Protection from voles??

[Patchninja]

I like the idea of olbas oil.
Kathy, eat lots of faisselle, it comes in pots with liners. I'm going to plant my peas etc in the liners to try and deter the b#@&%#s!

[kathyd]

Hi there

Coincidentally I posted a separate thread last night about the possibility of deterring mice with strong-smelling Olbas oil, as I had such a problem with them woofing down my peas last year. I am pretty sure they stole all my anemone corms too.

As voles are pretty similar - i.e. small, furry, greedy little tikes - this might also be worth a try with them? The basic idea is you dilute 3 drops of olbas oil (or any other pure strong-smelling oil like peppermint) in a watering can and water round your veggies once a week / every other week, as they hate the smell of it and it also disguises the 'food' smell so they can't even find the crops so easily to scoff them down (I think voles especially rely on smell more than sight).

Anyway, here is the link: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ice_69369.html

Hmm, I wonder if this is worth a try then? I read somewhere that mice hate mint too, so I sprinkled fresh mint leaves around in the tunnel last year - not sure if it helped or not, because they'd mangled everything by the time I started, but it made me feel better! I'm sure it helped protect my carrots too. Also garlic seems to be good for just about everything doesn't it? I'm going to make a really stinky garlic brew and flood everything this year I think. How very French .

[kathyd]

I like the idea of olbas oil.
Kathy, eat lots of faisselle, it comes in pots with liners. I'm going to plant my peas etc in th[ATTACH=CONFIG]33158[/ATTACH]e liners to try and deter the b#@&%#s!

I've not seen faisselle patchninja - what is it?? I suppose we could substitute plant pots for liners, like someone else suggested? Although I'm sure they can chew through those too if they want to . I found a massive hole (well way bigger than a mousehole) has been dug up through the floor of the outhouse where I keep my chickens 'secure' the other day - right in their lock-up bedroom area!! The floor is solid - or so I thought - but they seem to have found a bit where the concrete must have crumbled or something. I'm sure it's voles, although I'll have to watch out for rats I guess . Not sure how to deal with either in a chicken shed? Can't use poison or traps I presume?

[roitelet]

The only thing I have found that works is sonic mole deterrants!

[Nicos]

Really???...ha!...they didn't work for my moles...will certainly give it a bash- thanks!

[Patchninja]

Kathy, faisselle is like fromage blanc - great for sweet and savoury uses. Those holey liners are pretty tough too so I'm thinking pretty tooth resistant!

[nellie-m]

I just goggled them - crikey! The females give birth after 16 to 24 day pregnancy, and the female juveniles are fertile at 13 days, so can give birth themselves at 33 days old Good job they only live 4 to 5 months. Talk about life in the fast lane!

Oh, and there can be anything between 200 and 2000 per hectare

sorry but may I ask what kind of vole you looked up? Was that perhaps Microtus agrestis or arvalis?

Because I think kathyd is in France, so it is more likely to be Arvicola terrestris, the continental cousin to your British water vole, and they can get three or four years old. Not more than 100 per hectare, with about three litters a year. Pulling down plants and eating up all parsnips over winter sounds exactly like those. They can get as large as a rat, the ones I caught last winter were 16cm without the tails. Not very many cats dare catch them - some do and find them worth the wait
The damage they do is enormous. Last winter, they had all my parsnips, all my young pear and apple trees, a number of my roses and some young beeches. That's when I bought the traps.

Arvicola amphibius (Eurasian Water Vole, European Water Vole, Water Vole)

[Nicos]

Although we are only 300m from a river , from looking at your piccies nellie, our cat brings in either Microtus agrestis or arvalis...they look too similar at the moment to tell the difference!

The water vole looks a thug in comparison!

[nellie-m]

Hm, well, I could actually like them if they left my veggie patch and my roses alone!

There is no water here for many miles around but even so they love it here. My mother's cat is a good vole-catcher but ours decided to specialise in birds
I caught 16 last spring which brought a huge relief, and of course that made me get a bit lazy but I really should go and set a few traps again before they start to breed again! If only that drizzle could stop for a minute

[Patchninja]

Nellie, where are you?

[Nicos]

Nellie, where are you?

...location....Rumtopfland ( Germany! )

[nellie-m]

...hicks!

[Patchninja]

Well, i had a neighbour who lived in rumtopfland and that was in Oxfordshire!