Vole vs. gardener. How a small animal ate my orchard and what I did next.

Who is the water vole and why I hate it (with respect) 

The water vole (Arvicola amphibius), also known as the water rat, is a rodent from the hamster family. It grows up to 20 cm, lives in burrows and — here's the key point — feeds on plant roots. It doesn't gnaw them from the outside. It burrows under the plant from below and cuts the root. The tree looks normal until the first gust of wind knocks it over like it was cut down. Because it actually was cut — just underground. 

If you think this is a small problem — you're wrong. 

Damage assessment that still hurts today 

I live in the Bieszczady Mountains, between Sanok and Bircza. The plot is beautiful, but unguarded — I'm there seasonally from May to September. The rest of the year belongs to nature. And to the vole. 

When I arrived at the plot in spring, I found this: 

Over 20 trees in total. Several years of work, several hundred złoty, dozens of hours of planting. Wiped out by an animal the size of half a shoe.
 
What didn't work

I had vibrational-sonic repellers installed — the kind you stake into the ground that are supposed to generate vibrations and repel rodents.

The vole wasn't interested.

Maybe it got used to it. Maybe it considered them musical background for its feast. The effect was zero.

Plan B: mesh, carbide and beer cans

After a few days of mourning — and one specific evening session with beer and my spouse, watching the sunset — we decided to act differently.

Galvanized mesh

This is the crux of the whole plan. Every new tree is now planted in a "basket" made of small-mesh galvanized wire. I dig a hole, form a cylinder from the mesh, insert it in the hole, fill it with fertile soil and plant the tree. The roots grow inside a metal cage that the vole can't chew through.

Carbide

Regularly — about every two to three weeks — I put carbide in cracks and burrows in the ground. In contact with moisture, it produces acetylene, whose smell is very unpleasant for rodents. It doesn't kill, but effectively repels.

Beer cans on aluminum pipes

Yes, you read that right. Beer cans from evening drinks ended up on aluminum pipes from a plastic tunnel that also didn't survive the winter. They rattle in the wind, vibrate along with the pipe. The whole orchard now looks like an art installation. Or very committed recycling.

New plantings: 12 trees, this time with full protection

I returned with 12 new trees: apples, pears, plums, sour cherries, sweet cherries. Each planted in a galvanized mesh basket. Above each one — a "Książęce" wheat beer can, swaying in the wind.

Will it work? I don't know. I'm a programmer learning gardening and I give no guarantees. But this time I did what I could.

What I learned — and you can take this for free
 

And the fifth lesson, the most important: after every gardening failure, you deserve a beer with a mountain view. It doesn't heal plants, but it definitely helps gardeners.