permaculture

[Rain Tenaqiya <raincascadia@yahoo.com>]

We have a ton of voles here in northern California, hence a ton of vole 
predators too, since we live in a rural area.  The only non-toxic strategy to 
deal with voles seems to be a multi-pronged approach.  Increasing predator 
habitat seems worthwhile, but predators can't eliminate their prey completely 
or they will starve.  As a permaculturist, I am focusing on perennial 
alternatives to annuals.  Once established, perennials are generally more 
resistant to voles and gophers.  They don't like woody stems and roots as 
much.  Other solutions include the following:
   
  1.  create low barriers such as earth or solid rock walls, wire (1/2 inch 
poultry) fencing going a foot down and six inches aboveground, temporary 
plastic collars for young plants
   
  2.  spread out or thin bushes and low-growing vegetation to avoid creating 
preferred habitat
   
  3.  eliminate junk piles close to gardens
   
  4.  create open swathes or design in paths and roads around gardens to 
discourage voles from crossing
   
  5.  trap, trap, trap (mouse traps with peanut butter inside tubes or 
covered inside tunnels work well)
   
  6.  cats can be effective vole predators, and since they stick around humun 
dwellings, they actually can wipe out their prey, as long as they have some 
other source of food (but not too much)- my neighbor has some cats that were 
raised in a barn, so they are not used to killing birds and she hardly gives 
them any additional food, so she doesn't have to feel guilty about feeding a 
domesticated animal more protein than the average poor person gets
   
  7.  judicious use of non-persistant and relatively harmless vole poisons 
(vitamin K and other things are available) for emergencies
   
  Please let us know how your situation evolves,
   
  Rain

       
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