Voles - How to Get Rid of Them in Your Garden Without Poison
updated 11 July 2026
Quick answer
First make sure it really is a vole and not a mole - a vole is a rodent that eats roots, bulbs and bark and leaves small holes without big mounds. Combine several methods: vibration, repellent plants and scents, mesh at the bottom of the beds and live traps. Skip the poison baits, especially if pets spend time in your garden.
Step by step
- 1
Tell a vole from a mole
A vole is a small rodent that eats roots and bulbs and gnaws bark, so plants suddenly wilt and pull out of the ground easily. It makes small, open holes, about 3-4 cm across, and shallow runways, without throwing up large mounds. A mole builds cone-shaped mounds but feeds on earthworms and grubs, so it leaves roots alone.
- 2
Find the burrows and runways
Part the mulch and grass around damaged plants to locate the entrances and trodden paths. Voles travel fixed routes, often under ground cover. That is exactly where traps and repellers work best.
- 3
Use vibration
Push solar or battery-powered vibrating stakes into the ground, because the tremors and humming discourage rodents from tunneling nearby. Space them every few meters, since each one covers a limited range. The home-made version is buried bottles that hum in the wind.
- 4
Use repellent plants and scents
Voles avoid crown imperial, garlic, ornamental allium and daffodils, so plant them around your beds and borders. Push crushed elder leaves and twigs or garlic cloves into the runways. Scents only support the other methods and need refreshing.
- 5
Line the beds with mesh from below
When building raised beds, line the bottom with galvanized mesh with a fine grid, about 6-13 mm (1/4-1/2 in), so rodents cannot reach the roots from below. Plant valuable things such as tulips and young trees in wire baskets. This is the most effective, lasting barrier.
- 6
Protect tree trunks for winter
In winter, under the snow cover, voles gnaw the bark at the base of young trees, and girdling the trunk can kill the tree. Fit fine mesh guards or protective spirals on the trunks, and keep snow and mulch away from the root collar. Short-mown grass around the trees limits their hiding places.
- 7
Set live traps
Place live traps in the active runways, baited with a piece of apple, carrot or celery. Check them often and release the captured animals well away from buildings. It is a more humane method than poison and safer for the surroundings.
- 8
Support their natural enemies
Voles have many natural enemies: owls, kestrels, weasels, foxes and cats. Put up perching posts for birds of prey and consider a nest box for an owl. A varied garden with allies like these regulates rodent numbers by itself.
Vole or mole? A quick check
This distinction decides everything, because the methods are completely different. If plants suddenly wilt, the roots and bulbs are gnawed, and you see small holes and shallow runways with no big mounds, you have voles, meaning rodents. If cone-shaped mounds of fresh soil appear while the plants stay healthy, it is a mole.
In Poland the mole is a protected species and an ally on top of that, because it eats grubs and larvae and never touches roots. Do not fight it and do not mistake it for a vole. Before you do anything, identify the culprit, so you do not waste time or harm a useful animal.
Physical barriers that actually work
The most reliable protection is not a scent but a mechanical obstacle. Line the bottom of raised beds and the planting holes of valuable plants with fine galvanized mesh, and plant bulbs and young trees in wire baskets. A rodent cannot chew through metal and simply gives up.
In winter, look after the trunks separately. Mesh guards or spirals at the base of young trees protect the bark from gnawing under the snow, which in extreme cases kills the tree. Keep the grass short and the root collar clear, because thick cover gives voles a comfortable, safe route.
What not to do
Skip the poison baits, especially if dogs, cats or children spend time in the garden. Poisoned rodents also endanger the predators that eat them - owls, hedgehogs and weasels - which are your natural allies against voles. Rely on barriers, live traps and repellents instead.
Do not try to smoke the animals out with gas or carbide, or flood the burrows, because these methods are dangerous, largely ineffective and cruel. And do not fight the mole after mistaking it for a vole. Getting rid of voles for good means patiently combining several gentle methods, not one drastic fix.
Frequently asked questions
›How do you get rid of voles in the garden?
Combine several methods at once: vibrating repellers, plants and scents that voles dislike, mesh at the bottom of the beds, and live traps in the runways. Support their natural enemies and skip the poison - no single method works as well as the whole set.
›What is the difference between a vole and a mole?
A vole is a rodent that eats roots, bulbs and bark, making plants wilt, and leaves small holes without big mounds. A mole is an insectivore that builds mounds but feeds on earthworms and larvae, leaving roots alone. The mole is also protected and useful.
›Which scents and plants do voles dislike?
Crown imperial, garlic, ornamental allium and daffodils repel them, as do elder twigs and leaves pushed into the runways. Treat these as support, not a standalone fix, so refresh the scents regularly and combine them with barriers.
›Is vole poison safe to use?
Not in a garden visited by pets or children. Poison risks harming a dog or cat, as well as the predators that eat the poisoned rodents. Live traps and mesh barriers are safer and more effective.
›What should you plant to repel voles?
Plant crown imperial, garlic, ornamental allium and daffodils around your beds and borders, because their scent and bitter bulbs put rodents off. Plants alone will not solve the problem, but combined with mesh and traps they clearly help.