Help me de-vole my garden. Humanely.

chowflap — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:44:52 -0800

Help! I have voles! How do I get rid of them? Do those repellent sprays work? How about those sonic things? I have a small (about 15-foot-square) vegetable garden with raised beds. It was covered with mulch all winter, and I put landscape fabric on it a few weeks ago to keep down the weeds. I also used to have a nice, healthy poppy plant -- until I visited the garden yesterday, and noticed that my poppy plant was now just a handful of shriveled-up leaves. There was a perfect hole where the root used to be, and a tunnel leading to it (I felt this with my hand -- it's all under the plastic). I had high hopes for a row of tiny carrot seedlings I planted weeks ago, but now I fear that they are doomed. How do I vole-proof my garden, while keeping my vegetables organic and safe? And can I do it without mass varmint carnage? Do those various chemical sprays work? How about those sonic posts?

Why doesn't my dog eat cat kill?

Secret Life of Gravy — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:35:03 -0800

Why does my bulldog ignore dead critters in the house? We have a mighty hunter in our midst, Eustace, the cat, who makes sure we are provided with a corpse or two a day, usually mice, voles, rats, birds, snakes or squirrels. My question is why does my English bulldog, Fanny, completely ignore these offerings? She is a major chow hound who only gets fed once in the morning and spends the rest of day snorking up anything she considers remotely edible. When we go for walks I have to be ever vigilent to guard against her finding old food wrappers or gum or chicken bones, etc.

But she never shows any interest in the cat kill left lying around. Lettuce with a drop of ranch dressing? oh yes! Burnt pizza crust? bring it on. Raw chicken skin? more please. Fresh, bloody rat? that is about as interesting as the rubber band on the floor, no wait...the rubber band deserves a second glance because it might have become edible in the last 2 seconds.

What is most strange to me is that a dead squirrel on our route really makes her day. She would be happy to spend all day sniffing it, but a dead squirrel in our living room is old news.

Why doesn't she show any interest in fresh meat unless I am standing in the kitchen chopping it up for dinner?

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Help me de-vole my garden. Humanely.

Why doesn't my dog eat cat kill?