Two foot piece of rhizome lying in the yard this morning

[jpluddite]

Howdy folks.

This morning, I found a two-foot piece of rhizome lying adjacent to my bamboo bed. What sort of critter does that? Voles? Squirrels?

jp

[Alan_L]

Evidence of a hole of some sort? I mean, is it obvious where the rhizome was before it was dug up? Are there any bite marks on the rhizome?

[jpluddite]

I don't see where the rhizome came through the ground. There are a couple quarter-sized holes in the straw/leaf cover, but a two-foot piece of rhizome could make it through without more obvious messing of the bed. But, I do have a trench in front of the bed, so it's possible the critter took the rhizome through there.

I'm not sure if there are teeth marks, but I'll post a couple pictures. They're not great, but they're the best I could get.

I'm hoping that if I had voles, the bamboo would be struggling, but they're doing fine.

jp

[jpluddite]

Here are a couple pictures. The blurry one makes it look much more gnawed on than it is.

jp

[dependable]

If this sort of thing keeps happening, you might want to get a motion activated game camera. Ben Meadows has a good selection. I am going to get one for my small pond & maybe driveway entrances. Fun to see who visits at night!(?)

[needmore]

Quarter size holes, sounds like voles, add in the chew marks as well. This is why I can't mulch anymore, it creates nice vole habitat. Give the culms a tug and see if they pull back hard or feel loose.

[jpluddite]

I was afraid someone was going to say the V word.

They look fine, no leaf curling or blonding of culms, so I still have hope.

But, assuming the worst case, if I pull the culms and they give, should I go ahead and remove all that will come out?

jp

[needmore]

Stick a couple of fingers in the holes and see if you can easily start tracing the runs by pulling up at the soil with your fingers. If they are vole runs you should easily be able to dig a quick trench that starts snaking around. If you can't trace the runs easily then its probably not voles.

If you can easily lift the culms, I'd go ahead and pull them out, examine the rhizomes to see if there are clearly viable buds left and pot them up for recovery.

[jpluddite]

Okay, will do.

Now the polyanna question: Is there anything I can do to control the voles? [I've found several posts about the evils of voles but less about how to control them]

jp

[dependable]

I have had good success with a product that is made of castor oil and a filler like fullers earth. , it is sold under several brands. Bonide Mole scram, or something like that, St Gabrilal organics Holly Molly. There are others. I know it says moles, but works for voles and other burrowing mammals . It is supposed to give them the runs and drive them away, but after reading more about castor beans on this forum, it may be more fatal then that(oh well). Follow the part on the instructions about wearing gloves.

[jpluddite]

Dependable,

Do you know whether mole scram (or similar) are safe to have near a vegetable garden?

jp

[dependable]

It is supposed to be safe for pets and humans once it is watered in(on lawns). I am pretty sure it is fine near a food garden, maybe even on garden itself, though I would not want to put it on too close to harvest. The best thing to do would be to check the label on the product you choose. I would put it on my veg garden if I needed to.

[jpluddite]

Dependable,

I checked the labels, and it seems safe. How often do you apply it?

jp

[Alan_L]

The labels don't say how often to apply?

[jpluddite]

The labels have suggestions, but the few reviews I've found say that it works well initially but that it's effectiveness wears off after a couple weeks. So, I was wondering how often you applied it.