My garden is under attack :-(

Well if they are voles, and I think you're correct,you are right to be concerned as they will dig surface tunnels all over the area(s) and also destroy plants.

It's a shame as they are pretty creatures.

Good luck with the humane traps. They have worked with mice and shrews brought into the house alive by our cat.

I've been reading about voles here at

https://www.thespruce.com/vole-control-getting-rid-of-voles-2131148

The writer lives in another country and seems to know all about voles. An interesting deterrent he suggests, "I'd recommend predator urines instead as the vole repellent of choice. Predator odours are most displeasing to voles. Fox and coyote urines can often be bought at trapper supply houses."

Hm! Fox urine would be difficult to obtain. Coyote? !!!

Oh Hells Bells!!. What a quandary and a shame as it looks so much better doesn't it, I think a query of this nature came up years ago and one of the answers was to see if you can obtain fox or badger faeces and place it into the holes, if you know of any farmers or gamekeepers in your area, they might know where you could find the runs and possibly be able to obtain some..

Thanks Eirlys, looked up the link. It is voles. All the tunnels I found were only just under the surface, only deeper ones went under my Lupins. Don't hold much hope for my traps as they have been out nearly a week. Dug most of the worse areas today so will have to see if I find any more damage tomorrow morning.

Thanks Lincslass. If only I had my friend with Jj, the flatcoat dog nearby. His favorite thing every morning was finding fresh fox poo to roll in. Drove his owner crazy and she got through bottles of "fox off" shampoo. Don't know any local farmers and haven't seen any signs of foxes since we have lived here. They say that now there tend to be more foxes in towns and villages. Wonder if contents of Star's litter tray would have the same effect. Wonder if put some in a box, put holes in it, then placed in garden as I don't really fancy just spreading it about.

you may find the recent damage will stop as the voles move out anyway. they will have been rearing young at this time and they should have dispersed.

Oh Jan,I don't know what other suggest, but I feel for you. I've only got pigeon problems in my garden I think I'd throw inot the towel with voles. I do hope you manage to sort out the problem.

I've got my fingers crossed Seaburngirl, everything I have read is that they are prolific breeders, and have a very lot of babies in just one year. Females stay close but males move on to new areas.

Thanks Waddy, I have been quite stressed over it. Spent so much time clearing the front to now be invaded by voles! This week been getting up around 5.30am and going out and checking the traps. Have put out 4 and normally 2 or 3 look like they have been set off. But maybe set off by a bird as they have been empty. Just come in from checking them and can see no more holes or damage this morning so maybe my plan yesterday in collapsing most of the tunnels has worked. Wouldn't mind if they only eat my horsetail but yesterday found a few primroses that they had killed off. How is your pigeon problem going?

Jen: As Star is reluctant to go into the front harden I'm surprised local cats haven't found the voles. Sounds as if the former are around. Sage used to dash in when Charlie next door was on the prowl and she re-acts even to his name.

Must say for an old cat Sage loves hunting though I wish she wouldn't bring them indoors alive!

SeaburnGirl: Didn't know that about voles. That's another thing I like about GOY : I learn something new all the time.

Hi Eirlys, even though I live on a very busy road I only have one neighbour behind me and they don't have any cats and there is one house across the road. There are a couple of farms, one just a field away but they don't have and cats. Star is now 14 and just likes staying around the back garden and hunting the holly hedge one side of the garden. When we moved in, any time she went into the front, we picked her up and brought her to back garden so think she got the hint. Road in front is a A road so very fast. But I know what you mean about other cats around, my old neighbour had 3 cats and they would gang up on her. She is the same as Sage and brings whatever she catches in alive most times. :-(. Just to prove me wrong, as I am writing this, just seen her going under gate to front garden but then came more or less straight back. Lol.

I do hope you've seen the last of the voles Jen. I planted low growing prickly conifers all along the edges of the particular bed affected. ..results so far are very encouraging. The visits from them are very much reduce and they keep off the garden when they do come. ☺☺

I tried used cat litter and it had no effect at all. In the end I used chilli pepper but now I regret it as it is so very painful if it gets n your eyes. It did work though.

Fingers crossed Sue, no more signs today. But if I do find more then chilli it is, but after that warning must remember to wear gloves. Don't fancy getting in my eyes as I wear contact lens so fingers go into eyes to get them out.

Waddy, so pleased that your "cross" conifer is still working :-)

We have voles and I have never really bothered about them, considering them part of the countryside. But reading further it seems that they do more damage than a few holes in the garden - which we have in abundance!
Just read the following and although it is obviously not UK based and of the 'put up barriers, we're at War' type prevention, there is some useful advice. One of which is the bit about covering the live trap so it's not in the open.
http://www.pitcherplant.com/diseas/voles.html
Best of luck.

More thoughts - Perhaps these would also be deterred by the old country way of deterrring foxes, which is, get a bloke to pee round the boundary (doesn't work with women).
But you might get complaints from the neighbours if you had a man peeing in the front garden down vole holes, the image is priceless!!

Hi Honeysuckle, lol, luckly, our front garden has a 8ft wall around it so I could try and persuade hubby to do that and we have no neighbours right in front of our house to worry about looking in the gate :-). Like you, I wouldn't mind them if they didn't do so much damage. In collapsing their tunnels, I found a few primroses dead with no roots left, then today a few of my foxgloves the same. Yesterday, one of my lupins look a bit poorly and I found tunnels all under it. This morning when my daughter arrived, she called me to say one of the traps had got something. Carefully I opened it only to find a slug in it lol. Bright side, one less slug! Fingers crossed, there has been no fresh signs of voles yesterday and today so I might have scared them off but your idea of covering the traps is a good one so will do that as I am going to leave them out for a while yet just to make sure.

I've heard about the trick with man 'pee' too, not sure if it works though as I've never had to try it. What about buried garlic cloves? That seems to work for lots of 'pests' of one kind or another. Good luck.

Thanks Waddy, hubby came home with some much better traps so have put those out as well..

I'm sorry to hear of your problem. I hope you can get rid of the guilty voles soon.
I bought one of those traps too, because Bella brings shrews into the house and lets them go. However, they won't go into the traps, so now she has to be confined to the conservatory.

Hywel, we have caught one! Tim went to a country shop yesterday and bought a better trap. The black ones that were in photo were useless. New trap cost just under £10 just for the one but worth it. I have just walked down the road and released it. There is more signs in the lawn that they are still very much out there so put the trap in different place where holes are. Baited it with peanut butter.

Glad you've got one. Fingers crossed the rest will get caught as well now.

Jen: Congratulations! Did you take any photos?

Just realised letters of VOLE re-arranged, form LOVE!
Think positive: you have lots of admirers!

Thanks Sam :-).

Eirlys, thank you. I took a photo and posted it. Photo didn't come out brilliant as it was already scared and I wanted to quickly release it. Now just have to catch the rest of them.