If you discover bite marks that look like two short, side-by-side lines carved into the flesh of your potato tubers, voles or mice are probably to blame.
Place your seed potatoes on top of the soil, then cover with a few more inches. As the potatoes grow, continue to cover them with soil. To harvest, all you have to do it dump the bucket. It's super easy and, thankfully, it is protected from mice.
The most widespread species in the state is the California vole (Microtus californicus), which occurs in the Central Valley and throughout the length of the coast range. Most damage to potatoes occurs in the Klamath Basin, where the montane vole (M. montanus) is found.
🦌 Deer and Rabbits
Deer and rabbits are common culprits when it comes to nibbling on potato plants.
If you have holes in your potatoes suspect slug or cutworm or wireworm (see below) damage. Click here for our detailed article on potato eelworm.
In addition to these edibles, some squirrels may eat leafy green plants as well as flowers from different types of trees such as willow branches or magnolia blooms. They'll also chow on cauliflower, cucumbers, potatoes, and even onions!
Protect plantings from voles with a fence that's buried 3 to 6 inches below the soil surface and bent outwards into an L-shape. Above ground, the fence should be from 4 to 12 inches tall. Use non-rusting, one-quarter-inch mesh. Hardware cloth works well.
Potatoes have toxic components which must be removed before they are offered to the pet rats, and the potatoes must always be cooked. Pumpkin is generally a suitable food for rats with the exception of the ornamental pumpkin which contains dangerous bitter substances.
Even if toxic quantities of solanine are not ingested, potatoes are calorically dense and high in starch, which can throw off a rabbit's delicate gastrointestinal system and lead to serious digestive concerns.
APHIDS. Aphids, or “plant lice,” are a pest of many crops, including potato. These small (1/20 - 1/10 inch long), greenish- to blackish-colored, soft-bodied insects usually are found on the underside of leaves. Immatures look like adults, except smaller.
They do uproot some plants with their digging (I just replant them) and they will munch on my early potatoes so I have to surround the potato gro-bags with hardware cloth. The sunflower sprouts either go in a salad or the compost bin and chipmunks are fun to watch, so we have learned to get along peacefully. . .
Use Poison Baits
These pesky creatures can wreak havoc on your garden, eating vegetables and leaving behind mounds of dirt. The best way to get rid of them is with poison baits. The baits lure the voles into eating them, and the poison kills them. This method is effective and safe for other animals and humans.
One way to distinguish the difference is by the diet of each animal. Moles “M” are meat-eaters, and their diet consists of insects, grubs, and earthworms. Voles “V”, on the other hand, are vegetarians and eat the roots and stems of plants.
While slugs are the obvious culprit for holey potatoes, it's not the whole story. Wireworm, the larvae of the click beetle, are very fond of potatoes and will tunnel through tubers, leaving ready-made access for slugs.
Use an air compressor to thoroughly clean your equipment and be sure no food source remains anywhere on it. Leftover grain or corn will not only attract the small rodents, but could attract bigger pests, like squirrel or raccoon. Leave bait boxes or traps in and around the shed or barn, and not in the cabs.
Rabbits count vegetables and herbs among their favorite foods. Most greens found in a supermarket are safe for rabbits, with a few limitations and exceptions. (See the list of foods to avoid below.) No more than 2 cups daily of fresh vegetables should be given to adult rabbits.
Peanut Butter
The creamy snack will do nothing for rabbits, except possibly give them a tummy ache.
Our Jade, Ruby, and Sapphire Gems and Black Pearl Paste are the trusted choice for controlling the rat populations. Manufacture of our pest controller's favourite rodenticides is high to ensure products are readily available as the weather worsens.
In addition to garbage cans, raccoons are notorious for their love of sweet corn. These omnivores will also eat strawberries, tree fruits, peas, potatoes, melons, and grubs found in your lawn. They will dig holes in maturing melons and munch on ripening tree fruit.
Yes, mice are attracted to potatoes.
Voles probably don't like the bitter smell of coffee grounds. Scattering the used and dried coffee at the entrances and exits of the tunnels can help to drive the rodents away. However, the coffee grounds must be spread again regularly as soon as the smell has dissipated.
A more frugal method of control is to set wireworm traps. Dig several holes, 10cm (4in) deep, then plant half a potato or a chunk of carrot. Backfill the holes with soil and mark their locations with sticks. Before planting your potatoes, dig up the traps and pop any wireworm you find onto a bird table.
Gardeners who grow potatoes in the ground or in raised beds may find themselves facing damage from mice and voles from time to time. These two little critters love to burrow through garden soil in search of potato tubers.