground. I put the 12 caps in a zip locked baggie and tossed it into an open trash basket in the garage when I was done with it. The next day when I went into the 24' square two car garage it was utterly and thoroughly reeking with thee most unimaginable garlic stench the world has ever experienced. I spent $400 on garlic sticks. Thank goodness for Amazon and Wendy's Prime membership. Most of my irises survived and I haven't lost any that can't be replaced. Thee issue there is that it takes a few years for them to establish. Places that weren't garlicked have taken major hits. It looks like my lily bed, for which I had made and wire stitched a cage of hard wire and planted in the ground has taken a severe hit. The voles got in from the top down. The old iris bed that was being shut down has also. The fine ends of the maple tree roots found that bed plus there was too much shade. I had moved pieces from here into other beds.
All of this is nuts. I have a lot for which to be thankful but there's got to be a better way. Last year, one of the people in our iris club was talking about using oyster shell, with its sharp edges as a deterrent against varmints that tunnel. However, in looking that up, it is also sold as a fertilizer which tells me that it dissolves. My quest had a new perspective. I've been looking for crushed glass. I use to keep aquariums and loved glass gravel. This is hard to find now plus it is sold by the small bags full for dollars. Crushed glass is also sold for blasting but it is very fine and it is beaded or tumbled. Images and sizes of crushed glass are on line but finding it to purchase, for what I want has been a challenge. Also, it has weight. Buying the amount I would need and having it come here from Oregon would make it a formidable venture. To the yellow pages I went. Thank goodness for phone books and the friendly people who want to help when I explain my need. Anyone who is vested in gardening is supportive. So, I called my town hall and found out where the town sends its glass from our recycling center. We are so fortunate to have this place. They send it to a local recycling place. I called them and left a message. Some one called back and gave me another phone number. I talked with their office/receptionist gal who loves to garden. This Thursday I was there and came home with a 5 gallon bucket of crushed glass that is fine enough to look almost like sand. Close up, it is obviously little bitty shards, probably 1/16th in size. I picked some up with my fingers and was told not to do that because these bitty pieces can act like slivers. They have a difficult time marketing off the crushed glass. This was a free bucketful.
I use Costco's latex gloves as my garden gloves. For this I wore a double layer and handled the glass with total ease. A lot of it went into the lily bed. Some of it is around a couple of day lilies and some of it went around a few irises that have new vole holes near by. I am wondering if the glass is too small, or if it will work, and how long it will take to make a judgement call on this. Now I am anxious to get more of this and do the entire yard. This is going to be the project of the growing season. If this works, all of my gardening friends will hear of it.
Heading into the winter knowing the possibility of a decimation of all of my irises was possible was fearfully disquieting. I have over 200 varieties. Several are irreplaceable. My beloved and now departed iris mentor friend had shared some of her seedlings with me along with her mother's iris. Her seedlings were never registered. These are all right. It also can be difficult to find older irises. Some of my irises have survived through all of my learning experiences. ............ There will be an iris bloom here this year. It probably won't be as grand as last years. Damaged survivors won't bloom but I have LOTS for which to be thankful.
Christine and Tom showed up unexpectedly in the late afternoon. They brought me an beautiful, brilliant yellow Asiatic lily as an Easter gift. Nothing could have made me happier!!!
Last evening, in the peace of dusk, when all that could be accomplished was done for this day, I was strolling through the yard feeling thankful for the day when I heard an owl. This was an unusual call I've never heard before. It was a strong deep sound. What was left of the light could be seen through the trees that are still without leaves. The silhouette of the owl flew off toward the woods. It was a very large bird. Owls feed on voles. A gift!
They have been invading the day lily bed for years with only occasional side trips to an iris bed. You would not believe all of the things I have tried to gain control over them; gum, traps, various smoke items or gopher bombs and dryer sheets. This includes cigarettes and magician smoke bombs. Those come with long fuses and in colors of pink, blue, yellow or green. The growers all use poisons. I have a well. Further, poison use would be bad news for the hawks. The dryer sheets actually worked one spring. They all left town. I had gotten lucky. It seems when "she" comes into her estrus she gives off a scent but "he" has to get to her within 24 hours. I had accidentally struck the right time. They didn't stay gone but I continued stuffing the stinking dryer sheets into their tunnels. So...what this told me is that scented materials can be a problem for voles.
Garlic sticks are sold as a deterrent. I tried a 12 pack of those. The odor lasts for 10 months and the stick dissolves withing 2 years. They are like little cigarette sized pencils with a point on one end and a rubber cap on the other which must be removed before pushing the stick into the ground. I put the 12 caps in a zip locked baggie and tossed it into an open trash basket in the garage when I was done with it. The next day when I went into the 24' square two car garage it was utterly and thoroughly reeking with thee most unimaginable garlic stench the world has ever experienced. I spent $400 on garlic sticks. Thank goodness for Amazon and Wendy's Prime membership. Most of my irises survived and I haven't lost any that can't be replaced. Thee issue there is that it takes a few years for them to establish. Places that weren't garlicked have taken major hits. It looks like my lily bed, for which I had made and wire stitched a cage of hard wire and planted in the ground has taken a severe hit. The voles got in from the top down. The old iris bed that was being shut down has also. The fine ends of the maple tree roots found that bed plus there was too much shade. I had moved pieces from here into other beds.
All of this is nuts. I have a lot for which to be thankful but there's got to be a better way. Last year, one of the people in our iris club was talking about using oyster shell, with its sharp edges as a deterrent against varmints that tunnel. However, in looking that up, it is also sold as a fertilizer which tells me that it dissolves. My quest had a new perspective. I've been looking for crushed glass. I use to keep aquariums and loved glass gravel. This is hard to find now plus it is sold by the small bags full for dollars. Crushed glass is also sold for blasting but it is very fine and it is beaded or tumbled. Images and sizes of crushed glass are on line but finding it to purchase, for what I want has been a challenge. Also, it has weight. Buying the amount I would need and having it come here from Oregon would make it a formidable venture. To the yellow pages I went. Thank goodness for phone books and the friendly people who want to help when I explain my need. Anyone who is vested in gardening is supportive. So, I called my town hall and found out where the town sends its glass from our recycling center. We are so fortunate to have this place. They send it to a local recycling place. I called them and left a message. Some one called back and gave me another phone number. I talked with their office/receptionist gal who loves to garden. This Thursday I was there and came home with a 5 gallon bucket of crushed glass that is fine enough to look almost like sand. Close up, it is obviously little bitty shards, probably 1/16th in size. I picked some up with my fingers and was told not to do that because these bitty pieces can act like slivers. They have a difficult time marketing off the crushed glass. This was a free bucketful.
I use Costco's latex gloves as my garden gloves. For this I wore a double layer and handled the glass with total ease. A lot of it went into the lily bed. Some of it is around a couple of day lilies and some of it went around a few irises that have new vole holes near by. I am wondering if the glass is too small, or if it will work, and how long it will take to make a judgement call on this. Now I am anxious to get more of this and do the entire yard. This is going to be the project of the growing season. If this works, all of my gardening friends will hear of it.
Heading into the winter knowing the possibility of a decimation of all of my irises was possible was fearfully disquieting. I have over 200 varieties. Several are irreplaceable. My beloved and now departed iris mentor friend had shared some of her seedlings with me along with her mother's iris. Her seedlings were never registered. These are all right. It also can be difficult to find older irises. Some of my irises have survived through all of my learning experiences. ............ There will be an iris bloom here this year. It probably won't be as grand as last years. Damaged survivors won't bloom but I have LOTS for which to be thankful.
Christine and Tom showed up unexpectedly in the late afternoon. They brought me an beautiful, brilliant yellow Asiatic lily as an Easter gift. Nothing could have made me happier!!!
Last evening, in the peace of dusk, when all that could be accomplished was done for this day, I was strolling through the yard feeling thankful for the day when I heard an owl. This was an unusual call I've never heard before. It was a strong deep sound. What was left of the light could be seen through the trees that are still without leaves. The silhouette of the owl flew off toward the woods. It was a very large bird. Owls feed on voles. A gift!