Otherwise, members of the Virginia Camellia Society recommend working small gravel with sharp edges into your garden soil. Dig a shallow trench around the perimeter of the rootball of plants and refill with a mixture of 10 percent gravel and 90 percent soil. When creating new beds, work gravel throughout the soil. The gravels' sharp edges irritate the rodent's skins, nose and paws. N.C. They also grow gopher spurge to deter moles.
Voles generally use the tunnels that moles make.
Thin wire to secure ends of guard. Cut the hardware cloth so it has pie-shaped sections. Roll the hardware cloth into a circle to form about a 24-inch diameter. Dig a trench around a plant 12-inches deep, place hardware cloth in trench and backfill with original soil. Fold the pie-shaped wire sections toward the trunk of the plant and fasten together with wire.