How To Keep Voles Away From Your Garden, According To Experts

19.07.2024 - 21:10 / southernliving.com / Arricca Elin SanSone

You may recognize those unsightly raised ridges and bumps all over your lawn as the handiwork ofmoles digging around for their dinners. But some types of tunneling are caused by a different small mammal called a vole. While moles typically make a mess of lawns, voles can be destructive throughout your garden.

• Robert Pierce, PhD, is a state extension fisheries and wildlife specialist at theUniversity of Missouri.
• Sheldon Owen, PhD, is a wildlife extension specialist at West Virginia University. “

Depending on the species, voles construct surface or underground runways in areas with heavy ground cover. “Voles are active day and night, year-round,” says Robert Pierce, PhD, state extension fisheries and wildlife specialist at theUniversity of Missouri. “Any landscape with a lot of cover, such as mulch, landscape fabric, or low-growing shrubs provides good habitat for voles.”

Voles eat whatever plant material is readily available. “While moles are insectivores, voles are herbivores that eat flowers, ornamentals, bulbs, and bark,” says Sheldon Owen, PhD, wildlife extension specialist at West Virginia University. “They damage crops and orchards, too, by gnawing on saplings and the roots of trees.” Voles are likely to blame whenpreviously-healthy plantings topple over for no apparent reason or when a tree is girdled around its base from gnawing. Voles also may nibble on fruits or vegetables, leaving them on the stem.

Also called meadow mice, these rodents are 3 to 7 inches long with short legs and tails with stocky bodies. As a food source for many predators, they also have to be incredibly proficient at reproducing. Gestation takes three weeks with five to 10 litters per year averaging 3 to 5 young.