Vole trapping

I had some luck baiting mouse traps with peanut butter and locating them at the entrance to vole networks.  I placed a pot over the trap upside down and put a rock on top to keep other animals or birds from injuring themselves trying to get to the peanut butter.  I did manage to kill several.  And I did have a possum or raccoon discover one.  I will be repeating in the future.

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.