As cute as they look, voles are a real pest in the garden. You can find out here which plants help against voles and how to drive them away.
Even if the little rodents might remind some of the cute hamsters and mice from the pet trade, voles (Arvicolinae) are anything but welcome in our gardens. Because the little ones are always hungry and like to nibble on the roots of many a plant, which then becomes ill or even stunted. Thus, voles can quickly do quite a bit of damage to our plant favorites.
Plants against voles
Luckily, there are some plants that can help repel voles. We reveal which plants these are and what else you can do against voles in the garden.
Repel voles with smells
Since you don't usually see much underground, the rodents orientate themselves mostly by smell and can therefore be confused by smelly plants. Unfortunately, voles cannot be controlled with such plants alone, because the following plants are not eaten by the mice, but also have no permanent repellent effect. However, you can plant these plants scattered around the garden to spoil the appetite of the mice properly.
Sugar Spurge (Euphorbia lathyris)
Often self-propelling in our gardens, this biennial belongs to the Spurge family. Many of us may already know these plants under the name "mouse tree" or also as "witch's milk". They can grow up to a meter in height and produce typical fruits consisting of three chambers that exude a milky liquid when plucked off. Spurge contains ingenol and ingeol ester and is toxic due to these ingredients.
There is a method of throwing milkweed fruits into the vole burrows. Whether this procedureVoles scared off is debatable, but this is how you spread milkweed in the garden and create more unsavory plants for voles there.
The effect against voles is partially confirmed, in any case it is noticeable that voles and moles stay away from these plants. So if a spurge strays into your garden, do not remove it while weeding, but rather enjoy its interesting appearance and use its anti-vole properties.
Black Elder (Sambucus nigra)
Black elder or elder, as it is also called in Austria and Bavaria, is a delicacy for us, but exactly the opposite for voles. If you like fruit and berries in your garden, but have frequent problems with voles, then your best bet is elder. The voles shy away from this and usually do not eat its roots. So enjoy the tasty fruits and flowers of the elderberry bush and the fact that it certainly won't fall prey to voles.
Garlic (Allium sativum)
If you take a seat on the train or bus next to someone who has previously enjoyed a garlic soup, we too will be happy to walk around and look for a new seat far away. The same is true of voles and garlic plants. So plant garlic in your garden, preferably near vulnerable vegetable plants to protect them. How strong the effect against voles really is is described in different ways, but the garlic is actually avoided by these rodents.
Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis)
The imperial crown in our beds is particularly beautiful to look at and also deters voles. First and foremost, the imperial crown is extremely poisonous - to humans and animals alike - and it also gives off an unpleasant odor that keeps many pests away. Unfortunately, individual plants have only a limited deterrent effect on voles. It is therefore advisable not to place the imperial crowns in one spot, but to distribute them individually or in small groups in the garden.
Lure voles away with Jerusalem artichoke
Of course, you can also use another method in the case of a vole plague, namely directing the little animals to certain cultures, which you sacrifice, so to speak, for the restto save cultures. In this way, you lure the voles to another area of the garden and hopefully have peace and quiet in the vegetable patch. Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) is said to have such an attractive effect, as well as tulip bulbs (Tulipa), carrots (Daucus carotasubsp. sativus) and celery (Apium) are among the favorite foods of voles. So you can plant a strip of Jerusalem artichokes at the edge of the garden, for example. The tubers are then eaten by the voles, but the rest of the garden is protected in this way.
Protect roots from voles
One often reads that digging in thuja or elder branches is effective against voles and thus protects the roots of different plants from being eaten. However, this effect is not necessarily proven. Walnut leaves are also said to protect roots from being eaten. A short-term effect can be explained by the strong smell of these parts of the plant, but burying these branches or leaves when planting fruit trees, for example, is not a long-term solution. The use of wire baskets shows a much better effect here. Some gardeners swear by burying such strong-smelling twigs and leaves, and since it won't do any harm either, give this method a try and experience it for yourself. Since these annoying mice don't necessarily want to cross paths with us either, they are said to be deterred by the smell of human hair that is scattered in their corridors. If you're in the process of trimming your bangs, it's best to catch the hair and sprinkle it into the vole burrows.
We have compiled more tips for successfully controlling voles here for you.