Death to the Voles

I've been at war with certain rodents in my garden for the past three months. Gophers, and worst of all... voles. We have at least three gophers and six voles that have taken up residence in my formerly lush garden. Since my yard is fenced, their natural predators (coyotes) cannot assist to reduce/eliminate the population.

To get rid of them, first I would collapse the holes/tunnels to the best of my ability and fill them in with rock. This convinced them to dig new openings around the rocks. I cut back all excessive growth off my plants and cut my grass short to remove hiding places.

I tried placing blood meal in the areas where they were digging/eating my plants. This works to keep them away for a few days, then it wears off. Blood meal gets expensive to reapply every few days, so it wasn't a long-term option.

I then tried cayenne pepper. This worked to keep them from digging in the flower beds, but not from eating my plants. This wears off in a few days, as well.

I then bought fox/bobcat urine granules that is supposed to repel them. It actually worked to repel them in areas where I placed it, but the critters just moved to other areas of my yard and dug the heck out of it. It didn't keep them away from my plants, either.

While I would prefer to simply shoo the critters to some other area, we've finally decided to hire someone to take care of things. I am exhausted at trying to fight this battle! The exterminator arrived and gassed the holes, as well as placed bait for them. The bait is designed to cause hemorrhaging, which leads to death. I am very conflicted about getting rid of them this way, but they are destroying my yard!

A week and a half later, the voles are still scampering around the yard. As if to taunt us, they have now dug more holes than ever! We spent $185 for nothing. Chris had a meltdown.

I called the pest company and told them to come back out immediately. They did.

Now they're gassing the holes and laying out glue boards. For some reason, getting rid of them by gassing them doesn't seem to bother me much. They fall asleep and die. No problem.

But glue boards... I'm having a tough time thinking of the critters just stuck on a board, not being able to move, terrified, dying a slow, slow death. It seems like torture, but we've got no other choice at the moment. I don't like it at all.

The only good thing I can think of (other than we'll be rid of the voles), is that they will be an easy meal for the coyotes. We're going to dispose of the dead rodents on an adjacent property where coyotes frequent. If they coyotes don't take them, I know the ravens will.

Somehow, though, it doesn't make me feel better about the process.