The voles have really increased here over the winter. There are vole holes everywhere - especially in and round my seedling beds. I've been pouring Cayenne pepper down the holes. They move out of those, and just dig a new hole nearby. What else can I do to send them packing for good?

Get a cat?

I have a cat. She doesn't seem to be going after the voles. In fact there's a vole hole right next to the back porch where I feed her.

Ah, well. Maybe she's not a hunter. Our cats bring us vole "gifts" now and then.

Cats aren't vole hunters. Dogs are! They have an absolute ball digging for voles. We had a massive vole infestation in our garden last year, so over the winter, we let our Black Lab and Kängal dig out in the garden. They caught (and ate) at least 10 voles, dug up four or five nests, and now our vole problem is gone.

If dogs aren't an option for you, perhaps you should invest in ground-caging. This is a method which requires a lot of work, but it does keep out the voles. Dig a small trench around your daylilies, 8-12 inches deep. Then put chicken wire all around your desired area, preferably as close as possible to the daylilies without damaging the roots, and put the dirt back. You will now have an underground fence to keep them from digging up the roots.

However, since it seems like you already have a big infestation in your garden, I'm not sure even ground-caging will help. That's just a precaution to stop an infestation from happening.

Do you know anyone with dogs you could borrow to go digging in your garden? That is, if you don't already have dogs.

Oh, and I forgot to add, our cat also catches voles. She's a farm cat, so she sometimes goes without food (from us) for a few days, living off the land instead (eating rabbits, mice, voles, birds, etc.). Maybe stop feeding your cat for a few days, and kind of force him/her to start catching their own food, which will likely be in the form of voles in your garden. If they know they have a ready food source, a cat won't go to all that trouble to catch its own food.

Although we do keep our cat inside most days during the winter due to harsh weather conditions, so she doesn't catch many critters during these months.

Debra, sorry to hear about your challenge! A few years ago the vole population exploded here around the farm house, and they infiltrated my seedlings in pots. They can squeeze through small holes, and are happy to widen one for easy access. We were having a challenge with mice at the same time, probably because of bird seed. Had no success with repelling voles with castor oil. I did, however, catch quite a few voles in my live traps for mice. I had tucked the traps along traces that seemed travelled by rodents. The voles would be trapped during the night and would be dead when I found them the next day. Dump and repeat!

We also had several non-venomous snakes nearby, and they really seemed to love a vole snack. Would even enter the voles' burrows to go after them. A natural, country solution. Go snakes! We don't poison rodents in case it makes it up the food chain. My cat also likes to stalk voles but isn't very effective, unfortunately.

I notice that the voles love tunneling and hiding under mulch. Owls and cats have an easier time catching them when we don't use it, but I use it every other year anyway. I guess the voles have won! I've have more or less given up growing all kinds of favorite bulbs (lilies, saffron, crocus, tulips, iris etc) because the little boogers munch them over the winter. Frustrating.

sorry to hear your vole woes. I use live traps here, baited with really cheap peanut butter, but I do check them regularly as I hate the idea of them dying slowly in the trap. That being said, I do dispatch them as soon as found (swimming lessons in the cage - they fail). I used to carry the critters abut 10 minutes to the bush and release but discovered (paint tagged them in the trap) that they ran home In the summer my husband gathers the full live traps and drives them about 10 minutes away for release

Oops - so identifying with your burrowing critters I forgot you were talking about voles - I have chipmunks Not only that, I don't think voles will be at all attracted to peanut butter - so I haven't been very useful at all

Swimming lessons, we call it scuba lessons.
We don't have a cat, but we do have chickens. They love a good vole or mouse snack and are very good at catching them. Other than the chickens we also use a small rodent size live trap baited with p-butter in late fall to catch any last ones looking for a winter home. Mice and voles do love p-butter, it's the only bait we use.

My cat is almost 15 years old. She used to catch lots of prey, including voles and baby rabbits. But she's really slowed down on her hunting efforts in the past two years.

Dogs are a good idea. Maybe I can borrow a couple from my neighbors. There are no chickens in the vicinity though.

I'm surprised so many of you use live traps. I'm not that kind-hearted. I guess I should put some traps out. I think voles will go for peanut butter. I just read that exterminators recommend oatmeal on the traps.

I found the castor oil did work but I had to be persistent, as in I had to continue to broadcast the pellets into the gardens at two month intervals. It really slowed down or stopped all the chewing.

Zoia - Thanks for your info on the castor oil pellets. I think persistence is probably the key to having those work. I think your repeated use of them was probably why they worked.

Debra

Zoia, curious as to what brand of pellets you use. Thx

It's not cheap but the cheapest one I found is the Bonide Molemax on Amazon which is $20.00 for 10lbs. I know you can also buy oil if you are willing to spray ( I'm not). Darlyn Wilkinson of Greywood Farm swears by that method.

Thanks!

Interesting all around! This is why my neighbors call chickens "savages!" And swimming lessons/scuba!

Zoia, thanks for the castor oil pellet details. I used oil for a spray but it is expensive and it didn't smell as obnoxious as I thought it should. May have been deodorized. Paying for a product designed for the job seems like a much better idea.

I baited my traps with sunflower seeds (as my live traps have a little compartment for bait) and peanut butter is so messy when it gets wet. Seemed to work as well as PB for my seed-habituated nemeses.

Justine - Sunflower seeds are a great idea for bait! Thanks for adding to the conversation!

I have a really bad problem with voles for the past 3 years and they are pretty much ruining my garden. I have an entire row of privet bushes taller than me, 10 years old, all but dead, they have tunneled around them so extensively. I don't see any way to save them at this point. I have had zero luck at getting rid of them. I have spent hundreds of dollars and wasted many tears and much time. I honestly feel like the only way to get 'rid' of them is to move. I live out of town, on an acre and half w neighboring properties having wooded areas, and a cow pasture, so I wonder if city folks have voles? or is this because I am next to properties that are not mowed and kept up? I got 2 cats, they don't do any good. I even empty their litter box out near the runs and the rodents don't seem to mind at all. I tried all kinds of traps and honestly think they are smart enough to know, I rarely catch anything. I have tried the poison blocks, pellets etc, nothing works. This is the most depressing thing ever.

I'm so sorry to hear about your extensive damage and lack of making progress. Have you considered hiring a professional? Experience might help