Voles have nibbled at your vegetables and you are angry and want to get rid of the animals as soon as possible? Poisoning a vole is one option, but not a good one. Below you can find out which poisoned baits are available, how they work and which animal-friendly alternatives you have.
Vole venom is harmful to the environment and all living things
poison vole
Various poison baits are available in specialist shops. Due to the high toxicity of the bait, some manufacturers advise against using it in the garden to prevent poisoning other animals. Other baits, on the other hand, should be placed in the vole exits despite their toxicity to aquatic organisms with long-term effects. In order to be deadly, the mice have to ingest the poison over a period of several days.
The effect of poison baits
Poison baits, as their name suggests, are poisonous - and not just for voles! Poison baits contain chemical, toxic substances such as coumatetralyl or zinc phosphide. coumatetralyl prevents blood from clotting, so that the affected animal dies of internal bleeding after 5 to 10 days. While coumatetralyl is practically insoluble in water, it reacts zinc phosphide most severe on contact with moisture. This produces toxic gases such as phosphine, phosphorus and zinc oxide. These can also cause shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness and many other symptoms in humans.
These substances not only harm voles, but also rats, other mouse species and the protected mole. The poison can even kill pets and humans!
Can voles be poisoned?
Voles are not protected. However, according to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, Chapter 5, Section 2, Section 39, it is prohibited:
“…wanting to alarm wildlife or capturing, injuring or killing it without good reason…”
Avoid inflicting unnecessary pain on voles or even torturing them.
Vole poison gas
A more animal-friendly way to repel voles is to use poison gas. The vole gas is usually given in tablet form. These are placed in the burrows where, on contact with moisture, they emit a gas that smells unpleasant to voles and moles. They then flee. To prevent return migration, the measure should be repeated several times. Since the animal is not injured here, the gas can also be used for moles. However, this agent is also extremely toxic to birds, game and other animals and poisons groundwater and soil. It is therefore advisable to avoid poison altogether.
Animal and eco-friendly alternatives
If you want to work without poison for the sake of the environment and your own health, there are various measures that can be taken:
- live trap
- vole scarecrow
- smells
- Ultrasound (caution, unpleasant for other animals too!)
- Plants against voles