There’s a new(ish) pest on the block. At least, locally. One of my neighbour’s gardens that I look after has had a problem with voles for the last two years or so, but now they are ‘spreading’ and seem to be a growing problem in several other gardens I work in. Including my own.

The problem is that voles don’t work alone. With their hugely successful reproduction rate, they live in groups and work in gangs to maintain their tunnels and find food. Not only will they cheerfully remove the top growth of freshly planted out seedlings, but they also devour the roots of lots of established plants, which tends to kill them more slowly and by stealth. You don’t know they’ve been nobbled until it’s too late to do anything about it. And that’s the other problem, there doesn’t seem to be much you can do about it. Apparently voles don’t like members of the Allium family and I read that planting a little border of chives around borders and veg beds will help deter them, but I want that many chives about as much as I want voles. Any ideas, anyone?

I can’t not mention the weather this week, can I. I can sum it up in two words scorchio and meltio. I recall writing back in February that despite the winter weather slowing me down, once the warmer weather arrived, I would be unstoppable – until it got too hot. And then I would become stoppable again. And I was right. I used to absolutely revel in the sunshine but now I just wilt. I think it’s because we don’t get much of a run up to the extremes of weather now.

I saw this recently, which made me laugh. Although not relevant for this week, it pretty much sums up a lot of the others.

Currently in Wales: 6 am – de ice the car. 1 pm - apply sunscreen. 8 pm – put the heating on.

I have really felt for the farmers this week, as they literally ‘make hay while the sun shines’. I know some tractors have air-conditioning but if you have got a farmer or contractor working in a field next to you, do please offer him a cold drink. We were brought up doing this, but apparently it’s not that common these days.

Watering vulnerable plants is best done early in the morning or late in the evening – and I would recommend gardeners avoid the midday sun too. There’s no job that is so important to risk making yourself ill.

And please, please realise you have to reconsider routines for dogs during this heat. Even if you think you will only be five minutes, that can be too long in a hot car for a dog, (and you could be delayed), and roads and paths will retain the heat well into the evenings and can cause blistering on the dogs pads. Missing a trip in the car or a walk has never killed a dog. But heatstroke has.

Yogi, my wing-dog is in well into her dotage now, at 16 years and 7 months, and I have found a fan and cooling sheets invaluable for keeping her cool and comfortable. She won’t lie on a cooling mat but loves the cooling sheets. And as she’s not keen on travelling, for her six monthly ‘wellbeing check’ I had Katie, aka Vet in a Van, out to the cottage to assess her last week. It’s the perfect alternative for a dog that gets stressed at the vets – whatever the weather. For more details visit www.yourvetinavan.co.uk or call 01600605006