A few days ago, I planted the salad greens in my garden bed. I watered them, and clipped a few leaves for my husband's lunch. The next morning, I noticed that one head was thinner than I remembered making it. I questioned the kids to see if they tried to help. "No." was the answer. I didn't give it anymore thought, figuring it just looked different from pruning, transplanting, etc.
The kids and I walked next-door for a little Vacation Bible School my neighbor is hosting. We were gone for a couple hours. Upon returning, two more heads of lettuce were chewed to bits! A closer look revealed a vole hole!
Though the little rodents are cute as can be, and I protested their death for a year, I will not be sharing my salad with them! I couldn't find any guaranteed natural deterrents online, so traps it is. Ick.
An avid predator trapper in my past, I don't really enjoy catching anything small and cute. Fox, mink, lynx, wolves, no problem. Voles: spare me! John was taking care of the dead ones yesterday (2 in a couple hours), but I woke this morning to find a dead one that I will have to dispose of. Birds, voles, squirrels, mice...they just shouldn't be dead. They should run around and be cute. I suppose, however, if being cute means eating up all of my hard-earned gardening produce, the voles must die.
You don't think fox and minks are cute?! Although I mostly agree with you, I guess the museum has numbed my feelings toward voles, there are BAJILLIONS of them out there who will run around and be cute, far from your lettuce. :)
ReplyDelete@jen~ fox and mink are cute, but I guess the skill it takes to trap them makes it seem so much more sport-like. :) I have to admit though, seeing how many voles are out there, and how many large piles of vole droppings are under my porch makes me feel more justified to see them die. How strange is that?
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