I just moved to Cheyenne Wyoming from the East Coast.
We have 8 acres and share the land with moles, voles and ground squirrels.
Although I am willing to share most of the land with them, I would like to discourage their hole digging too close to the house. Is there anything - flowers, ground covers, plants - that these critters don't like and would move away from?
Looking for plants to discourage critters
Moles don't eat plants (although they do collateral damage to them as they tunnel around looking for grubs and things), one way to manage them is to use milky spore to control the grub population, if they don't have anything to eat then they will move on to someplace that does. I don't have any of your critters but I do have gophers and planting repellent plants has not helped--they don't eat those particular plants but they eat the other things in the area (and there's not a very good selection of attractive things that are not tasty for gophers so assuming that's true for voles and ground squirrels as well, you may not have a very pretty garden if you stick with planting things that aren't tasty). I'll check back in tomorrow and if nobody's given you any specific advice on voles and ground squirrels I can share what all I've tried for the gophers--not sure if the same things would work for your critters or not though.
Please, what is a vole? I could use Google, but like 99% of Dave's folk, for some reason I ask here instead.
They look kind of like mice, but they destroy your garden. They will munch on stuff above ground, but they also make burrows (or sometimes use old mole tunnels and things) and munch on the roots too.
Decrease food they like (grubs) as much as possible. Make your habitat friendly to predators (snakes, fox, and hawks). Plant non-tasty items like onion family.
For the moles like someone else said get rid of the grubs and they will go.
Voles are a horse of a different color they love roots, bulbs of flowers.
You should be able in your area to find a product at your local garden store called Vole Block or Permatil, it is the same product
it is like fine gravel. It is made from expanded slate. When they bite into it, it is like us bitting into egg shell. yuk they do not like it
I use it here in NC for Root drainage because of our clay and Voles
I've had really good luck using Imperial Lily bulbs planted at the edge of all of my flower beds. Locally here we call it a skunk lily because the bulbs STINK!....I live on a farm, so critters are a problem, but this really seems to work. Just plant the bulbs, like any other. Every couple of years I dig up the largest plants, cut it into 4 or so pieces and replant around my beds. It works for me
Post a Reply to this Thread
More Beginner Gardening Threads
-
Curling leaves, stunted growth of Impatiens
started by DeniseCT
last post by DeniseCTJan 26, 20261Jan 26, 2026 -
White fuzzy stems
started by joelcoqui
last post by joelcoquiJan 29, 20263Jan 29, 2026 -
What is this alien growth in my bed
started by joelcoqui
last post by joelcoquiOct 15, 20254Oct 15, 2025 -
Jobe\'s Fertilizer Spikes
started by Wally12
last post by Wally12Apr 02, 20262Apr 02, 2026 -
citrus reticulata tangerine somewhat hardy
started by drakekoefoed
last post by drakekoefoedApr 01, 20261Apr 01, 2026
