Stopping the reign of critters (without cats)

Ah, cats. They show their respect and devotion in strange ways. If you are the owner of a beloved feline – particularly one who dwells at least part-time in the outdoors, you’ve probably grown accustomed to looking twice before stepping out the front door. Cats often offer their contribution to the household by dropping gifts – in the form of various lifeless wildlife – at the main entrance to the family dwelling. No matter how well loved, a cat’s instinct to hunt, catch, kill and deposit at the door rodents and birds is far from endearing.

Most people would likely wish to rid cats of their instinct to hunt feathered wildlife. Terrible as it is to say, though, some gardeners might prefer the sight of mice and their kind in the state mentioned above. After planting hundreds of dollars worth of fruit trees or dozens of pricey rare bulbs, many gardeners’ efforts and hopes have been destroyed by the voracious pests.

As summer marches onward, your thoughts might be turning to planting fall bulbs or preparing your orchard for winter. Unfortunately, many gardeners have given up on planting bulbs in autumn, resigning that they may never see the luscious vibrant blooms of tulips in spring. Furry, four-legged underground-dwelling critters may feast throughout winter on the bulbs we set in autumn, making our efforts frustrating, at best.

Mice, moles, voles. It turns out not all of these critters are as detrimental as one might assume. To control the damage done by these animals, we must first properly identify the population on hand and tailor control methods accordingly.

First of all, the mole. This terrestrial critter is an insect eater and feeds mainly on white grubs living in the soil. The garden mole is in the animal order Insectivora. With large feet designed for digging, the mole tunnels through the soil, searching for prey and building pathways and nests.

If you have experienced mole damage to your lawn, you have likely witnessed “molehills” – soil mounded at the surface, with a distinct tunneling effect throughout areas of the yard. Although molehills might disturb us visually, moles actually are providing much-needed aeration throughout the top of the soil profile. By feeding on grubs – the larval stage of many insect pests – they may control pests such as the Japanese beetle.

To rid the lawn of moles, one sustainable route of control would be to minimize the population of grubs in the lawn. Alternatively, we might consider tolerating a bit of mole damage and accept that they fit into the ecosystem of our yard and garden environment by curbing the activities of potentially destructive insects and grubs.

This said, moles are often blamed for plant damage they do not inflict: Often they are blamed for eating bulbs and bark, but they aren’t the culprits. Damage to bulbs and the bark of young trees is almost certainly done by voles, also called meadow mice, or deer mice or white-footed mice. These critters feed mainly on vegetative material and are closely related to the common house mouse. They belong to the animal order Rodentia.

Identifying precisely which critter is roaming the yard may be easier said then done. Therefore, taking care to avoid in the first place attracting the pests to your precious plantings may be the best strategy. As far as fall-planted bulbs are concerned, avoid amending your garden soil with any product that contains bone meal. Bone meal attracts some rodents, thereby encouraging damage.

Many gardeners will testify that sprinkling mothballs throughout the garden yields successful results in deterring moles, voles and mice from the garden. Others say that dusting the garden with the shavings from bars of fragrant soap effectively wards off the pests. Some report that plugging the entryways to major tunnels with small stones and tamping down on tunnels keeps their damage to a minimum.

As for fruit trees, most damage is inflicted during the autumn and winter months. Apple, cherry, hawthorn, mountain ash and other ornamental landscape and orchard trees are particularly susceptible to rodent damage. These trees have a relatively high sugar content, which makes them a desirable target.

In autumn, voles and mice seek shelter for the oncoming difficult months. Raking away fallen leaves from the base of trees reduces the amount of cover available to pests of all sort. Haul the leaves away to the compost pile and recycle the nutrients in the form of a nutritious mulch over the tree’s root area in spring.

A simple and effective strategy for curbing winter damage to is to keep the snow around the base of the trees as compact as possible. Stomp down on the area around the circumference of each tree trunk after each snowfall. Likewise, stomp down on any tunnel systems you spot throughout the yard. Hard-packed snow makes for very hard tunneling on the part of rodents and sends the message that your precious trees are off-limits to their ever-interested taste buds!

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 512 North Ridge Road, Montville 04941 or e-mail dianagc@midcoast.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.