Castor oil and voles

by Fate
(Fergus, ON Canada)

The snow has gone and now I see that voles were living underneath it and eating my lawn. If I reseed this bit of lawn and in the fall use castor oil, will it stop the critters from taking up winter residence? If so when should I do it.
With thanks

Doug says that if you have severe vole problems, you're going to have to take a multi-pronged approach to it. Not only do you have to spray with something like castor oil now (to encourage them to move elsewhere) you really want to remove all the flotsam and jetsam surrounding your property so you back their living space away from your lawn. In other words, they have a nearby place to hide for the summer and move into your lawn for the winter. You want to reduce the summer hiding places.

Then spray castor oil during the summer to discourage a range of pests from exploring and then again in the fall before snow cover really socks in and prevents them from establishing themselves.

You'll find directions on the label.