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How can I get rid of voles/field mice from my garden?

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Sr. Member
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Jan 30, 2006
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Richmond Hill, Toron…

How can I get rid of voles/field mice from my garden?

with the warm weather coming in the last few day, the snow were all melted, I came to the backyard and found out there are many little holes on my lawn. They are about the 1 inch in diameter , some even smaller , and I see some short tunnels like on the grass, the grass are dead , so the tunnel are shown. After some research, I notice that I might have voles in my backyard , I started to notice that I had rodents in my backyard since last summer, I even had a glimpse of it , so I put out a electrical mouse trap there , and got one, but didn't realize that there are more out there, from the holes on my lawn, I couldn't imagine how many they are there , but it seemed very horrible .

Does anybody have the same issue? any way that i can get rid of them? thanks !
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Deal Expert
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Oct 6, 2010
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Toronto
Where there is one mouse, there are lots of mice. You will never win by trapping them and therefore will never fully be rid of them. I've tried everything under the sun. They have nursed in my blow up pool, the empty space where my motorcycle battery was, snowblower, you name it, they claimed it. As long as they are not in your home, it's ok, but you will never be able to stop them. Get a cat.

Besides, cute.
DIY difficulty scale:
0-joke
10-no joke
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Jun 17, 2009
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onatrio
I heard those green pellets that they sell at home depot t kill mice works...
Deal Expert
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Mar 9, 2007
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Think of the Childre…
Hire a garden snake.

WOULD SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
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Dec 21, 2011
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Allenford
another vote for cat but only if you will look after it and bring it indoors as well
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Jan 30, 2006
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Richmond Hill, Toron…
jackrabbit000 wrote: Mouse traps with peanut butter works great. Get the ones with the big yellow plastic pad. These seem to catch more than the standard mouse trap but harder to set.
I went to HD today, bought everything I could except poison , in stead of the big trap, I bought the small one , I thought the rabbits and racoon , I don't want them to be hurt, I bought few of the traps , put them out today and see if I got anything tonight , will try the glue trap when it stops raining
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Jan 30, 2006
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Richmond Hill, Toron…
koffey wrote: Where there is one mouse, there are lots of mice. You will never win by trapping them and therefore will never fully be rid of them. I've tried everything under the sun. They have nursed in my blow up pool, the empty space where my motorcycle battery was, snowblower, you name it, they claimed it. As long as they are not in your home, it's ok, but you will never be able to stop them. Get a cat.

Besides, cute.
Funny that I do have hamsters at home , rodents are really cute , but they damaged my lawn and my garden , I would not hurt them if they behave like a little pet hamster :)

I hope they won't get into my home , this is my biggest concern.
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Jan 30, 2006
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Richmond Hill, Toron…
dcjcdc wrote: I heard those green pellets that they sell at home depot t kill mice works...
Went to HD today , didn't see this green pellets , they have poison which I am afraid that it would kill other wild animals
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Richmond Hill, Toron…
snow00774 wrote: another vote for cat but only if you will look after it and bring it indoors as well
I noticed that my neighbour bought a cat last summer , I suspected that the voles are from their house , they've moved to mine since I don't have one Weary Face
Deal Guru
Jan 25, 2007
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Paris
I didnt know I had voles till I got a half breed Maine Coone. My lawn improved dramatically. That cat killed everything.
Member
Mar 10, 2012
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THORNHILL
comesource wrote: I went to HD today, bought everything I could except poison , in stead of the big trap, I bought the small one , I thought the rabbits and racoon , I don't want them to be hurt, I bought few of the traps , put them out today and see if I got anything tonight , will try the glue trap when it stops raining
You're going to use a glue trap outside? Don't be such an idiot...
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Apr 23, 2009
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South of Ottawa
I had them magically appear in my yard two years ago. Bought a couple of these and they disappeared in 2-3 weeks, haven't seen them since.

Mole & Gopher Chaser
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May 17, 2012
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ontario
another vote for cat. ours patrols our yard and we've not had any critters since she arrived. she did bring home some 'gifts' however.
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Jan 30, 2006
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Richmond Hill, Toron…
I tried to put out a few mouse traps during weekend, and one of the trap was disappear the next day, my husband is working on bucket mouse trap project, hopefully that would work.
the last hope probably will be the cat !
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Aug 25, 2006
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Toronto
Just let them be. You ain't gonna win this battle unless the whole neighborhood decides to go all in and engage in the battle of the field mice/voles. Just do what you can to close off all access methods to the building envelope to keep them out of the house. Yes your lawn will suffer occasionally when the spring thaw melts the snow cover to reveal the tell tale lawn tracks and holes. Nothing a bag of cheap lawnseed and topsoil can't fix for under $20 (or a $20 worth of sod for the impatient types). Once the snow clears they will stop damaging the lawn because food sources other then you grass become available. My neighbourhood in Markham seems to get a flareup of these critters every couple of years and all the lawns get torn up where the snow piles where built up. I got them in the backyard this year. Previous years had the tracts alternate between front and back lawns. My kid think the mice are cute and the dog seems to enjoy the futility of trying to chase them down. My plan of attack is rake all the dead thatch out now (or as it becomes visible) and level with some top soil for rough leveling and then let it sit. Wait until end of march and spread another light top coat of soil with some seed ...by end of april early may you'll never even know there was an issue as it all blends in. Resistance is futile as they reproduce far quicker then you can beat them. Weclome to home ownership LOL
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Dec 27, 2009
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Get a Jack Russell if you're not a cat person (and I'm not lol). Jack Russells are awesome at getting rid of rodents.
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May 17, 2012
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ontario
Chickinvic wrote: Get a Jack Russell if you're not a cat person (and I'm not lol). Jack Russells are awesome at getting rid of rodents.
quoted for truth. rat terriers are another breed that has declared jihad on rodents.

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