7 Best Vole Poisons, Repellents & Traps – Effective Killers

Updated on by Jared Belson | Please note that there may be affiliate links on this page.

Many rodents can be more than just a nuisance in your home and the property. Voles can be dangerous to plant life, so knowing the best vole poisons, repellents & traps will come in very handy.

I’ve made a selection of my top picks that can help you manage the vole population, regardless of its size. I’ve also included tips on how to select the best product for you.

7 Best Vole Poisons, Repellents, & Traps

If you’re looking for a humane way of dealing with voles and other small rodents, try Nature’s Mace Mole & Vole Repellent. It offers an all-natural formula and comes in 32oz, one gallon, or five-gallon canisters.

The concentrate is very potent and uses 100% castor oil. Even the smallest bottle should be enough to protect up to 5,000sq.ft. of property. What I also like about this product is that castor oil mixes well with water.

That makes it an ideal ground-penetrating repellent as it can go deep into the soil, retain its properties, and chase away voles, moles, and other burrowing rodents. Of course, the fact that it’s non-toxic to humans, pets, and plants makes it even better.

  • Ground-penetrating technology
  • 100% castor oil
  • Reliable and long-lasting repellent
  • Available in three sizes
  • Potent odor once it dries

The JT Eaton 902R is a top-loader bait station. It can hold up to four or five rat-sized baits, which should be enough to take care of many voles in quick succession. Although the bait station is plastic, it’s quite sturdy and has excellent weather resistance.

Thanks to the station’s smart design, baits should last longer, especially those that are susceptible to damage from moisture. The anchor holes are big, so they should fit well on various types of fences. I also like that the design is tamper-proof for kids, pets, and rodents.

Note that the trap doesn’t come with any bait included. I recommend checking out the JT Eaton Rodenticide Anticoagulant Bait. It’s peanut butter flavored, and the bait blocks are the perfect size for this contraption.

  • Can strap it to fences, trees, beams, etc.
  • Can hold up to 5 bait blocks
  • Tamper-proof
  • Weather-resistant
  • Sample bait blocks not included

Sweeney’s Mole & Gophers poison peanuts pellets are among the best vole killers on the market. The formula is potent and highly palatable. After all, it’s peanut butter-flavored, meaning it will work on all types of rodents including squirrels and mice.

Dispersing this repellent should be easy enough. I’d also like to point out that this is a very cost-effective solution. Not only will you get plenty of pellets to deal with a severe infestation, but you’re also getting two bait tubes.

However, note that this is very toxic stuff. It’s best to keep it away from pets and kids. Preferably, you would place the pellets in mole tunnels, or at least very close to the plant root system. That’s where voles are likely to attack.

There’s another way you can use the pellets. Instead of just sprinkling them on the ground, you can also insert the tube inside tunnels and wait for rodents to come back and snack on the pellets from the surface.

  • Interesting cone-shaped bait tubes
  • Very potent poison
  • Targets a wide range of rodents
  • Affordable
  • Not the fastest-acting poison

Although initially designed to handle mole populations, the Easy-Set Mole Eliminator is just as successful at killing voles too. But is it the best vole trap? It depends on what you need. If you’re searching for a humane trap, this is not the one for you.

However, if you’re looking to protect your lawn, your flowers, your edibles, and your trees, then this might just do the trick. Sure, one trap won’t be enough to kill all voles. But remember that it is reusable and also very easy to set with a foot stepping motion.

Due to its innovative design, you can set the trap without the need for additional digging or expanding tunnels. It also poses less risk of hand injury than other similar traps. That’s very comforting for those that don’t have experience setting such traps.

The only real downside is that you have to figure out the paths voles use the most beforehand. If you can’t set the trap in the direct way of your voles, then you won’t have much success.

  • Hands-free setup
  • No digging required
  • Fast killer
  • Reusable and weather-resistant
  • Requires serious vole activity monitoring

The Repellex formula is not just very potent but also comes in large 24lb buckets. It’s a bit pricier than other similar repellents that use the same ingredients, but it also treats up to 24,000sq.ft.

You’ll notice familiar repelling ingredients such as castor oil, cinnamon oil, garlic, and white pepper, to name a few. Each of these ingredients is very unappealing to voles, even repulsive.

I like that this is an organic product. And the fact that the granules can absorb plenty of water without becoming diluted. It’s great because you can protect your plants from various types of dangerous rodents all year round.

Of course, the area coverage is nothing short of impressive too. However, it’s also worth keeping in mind that this formula may fall a bit short in terms of residual control longevity.

  • Good weather resistance
  • Potent repellent
  • Easy to spread granules
  • Massive area coverage
  • Doesn’t offer long-lasting residual control

The CaptSure Original Mouse Traps are available in two sizes, small and large. You’ll only need small traps to deal with voles. Each trap has a trap door with a spring-loaded mechanism and an easy-access release door at the other end.

If you want to deal with voles humanely and you don’t want to stink up your lawn with repellents, this is a good alternative. The traps are plastic, but they’re see-through and well-aerated.

They’re also impact-resistant, tamper-proof, and, most importantly, weather-resistant. Therefore, you can use these traps inside and outside your home. I also like this design because it significantly reduces the risk of bites and infection.

With solid walls all around and just a few holes for ventilation, there’s no chance the captured vole can bite you during transport or release.

  • Prevents physical contact with captured rodents
  • Humane catch-and-release design
  • Weather-proof
  • Reliable spring-loaded door
  • The trap may be too sensitive at times

Are you looking for a broad-spectrum vole repellent that can keep those pests off your property? If that’d so, the Bonide MoleMax repellent might be the solution. It keeps voles at bay, as well as moles, and other small rodents.

This formulation is available in various value packs, and each bag contains 10lbs of repellent. One bag should be enough for up to 5,000sq.ft. It’s not as potent as other similar products, but the granules do handle weather changes quite nicely.

The main active ingredient is castor oil. But, it’s not the only ingredient. That means that unlike pure castor oil repellents, the Bonide MoleMax won’t create a potent lingering odor on your lawn.

Although perhaps more expensive per ounce than similar alternatives, this formula does have a longer shelf life and lingering effect. The barrier it creates should protect your property for up to three months under optimum weather conditions.

  • Lasts up to 3 months
  • Easy to spread granules
  • Contains castor oil
  • Good square feet coverage
  • Not the cheapest option

How to Deal with Voles

There are three ways to deal with voles or prevent an infestation. Even though these rodents don’t have the fastest breeding cycle, they can still expand to alarming numbers. Properties with lots of plants, trees, and food sources are particularly vulnerable.

Kill Them

To kill voles, you’ll have to use a vole poison. Or any rodent poison that can make short work of small critters.

As is the case with most pesticides, you can find vole poison in many forms from liquid to pellets, to bait blocks. Most of them take a few days to work. However, if you don’t mind the added toxicity, the most potent products will get the job done in under 24 hours.

Of course, you can always use traps. Some go underground and stake voles that trigger them. Others have jaws that snap shut once a vole steps on the trigger, and so on. If you’re familiar with mouse traps, you should know what to expect when it comes to vole traps too.

Drive Them Away

Using vole repellents is a humane way of managing a vole population. You can use repellents to protect plant beds and trees. Or, you can use them to create an additional barrier around your property.

To do this, simply sprinkle or spray repellent along your fence line. This way, you’ll be able to prevent voles from stepping on your property in the first place. While at the same time scaring or repelling existing voles off your property.

Do keep in mind that repellents come in many forms. The most common type will involve ingredients that voles find repulsive. Of course, a stronger alternative might be necessary at times.

By far, the most potent repellents are those formulas that can induce fear. Such products often use predator urine to create a specific scent, which scares voles and other small rodents.

But, that same scent that scares rodents away may also attract said predators onto your property. So it’s not something I would advise using all the time. Your surroundings matter a lot, too, when choosing a vole repellent.

Catch and Release

Catch-and-release traps are very environmentally-friendly. Most of them are either made of galvanized steel or thick plastic. Both options have excellent weather resistance and should last you a long time.

Just as with kill traps, catch-and-release traps or humane traps are also reusable. But what’s even better is the fact that you can handle them with less care and less protection. With most of them, you won’t have to come in contact with the trapped rodent to release it.

How to Pick the Right Bait

Voles, like mice and rats, have a soft spot for anything peanut butter-flavored. That’s why, in most cases, vole baits will have this flavor. So there’s not a lot to worry about with picking the right taste.

That aside, you might want to consider the texture and size of the bait. Bait blocks are always neat, but they can also be expensive and sometimes too big for voles.

I recommend pellets, or even gel bait, to lure voles to their doom or into a humane trap. Smaller baits are easier to work with when you’re setting small traps.

Where to Set Vole Traps or Put Down Barriers

Voles have very predictable patterns, as they’re herbivores. They often go straight for grass, seedlings, bulbs, roots, and even tree bark. That goes for all species of voles.

Therefore, setting down traps on the most beaten path shouldn’t be difficult. Put traps close to the most likely food sources on your property. Do the same thing if you opt for a repellent. Create barriers around plant beds, around trees, sprinkle granules at the base of plant stems, or wherever seeds may fall.

Keep in mind that most vole repellents are non-toxic, so there’s nothing wrong if they come in direct contact with your plants. That’s not to say that castor oil-based repellents can’t alter the taste of your edible plants. However, it won’t be anything too tricky to get rid of if you wash your veggies and greens properly.

8 Solutions for One of the Most Common Outdoor Pests

Voles can be very harmful to your lawn and garden. And, even though they’re less likely to bite you or to enter your home, you should get rid of them as fast as you can.

Given all the options presented in this article, the choice is ultimately yours. You can opt to be gentle about it or quick and decisive.

2 thoughts on “7 Best Vole Poisons, Repellents & Traps – Effective Killers”

  1. We had a significant vole infestation this year in our vegetable garden. This was the 5th year of our garend’s life and excellent production but the first for voles. Which type of poison is safe for us to use this fall and then again next spring and summer to prevent the voles from eating our seeds and seedlings but will not harm the vegetable plants or make the vegetables inedible for humans?

    Reply

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