Winter has come and hidden the garden under a blanket of white snow. Now you finally have peace and quiet from garden pests like the vole, right? Find out below whether the vole hibernates and how you can fight them in winter.
Do voles hibernate?
Unlike many wild mammals and reptiles, the vole does not hibernate. She is active all year round. In winter it is particularly harmful: Since the food supply is scarce, it eats what is available and in winter these are mainly roots of fruit trees and winter vegetables.
Moles in winter
The mole is also one of the winter active animals and is often confused with the vole. Moles are protected and must not be killed under any circumstances. So make sure that your uninvited guest is a vole and not a mole.
Fighting voles in winter
The good news is: A vole can be controlled in winter like any other time of year. In fact, it is much more likely that the vole will fall into the trap in winter, as the food supply is scarcer and it has to take what is available. Various methods can be used to combat voles:
- Keep voles away with wire
- Gasify voles with carbide stones (the gas drives away the animals, but does not kill them)
- Repel with deterrent plants such as garlic, sweet clover or cross-leaved spurge
- Repel people and animals with stink bombs made from hair
- Live trap for voles
- Put a cat on a vole
Less recommended methods that lead to the death of the vole:
- Poison vole
- Set up a vole shot trap
Tip
Voles are solitary creatures. So if a vole has fallen into your trap, you can sit back, relax and enjoy your winter vegetables.
