Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Voles-My new nemesis
So last year in early spring I found one of my rose bushes laying on the ground. It looked like it had been chewed off at the base by a miniature beaver. I proceeded to lose three dwarf nandina, another rose, some iris rhizomes, and about half of a decorative grass. I also recalled an Autumn Joy sedum that looked as if it had been eaten from the ground up the previous summer. I had no idea what was eating my plants but I had suspicions. As spring progressed to summer I did not find any more eaten plants. And I hoped I was in the clear. Well just a couple of weeks ago I noticed one of my rose bushes leaning over and when I touched it, it was not attached to any roots so I knew my pest was back. I've come to believe the culprit to be meadow mice or voles, I know they are in my yard since my cat Max has brought me one as a present. But I'm surprised at the extent of the damage they have caused. The nandina they killed last year were 10 year old plants and not easily replaced because of their size. I'm currently considering making wire boxes to place in the ground in which to place my roses, in hopes this will prevent further damage. In the meantime I've been dumping coffee grounds around the base of my roses in hopes it will change the taste since they seem to really love these particular plants.
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