The water vole, also known as the water rat, can be a real nuisance to gardeners. It mainly lives in areas close to water bodies, such as rivers, ponds and even ponds. Apart from gardens, it can also be found in meadows and forests. The traces and damage it leaves behind mean that it is often confused with moles or voles. How to get rid of it humanely?
What traces does a water vole leave? It is easy to confuse it with a mole
Voles feed mainly at night and in the morning, so it is sometimes difficult to notice them in the garden. However, the destruction they leave behind makes their presence difficult to miss. They feed mainly on bulbs and roots, destroying crops, and also on insects and grubs. He will also not despise tree seedlings, which quickly destroy them. They are 12 to 25 cm long, have brown-brown fur and a characteristic bald tail.. They dig underground corridors and create mounds, but what distinguishes them from moles is that they are much flatter.
Grubber Grubber. Photo commons.wikimedia.org / Peter Trimming / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
How to get rid of a vole? Use the trap
It is easiest to get rid of a water vole from the garden, just like a mole or a vole. Among other things, double-sided traps with tubular latches will come to your aid. All you have to do is put some bait in the form of carrots or celery, move the whole thing into the tunnel dug by the pest and wait, and sooner or later it will be caught. After everything, just take it away from buildings, but preferably relatively close to the water.
How to get rid of water vole from the garden? Plants will help
Like moles, water voles have an extremely sensitive sense of smell, which can cause hiccups. Especially if you plant plants in your garden that repel them. These will be marigolds, mint, garlic, elderberry, spurge and lavender. You can throw a cotton pad or garlic clove soaked in perfume into the tunnel and it will run away as quickly as possible. Sound repellers will also work well. If you don’t want to spend money on professional devices, stick a metal rod into the ground where the pest’s tunnel runs and put a plastic rod on it. An unpleasant sound will drive him out of his hiding place and make him run away. If you feel like it, vote in our poll below.
Source: Gazeta
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