Perennial vs. Rodent WARS! Need HELP, hear me out!

This mountain has been nothing but challenging to have any beautification done to it. I have spend a lot of time and money buying, cutting, splitting perennials to make spaces be more manageable and more permanent. The voles are making me crazy and I need new ideas.💡

[@Steinru73]

I would suggest a raised bed with soil and compost from the compost site. Use hardware cloth larger than the raised beds. place the beds on top of the cloth. Bend the it up and staple to the board the bed. Keeps under ground, burrowing rodents out. Then fence in your garden to keep bunnies,deer, etc. out.

[@mmanning9547]

I think it’ll always be the bane of a Gardner and it’s hit and miss with the ideas already floated. It’s definitely an ongoing challenge with ground rodents. Out of the box thinking.. Consider investing in buying and raising a couple of Minx, Ferrets? They are the best rodent killers you’ll ever want. They along with a dog will eradicate every rat, mole, etc. or if in your area, you have someone with Minx, who services for hire. They can come on to the property to trap for you. It’s done in one day. They kill hundreds of rats. Also, down by the front, Plum trees, Cherry trees..Springtime, beautiful blossoms and Summertime..Happy pickings. ❤

[@mariowickel456]

My wife had a problem with voles at her garden at church she took 2 of our cats to the garden . No more voles or bunnies, cats stay in garden , get fed there daily + automatic water bowl with a little cat house l

[@valeriehufnagle883]

If you’re going to get a cat, get two. They like companions. Give them a safe place to get away from not just dogs but coyotes etc. They’re really very easy to care for. Most old time farmers had them for rodents. They considered them a working animal not a pet.

[@selador11]

This is possibly not going to work for your voles. But could be fun to try... When I first moved to my mountainside, I had mountain beavers everywhere! The first building I built was actually undermined by them! The way that I finally got rid of them was kind of fun. Had to do it three or four times before they were either all dead, or they just decided to move on... I have a cheap weed burner torch from harbor freight. I used plain old 1/8" plumbing, to lengthen the reach on that head, by almost 4 feet. I located a hole in the hillside, stuck the torch head inside, and turned it on. Left it on for about half a minute. Turned it off and stepped away for a few seconds. Lit the torch, and reached toward the hole, with the flame. Staying as far away as possible. WOOOMP! The whole hillside jumped! THAT was amazing! Did it one more time, a couple hours later that day. Then did it again two or three times, a few days apart. Never had a problem with them again.

[@virtualfather4117]

Cats make natural shelters with all the rocks you have build so they stay dry over winter

[@teresajames5993]

I think you need a mixture of peat moss and manure to augment your soil It’s a mixture that I’ve always used and you will need to add a lot to make that soil fertile. As for the voles no idea as you can’t use poisons or you will poison the owls and other predatory birds. Maybe live traps then you can dispose of them ❤

[@virtualfather4117]

Test

[@teresajames5993]

As for the raised beds, you will need a mesh at the bottom not cardboard they will eat right thru it.

[@selador11]

Cats is exactly what my first response was going to be. I grew up in farmland in Indiana. Every farm around us had exactly 13 cats! The cats are just farm/ranch cats. Not pets. They were pets as much as you wanted them to be. And you feed them enough to keep them happy. (or else they become your neighbor's cats. LOL) But yeah, always losing cats to predators and dogs, but somehow, they always maintained their own population at ~ 13.

[@mickestahl6178]

We live with farmland all around us and there voles everywhere but we have 3 cats and they regularly coming home with dead mices and voles. Unfortunately some small birds also get caught but not so many that it is a problem. Cats are lovely small animals that are easy to take care of as they do it mostly by themself, just keep checking for ticks and see that they have fresh food and water. I hope that you find a solution to the rodent problem // Love from Sweden / Micke

[@everettvancampen3315]

My cousin in MT has a single fixed male that controlled some of their voles

[@user-do9xh2fp1z]

Mark is a good engineer,😊

[@trainchasersatwork]

Cats work great especially when their kittens take over and are wild. Gotta feed them there in the garden daily. They hunt even if fed. Keeps rats and snakes at bay also. Works for me and I enjoy the exercise involved of having something to do as well. Enjoy your videos!! 😃👍❤️🚂💨💨💨💨💨🚙

[@stormmountain2521]

Can't wait to see the comments on this as I've had this problem for a long time. I hope somebody can help you!

[@user-do9xh2fp1z]

Have Mark build a bunch of "thumpers".

[@teresajames5993]

Barn cats for sure I was thinking you had them already not as pets just leave them outside and kind of wild. Neutered for sure then the males won’t wonder and the females won’t reproduce. Farm cats will take care of all those issues even around the sheds. ❤

[@MrBeav1018]

Hi Pansies are a nice flower but they are annual the only way they will come back is by seeding and may not be in the same place.. You need a few cats around the farm. pressure treated wood would be better than normal wood ,it would last longer twice as long ast the untreated stuff may last longer depending on your ground.

[@waynestalzer1776]

Get a couple of Jack Russell's

[@kentcorbett5436]

1 or 2 good outdoor burn cat.They probably wouldn't help for the Gophers but they probably would the voles. If they're like a mouse and you wouldn't have to worry about your campers Dogs getting them because they would stay up around the barns. Anyway, it would more ap tobe wild life on the rest of the rich that we get a cat before. Your camper's dogs.