Is there anything extra you need to do to protect from voles specifically since the borrow underground?

For those who have mouse & rat problems, please check out Shawn Wood's YouTube videos about mouse traps. This is the Walk the Plank Mouse Trap video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsoVcrFyrF8

<< Is there anything extra you need to do to protect from voles specifically since the borrow underground? >>

Scott --

Your question was about mint, I think.  But let me add this: I have a spot where some pieces of plywood lean up against a stone wall.  I put some traps between the plywood and the wall.  I've been catching lots of voles there -- one each night for the past 3 nights.  Maybe there is a nearby nest.  But I also think it's possible that voles like the sheltered, tunnel-like space -- just as they liked the space inside my fig protection!  (:  You might trap more voles by creating such spaces and setting traps there.

joe, as unappealing as the idea is, poison works better than traps.
i use both.
but, with a cat around, i'm no longer catching any.
of course i have removed the poison.

Susie -- What do you recommend?  I care more about voles than mice.

there is a product that seems to work, called KAPUT.

 i wasn't impressed by how it did on mice. i  ended up smearing the blocks with peanut butter,
it works for voles.
for mice, it's JUST ONE BITE.

i'll  tell you tho, now that i've tried a cat, i won't bother with anything else.
a good outside cat needs little care, just food to keep it around.
i have caught no pests since feral cat moved in.
she doesn't want cuddling or any of my time, so setting out food n water is all you do.
i don't know if she eats them all, or if they scent her n just leave, but i have no more problems.

Thanks.  FWIW, I've always despised feral cats for the damage they do to non-pest wildlife, such as ground-nesting birds.  The body count each year runs into the billions.  But given the problem we have here with Lyme disease, I might overlook ecological disaster if it meant fewer mice. 

i'm not pleased with the idea of losing birds, but rodents are so disgusting i can accept some collateral damage.
i think if i was one of those people needing bird netting i might decide that losing birds but gaining figs would be acceptable.
i actually think poison can do bad things too.
but i used it as a last resort.
my kitty is no longer exactly feral. while i'm reading, i talk to her n she seems to want my company.
she is on the payroll as a killer, tho.
no getting around that.
i have traps for big animals, traps for small animals.
i kill them but there are too many.
i think of traps as least effective, then poison n at the top, the cat.

If you don't have an outdoor cat but want their presence, put some catnip/mint in area where they can hangout(usually some reasonably sunny location away from your plants). I did that to set the perimeters for smaller pests like mice, squirrels and birds. The small animals don't make nests or frequent visits to area where their predators sunbath. It works well early in the season and when your neighbors have outdoor cats. 

I also tried an ultrasound device, which was quite irritating to my ears as well as the mice, not so much with deer which was what I bought it for.

I put out poison(decon), the type that get them thirsty after eating so they have to find water and don't die inside your house and get smelly. Apparently, they either built up resistance or there are way too many of them that I kept buying bags of bait for the mice/rats to gorge on.

Finally, I set traps and got 8 of them. 

I'm just curious had anyone used iv organics,3-in-1 plant guard,protects against damaging sunburn,insects & rodents. I like the low- trained fig tree pic posted by jrdewhirst on this subject.

An Iguana had munched on the leaves of my new 6" Smith fig plant - how rude. I caught him with my Have-a-heart trap. I set it on a hair trigger and have caught rats, squirrel, racoon etc before they eat my fruit. I put all kinds of things in there for bait and it works, carrots, lettuce, banana, coconut etc. Would recommend this to get rid of pests.
 

Well now that is one critter I don't have to worry about. He looks like he could decimated your trees if he wanted too @mrcoconut.

Those aren't seriously "on the loose" in Florida, are they?  I can only imagine finding those in the wild on the Galapagos Islands ;-)

Evidently yes.  I just messaged a cousin in FL.  He says that they are mostly near canals.

Anyone here tried attracting owls to their yard? We've been thinking of putting a screech owl house up or a nest up in a tall pine for the Great Horned Owls. We know we have owls around here since we hear them at night, so poison is out of the question (owls can die from eating poisoned rodents). Short of this, we may also need to become friendly with the neighborhood kitties

A lot of creative ideas, a lot of things will and some won't work...

Cats are a real mixed bag, especially feral cats. They don't necessarily target rodents, many will specialize and kill preferred prey, including but not limited to birds and snakes, lizards, etc., some of which are friends to the fig grower/gardener.  You are lucky if the feral cat you have a relationship with is rodent feeder, many are not.  Have you considered consequences if they breed and soon overrun the place with cats?

Poison is a slippery slope, it often kills non-target animals, chain kills when a predator or scavenger finds a dead or dying rodent, or they choose to die in a neighbors cistern or water source...  I would only use it as a last resort, I prefer traps as they are focused and I get a body count.

Owls are very efficient hunters of rodents, but you might be better off with barn owls rather than horned owls. There are box plans available, check the Cornell Bird lab for plans and information.  Keep in mind the owls don't always hunt real close to the box, they may in fact prefer to hunt in neighboring areas.  Best success if you and the neighbors set up multiple boxes on adjacent properties.  Keep in mind G.H. owls are pretty hard on other raptors, and you may do better with barn owls which are outstanding rodent feeders and not so ornery to other birds unlike G.H. owls.  A nest box full of barn owls can be pretty noisy, so consider that when you set up a box.

Good luck, collectively we see rodents are perceived as a serious pest, and keep those strategies to deal with them coming.  So far, I am blessed, lots of rodents here but not much damage yet. Bottae Pocket Gophers my biggest issue, and I trap them hard in the late winter prior to breeding season and keep them down to a tolerable level. They are not so fecund as mice, rats and voles.   I encourage snakes and bird of prey to help keep them down.

For those of you who trap rodents, here is a tip:  attach cotton ball to the trap peddle.  Rodents are hard wired to gather nest material, and they will really yank at the cotton ball and set off the trap. Unsalted peanut in the shell, glued to trap with superglue or tied with dental floss also an effective method, forcing them to yank at the peanut and set off the trap.  Yes, peanut butter is very attractive bait, but is often licked off without setting off the trap, and "hair trigger" trap sets often go off on windy days etc.  Try to shelter the rodent trap from overhead view to reduce non-target bird kills and make the rodents feel secure when they have the last supper...

Vic 
Hereford, AZ. Zone 8B

Excel and Hardy Chicago with big plans for the future!

Great stuff Vic.  I'll try the cotton balls and look into barn owls.  

Vic, I laughed out loud because I failed to consider the ornery factor, HA! Seriously though, thank you for those helpful tips about owl behavior!

About the mint....I have pet mice. They do eat mint. I read somewhere it can slow down their ability to breed so there may be some truth in it being helpful. I wouldn't trust it to guard my trees. When I use mouse traps I simply smear the peanut butter on the underside of the bait plate to make the mouse push instead of pull to set it off. Once we convinced our hounds to stop picking and eating the figs they grew into pretty good vermin hunters too.