Vole protection for wrapped trees

9ah-figlet

9ah-figlet

Well-known member
Can anyone recommend a vole deterrent I can use to protect my sister’s in-ground trees when I wrap them for protection? It has to be pet-safe, and it can’t need any maintenance (she won’t be accessing the tree base once wrapped).

I was looking at VoleX but it seemed pretty pricey ($12 for 8 oz). Has anyone tried the solar-powered ultrasonic stakes or the castor oil granules?

Thanks!
 
I’ve read that zinc phosphide pellets work well if kept dry. Others have had success with moth balls. Logees Nursery has a YT video showing their process and they spray the tree and ground with a hot pepper mixture prior to wrapping.

My only experience in using the ultrasonic spikes and castor oil granules is applying them to my neighbors yard and now the voles are all in my yard.
 
If you’re just talking above ground, some hardware cloth should do the trick. Or multiple layers of chicken wire… It’s just a matter of making sure you don’t have any open entry points.

If I lived in an area where I had critters coming in from the ground, I would strongly recommend never planting a tree without a cage buried around the root system
 
I used to soak some cotton balls with peppermint oil and put in a ziplock with a few holes poked in it and throw it near the base. This year I didn't wrap anything, but I did end up going out and spraying the trunks of in grounds with peppermint oil mixture. The Rabbits were starting to gnaw at the bases.
 
A couple of years ago I had a lot of damage from voles so I desperately spread red chilli flakes all around. It lasted most of the summer. I’ve started to spread it spring and fall , I noticed a lot less activity since. I was apprehensive about the seeds growing but they never germinated.
 
@JoePAFig has been kind enough to offer his insulated tomato cages that he no longer uses. Assuming they are what he previously posted about, they have 2 layers of house wrap and 1 layer of R-13 insulation. They’re build on a 54” tomato cage.

My sister lives in Bucks County, about 20-30 minutes from Joe. Her partner doesn’t believe in babying trees so he doesn’t plan to wrap them. I figure if I can keep them alive for 3 years in ground, they have a good chance of making it. I gave her a Florea and Chicago Hardy to start.

I’ll post photos when I’m done this weekend. I’ve decided a multi-prong approach for the voles—VoleX, peppermint oil, and MoleMax (castor oil based) which may not arrive on time. I’m considering the pepper spray too.
 
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9ah-figlet said:
@JoePAFig has been kind enough to offer his insulated tomato cages that he no longer uses. Assuming they are what he previously posted about, they have 2 layers of house wrap and 1 layer of R-13 insulation. They’re build on a 54” tomato cage.

My sister lives in Bucks County, about 20-30 minutes from Joe. Her partner doesn’t believe in babying trees so he doesn’t plan to wrap them. I figure if I can keep them alive for 3 years in ground, they have a good chance of making it. I gave her a Florea and Chicago Hardy to start.

I’ll post photos when I’m done this weekend. I’ve decided a multi-prong approach for the voles—VoleX, peppermint oil, and MoleMax (castor oil based) which may not arrive on time. I’m considering the pepper spray too.
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Yes, the figloos are built on a 54" tomato cage, inner wrap tyvek, middle layer of R13 insulation and outer wrap of tyvek. When I was using these on my inground trees (before they grew too big to really cover with these without a lot of trimming), I also used a primary layer of burlap with an electric pipe heater which was then covered with R13 insulation and then topped with the figloo. This configuration worked great, you just had to be careful to unwrap soon enough in the spring to prevent moisture buildup and mold.
 
The trees are now protected! These young trees fit into the figloos with no additional pruning or wrestling with branches.

IMG_3985.jpeg
IMG_3994.jpeg

@JoePAFig ‘s figloos were very easy to install over my sister’s young (mostly) single whip trees. We had both of them done in a half-hour. Because my sister didn’t have electricity available near the trees, we skipped the electric heat tracing and burlap/extra insulation (which Joe said was mostly to keep the heat from the tracing inside). We used a bag of mulch around the base of each figloo to help keep the heat in.

The figloos were cleverly designed with the quart-container cap tied to the figloos so that it won’t blow away. The figloos themselves use three guide wires staked to the ground using garden spikes. I was concerned that the ground would be frozen, but these spikes worked great!

I used the pepper spray recipe from the YT video @bushdoctor82 recommended (roughly 1 T cayenne in 1 qt water with a squirt of dish soap). The basic household sprayer got clogged and so I ended up pouring it over the trees.
IMG_3986.jpeg

I also used the peppermint oil-soaked cotton balls recommended by @JC Figgy as well as a few pieces of VoleX. Joe also recommended some rocks around the base that would be uncomfortable for the voles to crawl on, but he thought the voles wouldn’t be as attracted to the figloos because we weren’t heating them with the electric pipe tracing.
IMG_3989.jpeg

Thanks again to @JoePAFig for the figloos and all who shared their experience and advice.
 
9ah-figlet said:
The trees are now protected! These young trees fit into the figloos with no additional pruning or wrestling with branches.

View attachment 3470
View attachment 3471

@JoePAFig ‘s figloos were very easy to install over my sister’s young (mostly) single whip trees. We had both of them done in a half-hour. Because my sister didn’t have electricity available near the trees, we skipped the electric heat tracing and burlap/extra insulation (which Joe said was mostly to keep the heat from the tracing inside). We used a bag of mulch around the base of each figloo to help keep the heat in.

The figloos were cleverly designed with the quart-container cap tied to the figloos so that it won’t blow away. The figloos themselves use three guide wires staked to the ground using garden spikes. I was concerned that the ground would be frozen, but these spikes worked great!

I used the pepper spray recipe from the YT video @bushdoctor82 recommended (roughly 1 T cayenne in 1 qt water with a squirt of dish soap). The basic household sprayer got clogged and so I ended up pouring it over the trees.
View attachment 3467

I also used the peppermint oil-soaked cotton balls recommended by @JC Figgy as well as a few pieces of VoleX. Joe also recommended some rocks around the base that would be uncomfortable for the voles to crawl on, but he thought the voles wouldn’t be as attracted to the figloos because we weren’t heating them with the electric pipe tracing.
View attachment 3468

Thanks again to @JoePAFig for the figloos and all who shared their experience and advice.
Click to expand...
I left the printed side facing out once on a front yard tree and my wife was “unpleased”. I had to remove it and put the plain side one the outside 😆
 
@9ah-figlet a fellow grower in the Willamette Valley, Josiah, told me about this company. https://www.traplineproducts.com/voles
He uses their products and told me they work excellent. He discovered them after watching an exterminator he hired successfully use them, and decided to just invest in some himself.
I haven’t placed my order yet, since the majority of my trees will be in pots for the first couple years. However, I’m protecting my 4 trees in ground trees currently with the solar ultrasonic stake devices to keep the moles at bay (no voles, yet). They are a bit noisy if your friend has her trees near a window or neighbors window. My in ground trees seem to be doing ok, but I’ll definitely be picking up a few of the standard trap line products before the rest of my trees go in ground.
 
IBjONAH said:
@9ah-figlet However, I’m protecting my 4 trees in ground trees currently with the solar ultrasonic stake devices to keep the moles at bay (no voles, yet). They are a bit noisy if your friend has her trees near a window or neighbors window. My in ground trees seem to be doing ok, but I’ll definitely be picking up a few of the standard trap line products before the rest of my trees go in ground.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing your experience @IBjONAH with the traps and solar ultrasonic stakes. My sister has a dog, and I wondered if the noise would have bothered him. I was avoiding traps as well because of her dog.
 
9ah-figlet said:
The trees are now protected! These young trees fit into the figloos with no additional pruning or wrestling with branches.

View attachment 3470
View attachment 3471

@JoePAFig ‘s figloos were very easy to install over my sister’s young (mostly) single whip trees. We had both of them done in a half-hour. Because my sister didn’t have electricity available near the trees, we skipped the electric heat tracing and burlap/extra insulation (which Joe said was mostly to keep the heat from the tracing inside). We used a bag of mulch around the base of each figloo to help keep the heat in.

The figloos were cleverly designed with the quart-container cap tied to the figloos so that it won’t blow away. The figloos themselves use three guide wires staked to the ground using garden spikes. I was concerned that the ground would be frozen, but these spikes worked great!

I used the pepper spray recipe from the YT video @bushdoctor82 recommended (roughly 1 T cayenne in 1 qt water with a squirt of dish soap). The basic household sprayer got clogged and so I ended up pouring it over the trees.
View attachment 3467

I also used the peppermint oil-soaked cotton balls recommended by @JC Figgy as well as a few pieces of VoleX. Joe also recommended some rocks around the base that would be uncomfortable for the voles to crawl on, but he thought the voles wouldn’t be as attracted to the figloos because we weren’t heating them with the electric pipe tracing.
View attachment 3468

Thanks again to @JoePAFig for the figloos and all who shared their experience and advice.
Click to expand...
You're welcome, Nina, glad that they worked out for you! I have about 9 more figloos if anyone is interested for pickup to a new home.
 
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