Vole Information and Control

Lake Tahoe, CA & Stateline & Carson City, NV

A Few Vole Facts…

Voles are small, weighing only 1 to 2 ounces as adults. There are several different species and they will differ in color, general size and relative length of tail, but it usually isn’t necessary to distinguish between the species to control the damage they cause.

The breeding season for all voles encompasses most of the year with peaks occurring in the spring and fall (one captive meadow vole had 17 litters during one year, totaling 83 young. A female from that first litter had 13 litters, totaling 78 young before turning 1 year old!)

Many vole populations are cyclic and can increase from only a dozen per acre to several hundred voles per acre. In North America, vole populations peak about every four years. These cycles are not regular however and they often result in severe crop damage and of course significant damage to lawns, shrubs, perennials and landscaped areas.

Voles are active day and night, year-round. They do not hibernate. Home range is usually 1/4 acre or less and varies with season, population density, habitat, food supply, etc.

Voles are semifossorial and construct many tunnels and surface runways with numerous burrow entrances.

A single burrow system may contain several adults and young!

Voles can thrive under forest litter and in fields surrounding timber stands.

Vole damage is costliest during the winter when a shortage of preferable foods forces them to eat the inner green bark layer of trees and shrubs. The gnawing required to reach this layer can severely damage or kill many young trees, shrubs, and landscape plantings

The vole damage manifests itself several ways. Sometimes it looks like wavy paths of dead grass about 2 inches wide. More often, the paths become little ditches of bare inch deep. The devastation can be extensive.

And there’s more bad news. When the snow melts, the voles don’t go away. They’re still on the property, living under mulch, in weedy areas, or somewhere undercover hiding from their predators — cats, hawks, and owls.

Voles are vegetarians and they can munch their way through a lot of additional plants after damaging your lawn. So if you did suffer vole damage on your lawn, keep an eye on your perennials this spring, if they don’t come back, they were probably lunch for some voles. Tulips planted last fall that don’t show up this spring were probably snacks. Voles also love to dig down and eat the tender roots of newly planted trees, shrubs, and flowers, so keep an eye on new transplants. The good news is voles don’t eat daffodils

Warning signs seem to crop up overnight. Mulched areas around your yard are riddled with intricate runways--as if someone traced a path with a stick from shrub to shrub. Or maybe your ornamental plants are dying, or there's damaged or missing bark around the base of trees.

Your first thought might be that you've got moles or gophers, but chances are much higher your problem is the common vole.
 
Check bark damage carefully. If the bark was chewed under the snow, it was probably mice or voles. If the damage occurred above the snow line, it was probably rabbits. Mice and voles may chew at the snow line by walking on the snow, but never above the snow. They will not chew off a branch of a young tree as a rabbit does.

More Vole Details

Voles are small rodents that grow to 3-9 in, depending on the species. They can have five to 10 litters per year. Gestation lasts for three weeks and the young voles reach sexual maturity in a month. As a result of this exponential growth, vole populations can grow very large within a very short period of time. Since litters average five to 10 young, a single pregnant vole in a yard can result in a hundred or more active voles in less than a year.

Voles are commonly mistaken for other small animals. Moles, gophers, mice, rats and even shrews have similar characteristics and behavioral tendencies. Since voles will commonly use burrows with many exit holes, they can be mistaken for gophers or some kind of ground squirrel.

They will readily thrive on small plants. Like shrews, they will eat dead animals and like mice or rats, they can live on almost any nut or fruit. Additionally, voles will target plants more than most other small animals, making their presence evident. Voles will readily girdle small trees and ground cover much like a porcupine. This girdling can easily kill young plants and is not healthy for trees or other shrubs.

Voles will often eat succulent root systems and will burrow under plants or ground cover and eat away until the plant is dead. Bulbs in the ground are another favorite target for voles; their excellent burrowing and tunnelling give them access to sensitive areas without clear or early warning. The presence of large numbers of voles is often only identifiable after they have destroyed a number of plants.[1] However, like other burrowing rodents, they also play beneficial roles, including dispersing nutrients throughout the upper soil layers. - Wikipedia

Now that you are armed with information, you need to decide how you would like to proceed?

We recognize that a control program may not appear to be justified in comparison to the damage being incurred.  However, the “ounce of prevention” rule certainly applies in Vole control… Preventive control measures that at first appear too costly will in fact prove to be a bargain.