Vol Control

[Starwarshenmama]

Has anyone else ever dealt with vols in their yard? I would like to know a safe way to get rid of them without using chemicals or pesticides that might hurt my chickens when they are free ranging. The vols are leaving large holes in our backyard and destroying the roots of trees and other plant life in the yard.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens do you have cats or dogs ? they both will eat Voles but so will your chickens they do say they only go to healthy yards

 

[Starwarshenmama]

Yes, our cat brought one in the house to play with, haha. That was fun. We trapped it.
We have read about caster oil and dish liquid in the holes and traps to buy.

 

[pennyJo1960]

We tried this thing you stick in soil make a vibration most are gone but our GSD and 3 outside cats are the best deterent

 

[centrarchid]

Outbreaks I have had were at such a level that cats and dogs lost interest in consuming the voles. I have resident Great-horned Owls that clearly were consuming a lot of voles but could not put a dent in their abundance. The outbreaks occur over too large an area for predators with territories to control. Somehow the the outbreaks crash on their own. The outbreak at my home was followed by an outbreak of white-footed mice with same outcome. The voles put a dent in a 1/2 acre Elder Berry patch that never recovered.

Not having much snow may help control the voles, but even when the voles can be readily seen running over exposed ground, the predators can simply consume only so much.

 

[Starwarshenmama]

Outbreaks I have had were at such a level that cats and dogs lost interest in consuming the voles. I have resident Great-horned Owls that clearly were consuming a lot of voles but could not put a dent in their abundance. The outbreaks occur over too large an area for predators with territories to control. Somehow the the outbreaks crash on their own. The outbreak at my home was followed by an outbreak of white-footed mice with same outcome. The voles put a dent in a 1/2 acre Elder Berry patch that never recovered.

Not having much snow may help control the voles, but even when the voles can be readily seen running over exposed ground, the predators can simply consume only so much.

That makes sense as we have so many holes now, I doubt my cat can keep up. We have barred owls that might help. I’m worried about my fig tree. We lost a plum tree to them last year. I think we’re going to try the castor oil and dish soap, seems like a simple way of moving them off.
We are in Florida so Snow is not an option. And we have had a very mild winter, not even an official freeze in my area.

 

[pennyJo1960]

anything like that is worth a try