When faced with a vole problem, the first thing that comes to your mind is how they get into your garden in the first place. What attracted voles to your property?
Basically, the main factor that attracts voles into your garden is FOOD. Unlike moles, voles are more of a vegan. Although they tend to eat snails and insects from time to time, they often prefer seeds, roots, bark, bulbs, tubers, plants, and even grasses.
Apart from destroying your landscape by digging tunnels that run across various directions, they munch the life out of your garden’s vegetation from the ground up. Trees, herbaceous plants, mulched planting beds, and tall grasses in your garden are an open invitation for voles.
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What Are Vole Repellents?
First of all, a repellent is any substance or device that serves to drive away or ward off a target animal or insect. It accomplishes this goal by arousing disgust or aversion in the target animal.
An animal repeller would work by arousing fear in the target, this case, voles. When you have an infestation of voles over a large area, you need to get rid of them as quickly as possible before they reproduce and lead to a population explosion.
What Are Your Options When Trying To Repel Voles?
When trying to repel voles you have a couple of options.
- Castor Oil Repellents: The use of oil to disturb voles through their sense of smell.
- Ultrasonic Repellents: They use devices that emit ultrasonic pulses to disturb voles and drive them away
Each option has pros and cons. Let’s have a look into each.
Castor oil repellents work by creating an unpleasant odor over a wide area, repelling anything that comes near. In addition to castor oil, garlic also works as odor voles find offensive.
When they encounter the scent it is unpleasant to them and also serves to mask other odors that might attract them to one of their food sources.
The use of ultrasonic repellers does the same thing in an auditory fashion. It creates unpleasant sounds in the 20 kHz frequency range that humans can’t hear but voles and other animals can.
It creates a sonic barrier around your house and yard. When a critter hears the undulating sound (much like a European police siren) it annoys them and they leave the area.
Are Repellents Effective Against Voles?
There is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence supporting both methods, but overall we recommend going with the castor oil repellant.
Ultrasonic repellents emit pulses that irritate voles. Most are solar-powered to keep the devices going without the need to take them indoors and get them recharged. Each of these repellents claims to cover an average area of 6,000 to more than 7,000 square feet.
During most of our research, ultrasonic repellers don’t work for voles.
How To Use Vole Repellents
The correct way to use repellents, for any kind of critter, is to combine them and vary the time and placement of them. Sonic repellents, owl decoys, and garlic repellent granules should be used together. Spread the granules in a random fashion, then place the sonic repellents randomly as well.
The owl decoys should be posted as high off the ground as possible and moved every day. All of the elements should be moved on a regular basis. The sonic repellents should be used one day, then disabled the next. The logic behind it is simple.
Voles, like any animal, can become accustomed to any pattern. Once they get used to it, they lose their fear of it and it no longer frightens them away. Living creatures, like owls, will rest in different locations from one day to the next.
Voles know this and if they see an owl sitting in the same place day after day, they’ll soon realize it’s not alive and ignore it. By moving it every day you maintain the illusion that it’s alive and therefore a threat to them.
The same reasoning applies to moving the sonic repellents. If there is a pattern, they’ll get used to the noise and learn to ignore it. If it’s constantly moving, or not always there, or both, they won’t become accustomed to it and will continue to be effective. The same thing is true with the granules. Scatter them in different locations each time, and intersperse with other repellents such as garlic to create constant confusion for the voles.
Vole Warning: If you do think you have voles, we highly recommend first consulting with a local exterminator before using rodenticides, ultrasonic repellents, or any other method of vole control. Improper use can and will make your bed bug problem worse. Use our local exterminator search tool to get a couple free quotes so you can begin the removal process.
Are Vole Repellents Safe For Your Pets And Children?
Yes. Repellents don’t cause any actual harm to the voles, therefore they won’t be able to harm your children or pets either.
Top 5 Best Vole Repellents
- I Must Garden Vole Repellent Granules
- Molemax Repellent
- Nature’s Mace Mole Repellent 100% Castor Oil
- VoleX
- Thanos Ultrasonic Repellent Stakes
I Must Garden Vole Repellent Granules
Like we’ve mentioned earlier, we really liked this formulation I Must Garden put together to help homeowners repel voles from their yards.
Overall, repelling any kind of burrowing creature (like voles) can be a challenge with a minimal success rate. Repellents should be used in coordination with traps and poisons to ensure your vole problem is corrected.
To get the best results with these granules, use a broadcast spreader and make sure to irrigate your lawn with 1/2 inch of water pre-application and 1 inch of water post-application.
Molemax Repellent
This is one of the easiest methods of vole control you can find. You just spread the granules around the area you want to keep the voles out of.
If you see vole damage around your trees or garden (voles are garden pests too), you can spread these granules without causing any problems for your grass, flowers, or vegetables. Castor oil is the active ingredient and it doesn’t have any side effect on your plants.
It can be washed away by a gentle rain though, so after each rain, or each time you water the yard, you’ll need to spread more granules. You’ll need to refresh it about once a week anyway.
Nature’s Mace Mole Repellent 100% Castor Oil
Voles are attracted to an area by the same factors as every other pest: food, water, and shelter. Where voles become a problem is generally when you have a garden, and they start eating the plants.
In this situation, you have two options, either get rid of the garden or make the garden unappetizing to the vole. For most of us, it is the second option that is more appealing.
After all, you didn’t sink three hours every Sunday for the past two months or more into getting this garden up and running to get rid of it because a vole shows up!
Natures Mace uses Castor Oil to make the plants taste terrible, and it penetrates the ground to create a bad smell to voles and drives them elsewhere to find the food they need.
Is it safe for humans? Castor oil and this product are safe for humans and can be applied to ornate gardens and food gardens without harming the plants or the people who eat them later.
Natures Mace comes in several sizes to suit your needs, one thirty-two-ounce bottle will treat 5,000 square feet, and it comes with a money-back guarantee. It is the Money-back-guarantee that is the largest selling point for me. Try it and if you don’t like it or it doesn’t work, send it back and get a refund.
VoleX
VoleX is a scientifically formulated solution that safely eliminates voles from your yard. It uses no toxic chemicals or pesticides, and it’s safe to use around people, pets, and wildlife.
The active ingredient is derived from gluten and works to dehydrate the vole by blocking the receptors that cause it to drink water.
VoleX is easy to apply. Simply place a few ounces in the rodent’s tunnel and close it completely. It has a strong attractant that draws the animal to it quickly, and there is no mixing or preparation needed.
Thanos Ultrasonic Repellent Stakes
Get rid of unwanted pests from your yard with these ultrasonic repellent stakes from Thanos. They use no poisonous chemicals or insecticides, and they work for the following:
- Voles
- Gophers
- Moles
- Groundhogs
Each stake is solar-powered, so there are no batteries to replace. Also, a four-hour charge lasts up to five days. That way, the sun does all the work.
Thanos Ultrasonic Repellent Stakes are fully weather-proof. They also cover up to one acre, and they come with a full 60-day warranty.
If you’re looking for professional pest control help, use the tool below to get estimates from local professionals:
