You should know, perhaps you already do, that Moles don't eat Hostas. They are carnivores that eat earthworms and grubs. They may make tunnels in the wrong place and uproot a Hosta, but I've never had that happen in 20 years of growing them.

Voles will eat Hosta roots. What you should look for are small (mouse sized) holes that are in the ground. I often see these around foundations or patios or large rocks. They stay warmer in those places. You should also look for shallow tunnels that will indicate the presence of voles. If I see evidence over the winter I set out small mouse traps with peanut butter or apple and cover them with a heavy pot. Check the traps regularly to see what gets trapped. Mice have long tails. Voles have short tails and they are a dark gray color.

Do not put out poison. Critters that eat poison do not go underground to die. Nor do they die right away. Often they get eaten by hawks or other predators and you end up poisoning non-target animals.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Vole tunnel images

That was very helpful, Steve, thanks so much! I haven't seen evidence of voles yet, but didn't really know what to look for. I'll keep an eye out for this.

Funn, as far as the deer go, purchase Liquid Fence. It's a large bottle you spray around your garden bed. It smells HORRIBLE (just like an outhouse), but to us humans the stench only lasts a couple hours. Deer seem to smell it for days. I spray around whatever I want protected twice a week, and just in a big swath around the bed, not around every individual Hosta.

It's the only thing I've found to work against deer and rabbits.

I used "I Must Garden" brand deer repellent. I sprayed every hosta leaf and did it about three times this season. It does not stink, smells like mint, but it obviously has egg solids in it. One morning there was evidence of deer travel through my garden. Every Liriope had the centers bit out, but no Hostas were damaged.

My bow hunting neighbor did take a couple of deer out of the woods near my house last winter, and I'm hoping he'll do it again this year.

Kathy

I made my own liquid fence. 4 eggs, some garlic, gallon of water and a couple of other ingredients to make sure it sticks.

Let it sit in the sun for a few days. Smells bad, but beats the price of buying Liquid Fence by a long shot.

A couple of my neighbors even commented about deer being around my Hosta, but they don't eat them.