A vole repellent is an animal-friendly option for driving annoying voles out of the garden. Such scarecrows are available from specialist retailers or online, but you can also build your own vole scarecrow. Below you will find out how this works and how a vole deterrent works.
How can I build a vole scare myself?
To build a vole scarer yourself, you can either attach cans to a metal pole or create a wind turbine out of PET bottles. Both variants generate vibrations that are transmitted into the ground and drive away voles.
How does a vole repellent work?
Voles, like most animals and people, like their home to be quiet and peaceful. They can't stand vibrations and noise - and this is exactly where the vole repellent comes into play. Unlike scarecrows, it is not the movement itself that should scare the voles, but rather the vibration that the scarecrows trigger. Commercially available vole scarers (€22.00 on Amazon) are often solar powered and vibrate. The vibrations go into the ground and disturb the vole's rest.
Build your own vole scare
You can be quite creative when building your own vole scarer. It is important that you create vibrations that go into the ground. Here are two ideas:
Canned Vole Repellent
A simple, if unfortunately somewhat noisy, option is to make the vole repellent out of two or more cans. For this DIY vole scarer you will need:
- two or three cans
- A curved metal rod (it must be metal in order to carry the vibration)
- Knits
Then proceed as follows:
- Attach the ribbon to the cans by either drilling them or anchoring them in the can with a long stick tied to the rope.
- Insert the metal rod as deeply as possible directly into the vole's entrance.
- Tie the cans close together and close to the vertical part of the pole.
When it's windy, the cans hit each other and the pole. This causes it to vibrate. Vibration and noise encourage the vole to look for another home.
Vole scarecrow as a wind turbine made of PET bottles
Another, less noisy option is to build a wind turbine from a PET bottle. To do this, cut wings into the PET bottle or glue wings made from PET bases or strips to the bottle. Here are instructions:
Windspiel aus Plastikflasche (Pet flasche) selber basteln.
Place your wind turbine on a metal pole, which you then place directly in a vole exit.
Tip
It makes sense to build several wind turbines or can scarers and place them on different vole piles or combine them with other home remedies to drive away voles.
