Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) after lg meal of vole!

[David]

Any enemy of voles is a friend of mine!



Common garter snake after a lg meal of vole or field mouse. Found sunning in the iridescens mini grove. Go forth and prosper. Bring your friends, and eat well.

Beautiful isn't he/she?

[Iowaboo]

Tons of them were just coming out of hibernation the other day, so they should be onto their breeding and fooding in the landscape.

[David]

I changed the subject line hoping to spark a little more interest in our reptilian friend.

[Eastlandia]

Speaking of subterrainian life, When looking at rhizomes I sometimes come across a toad that is sitting in the deep earth, waiting for spring. Shooie, thats enough to make me jump back (about 10 feet). I only have had one snake...and he was just passing through.
My dogs dig and kill moles and voles. But they dont know what they're doing. Again, its a funny farm up here!
Hey! they "train" snakes in India! just train the snake to eat more!
...I can see it now: Forget Metal Mole Traps of the Past! Trained Garter Snakes for only 10.95 an hour!
-Eastlandia

[CadyG]

Great photo.
I wish my property were sunny enough to attract snakes, but it's too shady and small. For some reason, the screech owls and even hawks visit, though, so I have allies in the battle against voles.

[needmore]

I was just checking my Sasa Kurilensis Shimofuri for shoots and decided to tug the culms - all came out, no signs of any rhizome at all and a vole run right through the midst. They love this species and have eaten every bit of the 2 I've planted.

[David]

Brad, I wonder if you could change the taste of the sasa shoots with one of the systemic deer repellants, and make them undesireable to the voles?

[CadyG]

I would plant again, but in tubs topped with hardware cloth "cages" this time. (the shoots grow through the holes in the wire, but varmints can't get in to munch the rhizomes.

[Iowaboo]

Why does one bamboo species get hit and the other does not?

Simply, by chance. Voles aren't fussy. They find a place and camp out.

Voles are the nomads of the new world.

[bambooweb]

I talked to Sue Turtle today and they use repellex tablets for voles.
She said that the tablets work for about two years.

She also mentioned that they put a tablet in the pot a month or so before planting a bamboo so the plant can take up the chemical before the voles get a chance to taste the rhizomes.

Bill

[needmore]

I soaked the rootball of this in liquid Repellex before planting it, as I do with most collector species. This last a long time and acts as a systemic. Apparently it wore off...

The Turtles do what Cady suggests with the wire but they built raised beds that have wire bottoms and the bamboo does not come in contact with the ground. Still they found that squirrel and deer will go well out of the way to eat the shoots, thus the Repellex tabs. It has been their observation that critters of all ilk prefer Shimofuri above all other species. They grow all of their commercial groundcovers in these custom beds Adam designed, with angled sides & ends that deflect rhizomes upward. It seems very effective for dividing & protecting.

I am contacting vendors now to try to find a 3rd one and I'll cage 'em up