Voles in the garden

[DALION]

Do voles eat palm roots? I just discovered what looks like vole tunnels in the garden and now am concerned it may damage the palms. I know gophers damage palms but have never heard anything about voles.

[tjwalters]

Absolutely. They'll eat the roots and come up through the center to eat out the heart. I've lost many to voles - usually Trachycarpus, but I've had them eat needles too. Never seem to bother Sabal minor, though. (Spade blade for scale.)

[MattyB]

What makes you think it's voles? From what I understand, voles are usually found in scrub brush, meadows, etc., areas with lots of grasses and dried brush for them to forage and hide in. I thought they ate grass seed and small leafy bits. The vole tunnels I've seen, are pretty small, and I think the rodents themselves are very small. They don't seem like they harm the garden, but that pic that Tom posted above has me wondering now.

[WestCoastGal]

Voles will definitely go after palm roots. Several years ago we had them in our neighborhood. We found their small holes in the back corner of our yard and our backyard neighbor had them destroying some of her plants, she had encountered them in the past where they lived before. Our neighbor to the side of us had numerous holes in their yard. They had put in their yard recently and let their grass get pretty tall and lush. They really had a field day in their yard with the grass roots. We all got together and did some pellet treatment routine that was recommend by a nursery.

At our house we thought we got by unscathed since we hadn't put in a yard yet so not much in the way of sweet roots for them to forage on but we had two mature mules planted earlier the year before as we were beginning our landscaping plan. Well jump forward a year and we started to notice some damage to one of the mature mule's trunk at the base after the spring rains. A hole had formed on the trunk and was sounding hollow inside. A number of things were considered and ruled out and many people were consulted. After opening up the area around the hole that had developed, we could see the tunnel that had been made. Best theory was that the vole came up from below as described by tj, eating its way inside, and at some point probably after we all did the treatment, the voles were no more; but then the rains came and got inside the weakened trunk area eventually resulting in the hole at the base.

Early on after finding the hole we had spoken with another palm lady, up north on the Peninsula (her palms have been posted on here before and I'm drawing a blank on her name right now) and she had told us that her palm garden was currently under attack by voles at the time we called. Based on what we had described over the phone she thought voles were a very real possibility and encouraged us to get further help. She lived in a very wooded area and where we live it's residential but there is still a lot of undeveloped land not that far away and we believe the voles meandered their way a few blocks to our yards.

So yeah, if you think you're seeing evidence of voles in your yard, I'd be concerned and take action before you lose anything. Their basically field mice and love roots, palms included. They also populate an area rather quickly if not checked.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I've lost more palms to voles than to any other rodent. The voles will tunnel their way through the side of a still trunkless palm and eat out the heart. They don't actually eat the roots. Casualties include a half dozen ceroxylon, trachycarpus and phoenix.

Gophers will eat the roots of select palms, but they tend to be rather picky. The only palms I've lost to gophers so far includes syagrus vermicularis, phoenix rupicola and a lot of chamaedorea radicalis. it's to the point that I won't plant another radicalis without a gopher cage. I usually trap gophers the moment I see any activity.

[tjwalters]

What makes you think it's voles? From what I understand, voles are usually found in scrub brush, meadows, etc., areas with lots of grasses and dried brush for them to forage and hide in. I thought they ate grass seed and small leafy bits. The vole tunnels I've seen, are pretty small, and I think the rodents themselves are very small. They don't seem like they harm the garden, but that pic that Tom posted above has me wondering now.

Definitely voles. I trapped 23 of them that year using peanut butter- or cilantro-baited mousetraps. Some years they are really, really bad here. I've resorted to planing vole-preferred plants in wire cages.

[tjwalters]

I've lost more palms to voles than to any other rodent. The voles will tunnel their way through the side of a still trunkless palm and eat out the heart. They don't actually eat the roots. Casualties include a half dozen ceroxylon, trachycarpus and phoenix.

Gophers will eat the roots of select palms, but they tend to be rather picky. The only palms I've lost to gophers so far includes syagrus vermicularis, phoenix rupicola and a lot of chamaedorea radicalis. it's to the point that I won't plant another radicalis without a gopher cage. I usually trap gophers the moment I see any activity.

The will eat the (palm) roots, but seem to prefer the heart. The roots probably just get in the way.

I once had a large nandina blow over during a late winter/early spring storm, as if it were a big tumbleweed. The voles had eaten all the roots over the winter and it had just been doing a balancing act on the mulch until the storm hit.

[DALION]

I have seen the tunnels in my garden. The holes are about as wide as a broomstick. I have been noticing the tunnels but thought it was just created by me using the water hose. Now I'm realizing they are localized in the area I dump my grass clippings.

I have opened a couple tunnels and set traps so I'll see what happens.

[tjwalters]

Sounds like voles. When I trap, I look for active holes...I'll close them up a bit, then check the next day to see which ones have been opened back up. I bait and set the mousetraps next to those holes, then cover them with flowerpots (upside down) to keep other critters away. I've also resorted to the "poison peanuts" that can be dropped into the holes. Once I even used one of the toxic smoke bombs.

[DALION]

When I trap, I bait and set the mousetrap next to the hole, then cover it with a flowerpot (upside down) to keep other critters away. I've also resorted to the "poison peanuts" that can be dropped into the holes. Once I even used one of the toxic smoke bombs.

I did set two traps under flower pots but since I don't have pets i think poison might be the way to go.

[tjwalters]

When I trap, I bait and set the mousetrap next to the hole, then cover it with a flowerpot (upside down) to keep other critters away. I've also resorted to the "poison peanuts" that can be dropped into the holes. Once I even used one of the toxic smoke bombs.

I did set two traps under flower pots but since I don't have pets i think poison might be the way to go.

(I updated my previous response. )

[BS Man about Palms]

I have had major damage to my collection this winter and have not posted much...primarily due to me letting the weeds go I'm sure. Planning on a paying to get done soon and will post a thread I think... it will make most sick.'

I have lost 70% of my palms in pots and ALL heeled Dypsis without a trunk even planted. They eat them from the pots like a salad...whatever they are.

[MattyB]

That's sad. I'm glad I have snakes.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I have had major damage to my collection this winter and have not posted much...primarily due to me letting the weeds go I'm sure. Planning on a paying to get done soon and will post a thread I think... it will make most sick.'

I have lost 70% of my palms in pots and ALL heeled Dypsis without a trunk even planted. They eat them from the pots like a salad...whatever they are.

"Ketch-all" are the best traps to use, when I had an infestation, I caught around 50 voles. http://www.kvsupply.com/ketch-all-multiple-catch-trap/, see photo below. You can find "how-to" videos on Youtube. The weeds got to go.

Now since you seem very attached to your weeds, there is another easier solution. I put an end to our vole infestation for good once I got two feral cats from a farm cat adoption program. The cats live outdoors, they're neutered, and we feed them once a day with just a little food. In return they eat voles, moles, rats and some gophers. Since we've had the cats we've had zero voles and zero rats, but the gopher and mole population still needs to be managed.

For the cats, I recommend you contact http://www.sdcats.org/ and ask for a feral cat/farm cat adoption. They need to be females and can't be house cats. Make sure to specify "farm cat". They will give you a wild caught cat or two, and you leave them in a cage on your property for two weeks during which you feed them once a day. After two weeks, you open the cage and let them go. You remove the cage but you still put food out where the cage was. They will disappear for a few days but they come back very soon afterwards for the food. Eventually they befriend you but still continue to hunt.

[BS Man about Palms]

Good Advice Axel... thanks...

Only sad thing was I was actually out trimming, etc this morning and found a little jaw skeleton.. under a street light at my driveway where the crows and hawks hang out.. At first It was I was happy a big gopher was taken down!... closer inspection proved to be a cat.. There are coyotes a couple blocks away.. I wish I could train the coyotes to find and eat the gophers...

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Good Advice Axel... thanks...

Only sad thing was I was actually out trimming, etc this morning and found a little jaw skeleton.. under a street light at my driveway where the crows and hawks hang out.. At first It was I was happy a big gopher was taken down!... closer inspection proved to be a cat.. There are coyotes a couple blocks away.. I wish I could train the coyotes to find and eat the gophers...

We've got the coyotes too but so far, no issues with cats getting eaten. We can hear the coyotes howl at night, it's not just a handful either, but a pretty big pack. I think the deer are much tastier to them than the cats. I am in an area with much more wilderness than most of San Diego County. There's nothing but woods and Coastal Mountains for 50 miles to the Northwest. So I bet your cats would survive.

[Perito]

Do voles leave a visible tunnel path like moles? I've had some large moles (I think) this Winter and they tunnel right up to the base of my newly planted palms. I haven't lost any yet but a couple seem stalled.

[tjwalters]

Do voles leave a visible tunnel path like moles? I've had some large moles (I think) this Winter and they tunnel right up to the base of my newly planted palms. I haven't lost any yet but a couple seem stalled.

Voles don't make the visible raised trails that moles make when tunneling, but they will use mole tunnels. Usually you will find a small hole next to the base of a plant or some structure. I've actually watched hosta leaves get pulled into the ground, petiole first, one bite at a time. Looked just like a cartoon.

[WestCoastGal]

There are voles that travel with their tunnels near the ground and others primarily below it. We mulched but not deeply because we want to notice any disturbance in the ground if possible. Also did not put in any kind of weed barrier fabric as it is said to hide their paths...landscapers didn't like that but we'd rather keep our plants and worry about the occasional weeds that can be pulled. They did talk us out of installing cages and from much of what I read here on the forum those fail too.

If you see paths going to your palms, tap the trunks. Make sure they don't sound hollow. Some small trunks are barely left intact and doesn't take much for the trunk and plant to just fall over. In our instance the varmint came up from the root area to the inner trunk area and started eating. They like to gnaw and if they emerge from below ground they will chew on the outer bark but many times the damage will be done below ground. Our neighbor who now mows his lawn regularly had let his get pretty high and he had a lot of vole holes amid the high grasses. And he had a dog too. And we have outdoor cats in the area as well.

[WestCoastGal]

I thought this site had some good info on voles (below and above ground and the different species), moles and gophers and photos of their tunneling and plant damage.

http://www.volecontrol.com/voles.html

[tjwalters]

I thought this site had some good info on voles (below and above ground and the different species), moles and gophers and photos of their tunneling and plant damage.

http://www.volecontrol.com/voles.html

Great link. Thanks.

[Sabal Steve]

Good Advice Axel... thanks...

Only sad thing was I was actually out trimming, etc this morning and found a little jaw skeleton.. under a street light at my driveway where the crows and hawks hang out.. At first It was I was happy a big gopher was taken down!... closer inspection proved to be a cat.. There are coyotes a couple blocks away.. I wish I could train the coyotes to find and eat the gophers...

Maybe you could adopt an animal that would eat the coyotes?

[DALION]

Here is a vole that fell into my drain pipe. This is proof that they are in my yard. So now I have ten little mice traps spread around.

[MattyB]

awww, but he's so cute

[Hammer]

He is cute. I just can't bring myself to kill them.

[BS Man about Palms]

Let them take down 10, 20, 30 palms and see how much you love them then...

[akamu]

Good advice Axel Our neighbor has a feral cat turned house cat and she has turned our gopher problem around 90% +