Narcissus deters voles and rodents.
A good hunch A person has checked it against its sources. If you skip this, it still grows, just less well. The planner suggests it.
How it works
Narcissus bulbs and tissue contain lycorine and related alkaloids, which are toxic to eat. Rodents avoid them accordingly. Field mice rarely touch daffodils even where they readily eat tulips and crocus, so a ring of narcissus tends to be left alone. It works by avoidance. It discourages feeding on the bulbs but is no barrier and no guarantee against every rodent.
The evidence
Evidence: checked against 3 sources in the research-based literature.
The 3 sources
… most often attack tulips, crocus and gladioli and rarely eat daffodils, alliums or colchicums.
Daffodil, hyacinth, and narcissus contain the toxin lycorine, which, if eaten, typically causes nausea.
… are also poisonous, so deer are not tempted to eat them.
Plants it applies to · 1
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How this rule has changed
Every change is dated, newest first. The full record, with each reason, is in the data download.
- Sources updated
- Wording made clearer
- How it works updated
- A person read the sources and confirmed it
- Added to the rules
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Cite this page
Milpa Gardens. “Narcissus deters voles and rodents.” Evidence grade: A good hunch. https://milpa.garden/rules/narcissus-deters-voles-rodents/
A garden planner built on graded evidence. Every claim states its evidence grade and links its sources on the page. Cite it with the grade, and add the date you read it.
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How we grade evidence
- Well established
- The rule names its mechanism and is settled, by sources a person has read and checked or by plain arithmetic and geometry.
- Promising
- The mechanism is named and the literature backs it. A few questions are still open.
- A good hunch
- Plausible by its mechanism, but field studies are thin, so treat it as a lean.
- Contested
- The evidence points both ways, or no study has tested it, so the planner does not enforce it.
- Refuted
- The claim did not survive its sources. It is kept so the folklore can be answered.