Voles have overtaken my yard. I’m generally a “live and let live” type of gal. And, these voles have more or less recreated the Sierras in my yard (front and back) so that walking through the yard is a hazard. Something had to be done.

A neighbor told me that voles don’t like castor oil. So I bought four bottles of castor oil from the drugstore, mixed them with water in a spray bottle, and coated our lawn.

I was severely underwhelmed by the results.

What I expected: Voles, overwhelmed by the scent of castor oil, exiting my yard en masse. Kind of like the reaction of the Wicked Witch of the West when she was doused with water. Or Moses, parting the Red Sea. An immediate, grand, response.

What actually happened: Nothing.

No voles left my yard. If anything, they created more tunnels. So I bought castor oil granules, which you spread over the lawn and in the tunnels, and methodically move the voles one direction or the other. I don’t love this option, because this simply means moving the voles to another spot. ie, to one of my neighbors’ yards. So I’m trying to move them towards the street, to the very wide swatch of grass between the sidewalk and the road.

I’ll report back in a week.