I don't know if there are any more than usual in my garden, it's just that I am noticing them and being able to tell the difference between moles, pocket gophers and voles! I like to put everything in cages now, except Fritillaria and Daffodils. I've noticed the Alliums don’t seem to be bothered but I am so new to bulbs that I can't say whether this will last . I have almost been discouraged enough not to plant anything due to critter damage but have ended up in trying to devise new ways to thwart intruders. Cages, hardware cloth and small holed chicken wire underground and plastic netting (the thicker diameter stuff) above ground. I am also trying companion planting Daffodils and Lilly to fool the critters. My garden looks like a battle field, really, however, once things start growing it looks so beautiful, you don't notice the barriers. Most of my roses are in cages and I remember once weeding around a rose in a double thick, hardware cloth cage and finding a deceased pocket gopher stuck in between the layers of the cage. I said HA HA, stay there as a message to all your buddies on the risks of traveling in my garden. I have also trapped White-crowned Sparrows in my plastic mesh covered lettuce and spinach beds, HA HA, the culprits, at last! I let him out and told him to tell his buddies about the dangers of eating my greens! However, I have a few beds of Mesclun mix that I have let go to the birds and they love it. I am willing to share some, but not the bulbs if I can help it. Oh yes, I use castor oil (Molemax) too. I am soo happy to hear that I'm not the only one dealing with critters using my garden for lunch! Joey Russell Siskiyou County, California, USDA zone 6, I think and where our Yellow-bellied Rock Marmot might be the equivalent to Jim McKenney's Woodchuck. -----Original Message----- From: Jim McKenney Sent: Friday, April 24, 2015 10:43 AM To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: Re: [pbs] Have You Noticed More Critter Damage This Year? Nick Plummer wrote: "That just leaves the effing voles to deal with. " Nick, I hope you're right. I'm in the same boat this year: my community garden plots, where I grow most of my lilies, have a deer fence which has been supplemented with plastic coated chicken wire at the bottom. A group of us drove out the resident rabbit last week. I've been setting traps for rats. And this week I had two ugly surprises: some young roses looked a little funny the other day: I gave one a tug and out came whole stems neatly nibbled at the base and utterly rootless. And when I flipped a board near some nibbled lily bulbs, out ran a fat little vole. And now I'm noticing the little vole holes here and there.And then there's this: while driving through the neighborhood the other day, a perky looking little light brown critter the size of a cat was sitting up alongside the road, seeming to wave to me as I drove by: woodchucks have moved in. If they get into the garden it will be a real disaster. For those of you outside eastern North America, woodchucks are gigantic ground squirrels the size of a lap dog - and with appetites to match. Jim McKenneyMontgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where I sometimes wonder if I should just take up golf. _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/