You had problems with voles last year and entire plants had to suffer? A preventive measure to protect certain plants from vole attacks is to build a wire basket. Find out below how to protect your plants from voles with a wire basket and how to build one yourself.
How does a vole wire basket protect plants?
A vole wire basket effectively protects plants from voles by placing it around the root ball. For construction you need wire mesh with a maximum opening size of 1.3 cm. Form a cylinder, cut out a base and connect both with wire without any gaps.
Which plants should you protect with a wire basket?
A wire basket is very effective for protecting certain plants from hungry voles. A wire basket is particularly useful for young fruit trees or plants that are very popular with voles, such as clematis.
Make your own wire basket
A vole wire basket is quick to make. However, you should pay attention to the following when purchasing the materials:
The right size for vole basket
Of course, how big your wire basket should be depends entirely on your plant. When planting a tree, your basket should be three to four times the size of the plant's root ball to protect it even as the tree grows.
What size should the wire mesh be?
Choose wire mesh with an opening size of a maximum of 1.3cm for your vole basket. If the wire mesh is larger, the 7 to 23cm vole can slip through.
Soil and overhang
The vole basket definitely needs a base that must be attached to the edge firmly and without holes. In addition, the basket must protrude slightly from the ground so that the mice don't get the idea to climb over it.
A guide
Materials and tools:
- wire mesh
- Wire for connecting the wire mesh
- Wire cutters
1. Build border
Cut your wire mesh to the desired dimensions and form a cylinder. Connect the edges by hooking the wire mesh together and/or using additional wire to ensure a gap-free connection.
2. Floor
Now cut out a circular base. Use your wire mesh cylinder as a yardstick. However, allow 3 to 4 cm of overhang all around so that you can attach the base well to the cylinder.
3. Connect
Connect the base and cylinder without any gaps using wire.
Tip
In addition to your wire basket, you can use plants to repel voles. Find out here which plants voles dislike.
