How To Control Voles And Vole Damage
To manage a vole infestation, you should first modify your garden to protect your plants, then if necessary take steps to reduce the vole population. Here are some tips:
Vole Habitat Management
Vole Pest Control
- Trapping: You can use either humane live traps or mouse traps to catch voles. The best time to trap voles is in the fall. Place live traps directly in the vole runway place mouse traps perpendicular to the runway with the trigger in the voles path. Bait the traps with diced apples or peanut butter mixed with oatmeal. Avoid mouse traps if you have children or pets in your yard!
- Poison: While rodent poisons and baits are effective in killing voles, I wouldnt recommend putting any kind of poison outdoors if you can help it, to keep from endangering other animals. If you do resort to poison, use tamper-proof bait containers and/or insert the bait directly into vole burrows to reduce exposure to ground birds and pets. Some baits must be applied by a licensed pest control professional.
- Fumigants: Vole burrows are shallow with many openings, rendering fumigating poisons pretty ineffective.
- Repellents: Critter repellents, such as sprays and ultrasonic devices, have only limited success with voles. Predator urine can work for a while, but any repellent needs to be frequently changed and reapplied.
Snap trap for small rodents.
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Quick Facts What You Should Know About Voles
Voles are related to hamsters and are sometimes kept as pets.
Voles are certainly a nuisance, but they also play an important role in our environment and offer a vital food source to a number of predators. Furthemore, voles live interesting little lives and are quite clever.
Here are a few facts you may not have known about voles.
Meadow Voles Are Mostly Solitary Creatures, But Do Enjoy Companionship
During the spring and summer, meadow voles prefer to do their own thing separate from one another. However, during the winter, meadow voles tend to congregate in groups. Female voles especially have been found to seek out same-sex partnerships when denning in the winter, but male voles also exhibit affiliate behaoir with their same gender during colder months.
Unlike Meadow Voles, Prairie Voles Are Highly Social All Year Round
Adorably, male and female prairie voles den together and raise their young. They have also been studied affectionately grooming each other and even forming life-long relationships.
Voles Are Serious About Breeding
Voles reproduce and they reproduce quickly, which is why its important to know how to get rid of voles once you see you have them in your yard. In fact, voles are some of the most fertile breeders in the rodent family, capable of producing up to ten litters a year, with between three to six young in each litter.
Voles Are Related To Hamsters
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Learning The Necessary Steps To Get Rid Of Moles
Effective mole control begins with understanding the correct steps to identify and eliminate these garden pests. It is also critical to decide whether you want to kill ground moles in the garden or scare them away.
No matter what mole removal process you want to implement, we show you how to get rid of moles causing destruction in your lawn. Additionally, we provide homeowners with ways to kill moles with mole bait.
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What Is A Shrew
A shrew is a small mammal that is often described as looking like a mouse with a longer nose. Its sharp and spiky teeth, however, are far different from the enlarged incisors of rodents.
With 385 species, the shrew is found throughout the world with the exception of Oceania. Its presence in South America, however, is only due to migration and is limited to the northern half of the Andes. Mole-like in terms of manner and habitat, the shrew discussed here is not to be confused with the otter or elephant shrews of Africa, the tree shrew of Southeast Asia or the extinct West Indies shrew.
A small creature, the typical shrew grows no bigger than the average mouse, though sizes can range depending on the species. The Etruscan shrew, which circles the Mediterranean, swarms Thailand and is also dispersed throughout the Arabian Peninsula, is actually the world’s smallest on-land mammal, averaging 3.5 centimeters and two grams. The Asian house shrew, which is native to Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, has introduced populations in the Philippines and Madagascar. It is the largest of shrew species, growing up to 15 centimeters in length and weighing as much as 100 grams.
The shrew’s main disadvantage is its teeth, which wear down over time. This is unlike rodent incisors, which strengthen throughout the span of life.
You might be wondering: What is a shrew in terms of its threat to lawn and garden owners?
Havahart 1025 Live Vole Trap
Havahart live traps are a popular way to catch rodents inclhttps://www.amazon.com/Havahart-1020-Animal-Two-Door-Mouse/dp/B0000DINGGuding voles. This is another great option if you have no interest in killing the poor little fellas. After all, theyre just rodents trying to make a living on the means streets of your lawn. This live trapping system is made from sturdy and reliable materials that will last a considerable amount of time should you need them again in the future. The Havahart 1020 can not only be used to eradicate voles, but to catch mice as well. The size makes for a double pest-control solution, providing two slots for vole containment.
You might be persuaded to buy this trap if you appreciate tradition. Havahart has been manufacturing the same design, and using the same materials, for over seventy years. For them, theres nothing else to be changed design-wise, and they know that what they sell works.
Features include two gravity-action doors, smooth internal edges for the protection of the animals, and proven functionality through extensive field testing with high catch rates and few escapes. The live trap is made with a strong rust-resistant wire mesh with steel reinforcements galvanized for maximum resistance.
Features include an easy foot stepping motion to set the trap safely underground, no need for chemicals or poisons, and are accepted in organic farms, nurseries, and ranches. Two traps come in this set.
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Things That Voles Hate
Voles are common critters that we sometimes spot racing around our yard from covering to covering. You may not know it, but voles can do some pretty extensive damage to trees, shrubs, and gardens. The good news is, there are plenty of ways to deter them using things they hate.
Voles have an acute sense of smell that they use to locate food. You can repel voles by using scents they dislike such as rosin and peppermint. Voles also hate certain plants like pachysandra, daffodil, and boxwood and are repelled by cleared areas such as crushed gravel, pavement, and clear yards.
If youre dealing with a vole problem, read on to discover all the ways you can keep them away from your ornamental trees and garden. Lets get to it!
Ultrasonic Lights Scare Moles Away From Your Lawn
Using ultrasonic lights is one of the safest solutions to deter moles from ever invading your yard. These lights combine noises audible to the human ear as well as ultrasonic sound waves.
Ultrasonic sound waves are higher pitched and are heard by animals to repel moles and other critters. The loud and high-pitched sound waves are very annoying to a mole. Additionally, the devices are easy to install.
Place the ultrasonic lights in your yard and let the sound waves scare away moles, voles, bats, as well as spiders from infesting and destroying your grass.
Ultrasonic lights will not kill moles in the garden and grass areas in your yard. However, the devices prevent an invasion of moles from tunneling underground.
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Seal Cracks And Holes
Its common to have small cracks or holes around the siding, foundation or roof of your house. But if these arent taken care of, they can easily grow larger from weather or a variety of wildlife scratching against them. Once theyve grown large enough for a vole , these pesky creatures will make their way inside in search for more food. Monitor for these cracks and holes regularly and seal them with expandable foam, caulk, wood or concrete mix.
Voles Cause Lawn Damage
One way that voles cause damage is by building extensive runways which can damage your lawn. These runways are usually dotted with several burrow openings.
Burrows in the runways will typically be four to five inches deep and might be filled with little grass clippings for nesting material.
The runways will look like crisscrossing tunnels in your yard. The interior of the tunnels will be cleared of vegetation and the unclipped grass provides cover over the tunnel. A mini-highway for voles, if you will.
They create these runways to avoid predation by hawks and owls, which are common predators of voles.
Some types of voles will not build their highway systems aboveground, instead, they build extensive tunnel systems below the surface. You can tell these apart by looking for little cone-shaped piles of dirt that the vole has pushed out while digging.
If you notice vegetation growing in the runways, or small roots starting to pop up, it means the runways are no longer in use. This can give you a good indication if your efforts are working or not!
Vole runways can proliferate in the winter months. The added snow provides additional cover for voles to scurry across areas they wouldnt normally go. Large, open lawns and golf courses are often victims to vole damage come springtime when the snow melts, revealing vole highway systems throughout.
Luckily, voles typically retreat once the snow melts and your lawn will recover quickly.
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Reduce Food And Cover
Voles are attracted to areas with ample vegetation for food and cover. Rather than encouraging voles to live in your yard, take steps to remove these elements to help drive them out naturally.
- Mow your lawn and pull weeds regularly.
- Remove ground cover like brush, low-lying bushes & shrubs.
- Till soil and mulch to keep them clear of tunnels.
- Clean up any fallen birdseed, berries, nuts, etc.
How To Get Rid Of Moles With Companion Planting
The concept of companion planting uses plants natural properties to support the gardens health and minimize dependence on insecticides and pesticides.
One of the main functions of companion plants is to act as a natural repellent for pests, whether theyre insects or animals. Numerous plants effectively repel moles and other pests.
Employ your flower bed as your first line of defense against problematic critters. Here are a few mole plants that repel the animals and many other pests effectively.
The best solution for your mole problem is to keep them away for good by creating an environment they dont like.
Planting these mole repellent flowers throughout your garden, especially around the borders, will drive moles away naturally without using harmful chemicals.
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Smart Mouse Trap Humane Mousetrap
A humane trap means the vermin will stay alive. You can use any traditional method to attract the vole, e.g. by putting a salted cracker. Set the trap and wait until the vole comes inside and activates it. One significant disadvantage is that you cant catch more than one vole during one activation session, but the green transparent plastic allows you to see your prey immediately. Several voles can get inside at the same time, but chances of such situations are really low.
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Dimex Easyflex Plastic Tree Trunk Protectors
Not only roots, but also the trunks of young trees can be damaged by the sharp teeth of voles. One can use special tree guards to prevent the death of expensive plants. The tree guard is a special cover that prevents direct contact of voles teeth and trees.
Tree Trunk Protectors:Check the current price
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Five Ways To Prevent Mole And Vole Damage During The Winter
Trapping Voles With Mouse Traps
You can use mouse snap traps to kill voles. Place the trap perpendicular to a vole runway, aligning the trap’s trigger with the path the vole must take in using the runway. Peanut butter is an excellent bait for trapping voles. The best time to trap is either autumn or late winter.
The key to success in trapping is determining where on your landscape the voles are most likely to use as a thoroughfare that’s where you want to locate the trap. The widest vole runways are indicative of heavy traffic. Another good indicator is a runway heavily soiled with vole urine and feces.
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What Is A Home Remedy To Get Rid Of Voles
Apart from the multitude of over-the-counter products like VoleX and Vole Scram, there are a few DIY remedies you could make at home. Mix spicy peppers, dish soap, and water into a bottle, then spray vole hotspots and affected landscaping. Another excellent technique is the use of castor oil on plants and vulnerable greenery. Both of these mixtures deter voles from chewing through your garden and help to remove them from the yard.
How To Tell If You Have Vole Damage
Before we get ahead of ourselves, lets make sure were actually dealing with voles. After all, moles, shrews, and mice are small, darting critters as well. This is an important step because what deters voles will not be the same for mice, shrews, or moles.
Lets dive into the underground world of voles and see what vole damage really looks like!
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Controlling Volesanswering Readers Questions
Thomas asked:“In controlling voles and moles, you covered how to trap/bait moles, but offered very little information about voles. I would appreciate a little more information on eradicating these little pests.”
Thomas C.Michigan
Answer: Thanks for writing and pointing that out to me. As a side note, I am assuming that Voles get their name because they use the same tunnels as moles, but are not moles. Rather they are a mouse type rodent with different habits. Therefore, it is important to know which one you have.
I am glad for the input and will write more about catching and controlling voles. Sometimes voles will be caught in mole traps, but rarely. I have found a different and better way to catch voles and will explain it here to you. We mostly have mole problems over here, but getting rid of voles is actually easier than killing moles.
Understanding Vole Activity
First, if you have had lawn moles before, keep in mind that voles will often use the same tunnels made by moles. However, unlike moles, voles will come out of the mole tunnels to feed above ground. Vole surface holes will not generally have dirt piled around them, but will be an open hole less than two inches wide.
You will see clear paths from the hole outward where the vole travels along the surface to eat and follow the same path back to the hole. During the warmer months they will feed on the surface more at night, but in the winter will often be out in the daylight.
Catching Voles
Vole Damage To Lawn Varies
1. Lawn Damage: Often, voles will burrow underneath the snow during the winter, foraging for sustenance or traveling. Since there is a significant amount of time for them to travel under the snow through the thatch layer, they can create large amounts of damage with the grass dormant and unable to recover. But you wont notice it until all of the snow has melted.
2. Tree Damage: Voles can also cause damage to trees by gnawing the bark along the root collar. Plants and shrubs are also targeted.
3. Surface Damage: Though vole damage is more significant in spring, it can still be noticed and occur throughout the growing season. People often confuse this above surface trail creating with mole tunneling, however, all species of moles tunnel under the surface and not above it.
If you do notice vole damage, you shouldnt wait to do something about it.
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