Voles are small, mouselike rodents that can be pests in gardens and landscapes. They damage many types of plants with their gnawing, from vegetables to turf to trees. Voles can gnaw completely around the trunk or roots of trees, causing girdling, which can kill trees.
Voles spend most of their time below ground in their burrows, but you can spot their presence by the well-traveled runways connecting the burrow openings. They prefer not to feed in the open to keep away from predators.
Voles are normally found in areas with dense vegetation, so clearing brush is one way to discourage them. Find out more about managing these rodents in the newly updated Pest Notes: Voles. UC Davis Wildlife Specialist Roger Baldwin has added information such as range maps, distinguishing vole damage from gopher damage, and improving trapping success.
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- Author: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
- Posted by: Lauren Fordyce
Many people think wild rabbits hopping around are adorable—there's even an international rabbit day celebrating wild and domestic rabbits—but they're less welcome when they're eating your carefully tended garden. Wild rabbits in California can devour your garden vegetables, just like Peter Cottontail. And they don't stop at lettuce and beans. Rabbits and hares will gnaw tree bark, flowers, most green vegetation, and even drip irrigation tubing.
UC Davis Wildlife Specialist Roger Baldwin has revised the Pest Notes: Rabbits and included more detailed management methods for jackrabbits, cottontails, and other wild rabbits. Managing vertebrate pests is often regulated but you don't need a license to take rabbits causing damage on your property. Several methods from excluding to trapping can be effective. Directions for building a rabbit fence, the most effective, long-term management choice, is included in this publication. But as Mr. McGregor found out, you must maintain your fences or rabbits will sneak in!
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- Author: UC IPM
A single gopher can destroy a landscape quickly, so control measures need to begin as soon as the gopher is detected. Mounds of fresh soil are usually the first indication of their presence. Effective integrated management of pocket gophers relies largely on exclusion measures and trapping, although poison baits are also available.
Read more about gophers, their behavior, and management in UC IPM's newly updated Pest Notes: Pocket Gophers, by Dr. Roger Baldwin, University of California Cooperative Extension Specialist in Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution.
Gophers are well-known and certainly unwelcome pests in landscapes, gardens, lawns, and athletic turf. More correctly called pocket gophers, these rodents mostly remain hidden underground in tunnels and feed on plants from below, sometimes pulling whole plants into their tunnels. They prefer herbaceous plants but will eat a wide range of vegetation.
A single gopher can destroy a landscape quickly, so control measures need to begin as soon as the gopher is detected. Mounds of fresh soil are usually the first indication of their presence. Effective integrated management of pocket gophers relies largely on exclusion measures and trapping, although poison baits are also available.
Read more about gophers, their behavior, and management in UC IPM's newly updated Pest Notes: Pocket Gophers, by Dr. Roger Baldwin, University of California Cooperative Extension Specialist in Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution.
What's new in this version? Find updates about current restrictions on fumigant and rodenticide use, optimal trapping techniques, and new carbon monoxide exhaust machines.
Although they're small, cute, and furry, ground squirrels can be a real pest for California residents and gardeners. Found throughout California, burrowing ground squirrels cause damage to landscapes and structures while feeding on ornamental or food-bearing plants.
How can you get rid of ground squirrels?
There are several management options for ground squirrels. They might include:
- habitat modification
- exclusion
- trapping
- fumigation and toxic baits
It's important to understand the life cycle and behavior of ground squirrels for effective management. In California, ground squirrels are dormant during winter so traps are most effective between February and October.
Ground squirrels can spread diseases to humans through fleas and ticks, including bubonic plague. Never handle dead squirrels and be sure to notify your local public health officials if you find unusual numbers of squirrels dead for no apparent reason.
Find more detailed information about identifying and managing ground squirrels in the recently updated Pest Notes: Ground Squirrel by University of California experts Niamh Quinn, Monica Dimson, and Roger Baldwin.
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