One of the key problems preventing high yields is the water rat (water vole). An uninvited guest mercilessly damages seedlings, steals sweet roots and potatoes from the beds, destroys bulbous flowers and causes irreparable damage to the root system of fruit and berry plants.
Water vole: description
This rat is called a vole because of its habitat in natural conditions.
Body length - up to 24 cm, tail - about 10 cm, covered with small dense hairs, body weight - about 200 grams. The muzzle is blunt, shortened. Ears are small, hidden in wool. The fur is very lush, gray-brown. Sometimes there are black individuals. The vole chooses swamps, streams, small reservoirs, reclamation ditches located in close proximity to summer cottages as its habitat. The water rat swims well, dives well. In the natural environment, it feeds on soft and succulent parts of marsh plants: young shoots of reeds, basal parts of sedge, reeds and cattails; forfull saturation of such low-nutrient food the animal consumes in very large quantities.
Vole lifestyle
Under natural conditions, the water vole, the fight against which is often unsuccessful, is an active shrew. She digs large and complex burrows at shallow depths, and equips exits to the surface in unremarkable places: dense grass thickets, littered areas, nearby landfills.
During the season, water voles produce 2-4 broods, each of which has 6-7 cubs. At the age of one month, the animals are happy to switch to juicy food, including the rhizomes of garden flowers and young trees. Part of the younger generation begins to breed in the same year.
For the winter, the water vole (photos are presented in the article) is carefully stored; gardeners often find her warehouses, in which several buckets of selected tubers that have migrated here from the garden are neatly stacked. Moreover, even the type and size of vegetables is important for the animal: carefully selected tubers are one to one - medium and even.
Signs of the appearance of a water vole in a personal plot:
- appearance of burrows on lawns with grass gnawed around them;
- hole diameter 5-8 cm;
- moves dug under the very surface of the soil.
Water vole: methods of struggle
The vole has no natural enemies. Traps and mousetraps for this animal are ineffective and are aimed atdestruction of a small number of individuals. An arc trap is set in the ground at a depth of about 20 cm near the exit from the hole, which is used when catching fur-bearing animals. Holes with traps should not be covered or covered with earth.
It is extremely difficult for a person to deal with such a neighbor. One of the methods of dealing with an uninvited guest is bait. Diverse in composition, they are aimed at achieving the same goal. Baits are recommended to be laid out in cut plastic bottles, pipe cuts, under boxes with holes made in them. Mix the product with a wooden stick or a plastic object, because water voles are sensitive to human smell.
Bait recipes
- Recipe number 1: dilute 20-25 g of gypsum with 30-40 g of flour and a small amount of vegetable oil. The animal dies from plaster, which, when it enters the stomach, begins to harden.
- Recipe number 2: One part of gypsum and fried bran and two parts of lard. The resulting mixture must be divided into balls and spread out in places where rats are settled.
- Recipe number 3: combine 20 g of rosin with 20 g of powdered sugar and 15 g of borax.
- Recipe 4: Poisoned grain, baits from it are most effective in the autumn.
- Recipe number 5: Sugar and m alt are mixed in equal proportions into a container with quicklime, dishes with water are placed nearby. The rat, having satisfied his hunger, will immediately want to drink. This action will be the final one in her life.
Water voles do not tolerate the smell of garlic, milkweed,blackroot and hazel grouse. A large number of such plants planted on the site will cause an exodus of rodents. To be sure of the method, it is recommended to put walnut leaves, fish heads, garlic cloves in holes.
Tricks in the fight against the water vole
Many gardeners try to expel water rats from their territory by inserting a hose into the discovered underground passages, the other end of which is connected to the exhaust pipe of a car. An idling engine fills the passages with harmful exhaust gases. The method does not always work if the underground labyrinths are highly branched and intricate.
Some gardeners scare voles with loud noises. To do this, plastic bottles with holes made in them must be buried at an angle in the soil. Wind entering inside will be converted into a mournful whistle that rats cannot stand.
Effective are special ultrasonic rodent repellers sold in stores. The operation of these devices requires a constant power source or regular replacement of batteries. It is also recommended to change the sound range, in order to avoid animals getting used to it.
Interesting materials for expelling odor sensitive water vole are:
- Rabbit skin. It can be cut into several pieces, filled with burrows and set on fire.
- Kiln soot. Diluted with water to a viscous consistency, it is recommended to pour it into holes.
If the above methods are ineffective, you will have to use chemicals,which need to be laid out in holes or near them. This action is recommended to be repeated after 5-7 days. Chemicals pose a direct danger to pets, so there should not be beloved pets in the area of their application.
Vole precautions
In addition to using various baits, be sure to keep the area clean; in late autumn, in order to protect against frost and pests, tie tree trunks with covering materials. After each big snowfall on thaw days, the snow around the trees needs to be trampled down: compressed, after a cold snap, it becomes an insurmountable obstacle for rodents.
When cleaning dead animals from the territory, it should be remembered that they are carriers of tularemia, a dangerous infectious disease. Therefore, the vole should never be taken by hand.
Subsequently, in order to prevent water voles from entering the well-groomed area, it is recommended to erect a fence on a solid deepened (minimum 40 cm) foundation. It is important to prevent gaps in fence sections and attachment points through which water voles could enter.
