Voles are among the worst enemies in the garden. They will eat just about any vegetable, fruit bush and flower and are difficult to drive away. This article explains how coffee grounds help against them.
In a nutshell
- Coffee grounds are a cheap remedy for voles
- easy to apply
- but must be repeated often
- harmless to humans and animals
Table of contents
- Voles in the garden
- collect coffee grounds
- Application
- frequently asked Questions
Voles in the garden
Voles (Arvicolinae) can be found in almost every garden and often make life difficult for the gardener. They eat the roots of many plants, including young fruit trees, and can thus kill them. Keeping the number of voles in check in the garden is not that easy. There are different methods, but they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Coffee grounds are readily available in every home that uses coffee, making it one of the cheapest ways to get rid of voles.
A notice: The simplest method is to nurture beneficials that will decimate the burrowers. These include, for example, small predators such as foxes, martens and badgers.
collect coffee grounds
Damp coffee grounds are difficult to use for other purposes, so it always makes more sense to dry the coffee grounds thoroughly. In an airtight container, it will keep for a very long time various uses be used.
The coffee grounds are best spread out on a baking tray and dried either in the sun or in a warm oven until they crumble into fine crumbs between your fingers.
Application
- Dig up holes or passages (the mice then close them up again by themselves)
- Pour coffee grounds into every accessible aisle
- it is better to use too much than too little
- Repeat application as often as possible
- Coffee grounds quickly lose their effectiveness when they come into contact with moist soil
- Be patient, the method often does not work immediately
- also, if possible, limit the influx of further rodents
- for example through barriers made of rabbit wire in the ground
A notice: Since coffee grounds only work with their smell, it is not necessary to make sure whether there really are voles or moles in the garden. The smell of coffee can drive both animals away.
frequently asked Questions
It doesn't harm the voles in any way, as they don't eat it, but at best just avoid it. The same applies to other animals. Too much coffee grounds in the soil can acidify it and cause plants that don't like acidic soil to not grow well. For plants that like acidic substrates Coffee grounds rather than fertilizer consider.
There are countless Medication against voles. But most of them have a dubious or only temporary effect. Fermented Buttermilk and garlic are said to be able to drive away mice with their smell just like coffee grounds, but they have to be used again and again.
The smell of coffee grounds can also drive away various other animals. However, they react very individually, which is why it does not always work. Burning coffee grounds is said to work against mosquitoes, for example, but also against wasps.