Gophers, Moles, Voles, and Mice
C3fnn@aol.com (Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:16:47 PST)

Thank you for your information, Judy--we have cats-a-plenty in the
neighborhood but also foxes and coyotes so the cats (and our neighbor's chickens)
tend to disappear rather faster than the moles and rodents. No need to ask
for solids from litter pans--they are usually thoughtfully deposited in my
gardens. I like your idea of plunking them down the vole holes...

I think the abundance of unwelcome Asian earthworms aka Alabama jumpers or
Amynthas agrestis which infest our acreage is the big drawing card for the
moles. We live above a stream which is stocked with trout and I suspect
these worms are progeny of decades old "bait" escapees from fisherfolk.

I don't care about mole hills or tunnels in our lawn (a grand name for our
diverse turf) but the time, energy and money involved in replacing plants
and bulbs is considerable.
This year I tried surrounding the planting holes for bulbs and perennials
with teased-out steel wool; spring will tell if this was worth the effort.

Carol in NW CT, where the weather is disappointingly warm (bulbs are coming
up) and we need the snow cover.

In a message dated 12/28/2011 8:26:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
jgglatt@gmail.com writes:

Carol in Connecticut asked about controlling the above critters.

A good hunting cat makes an excellent organic pest control device. They
come in several colors, are affectionate, easy to care for, and
effective. Some say females are better hunters but I've had males that
would take squirrels and young rabbits. While there are rants about cats
killing great numbers of wild birds this has not been my experience.
Rather, it is very infrequent (compared to mice and voles) and usually
just fledged youngsters who in any case would be at risk from the local
foxes, coyotes, raptors, snakes.

Some cats are great hunters, others not so good. If mother is a good
hunter, so are her kittens. Several of my neighbors have barn cats to
control the mice that come after the grain for the horses, sheep, etc.
And it is not true that a hungry cat is a more effective hunter.

Terriers are good at rats but also tend to dig, another reason you might
prefer a cat.

Don't want a cat? Talk to a friend with a cat, and ask for the solids in
the cat's litter pan. Dump them down vole holes and the critters will
tend to move out.

Next year, at least here in New Jersey, we will likely see a population
crash in small rodents over the winter. Usual production for a mature
oak is about 25 pounds / tree. This year oak trees had a very poor mast
crop - only about 5 pounds / tree. Small rodents will starve, and the
knock on effect will be reduced numbers of foxes, red tail hawks, owls -
all the predators that rely on mice, voles, squirrels.Wild turkeys will
also suffer. Cycles of nature.

Judy in New jersey where the weather is quite wet but fortunately warm
enough to be precipitating as liquid rather than snow
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