How to Get Rid of Voles in Your Lawn

Voles are small mammals that can drive homeowners and gardeners insane! Voles, known for digging deep, crisscrossing tunnels, may wreak havoc on a lawn or garden. You're not alone if you've ever wondered how to get rid of voles.

In this piece, we'll teach you our best vole-killing tips.

What Should I Do If I Think I Have Voles in My Yard?

Here are some tell-tale indicators of voles in your yard:

paths in the turf surface that are 1"–2" wide.
Vole burrows, which resemble holes in the lawn or around tree bases, These caves, unlike molehills, lack soil mounding.
There are spaces in the lawn when the grass abruptly becomes quite short.
Gnaw marks are visible on the stems of woody plants and young trees.
Exposed stems that have been gnawed down to a point.
When dead plants are lifted, there is no root structure left.

Voles multiply quickly, so controlling populations at the first sign of infestation is crucial.

Can Voles Damage My Lawn?

Yes, in a nutshell. Voles can destroy a lawn and yard. Insects that attack young trees and woody ornamentals, inflicting severe damage and dieback.

Voles also harm turf, which most homeowners find in the spring.

Snow protects voles from predators and gives them shelter all winter. When the snow melts in the spring, homeowners frequently discover vole "runways."

Voles graze within the turf canopy, creating runways that seem like raised tunnels in the grass. Voles eat in these "runways" and chew plants to the ground level, preventing further growth. Their foot movement wears down the grass surface and leaves layers of faeces on the runways.

How Do You Fix a Vole-Damaged Lawn?

If voles have harmed your grass, you'll want to repair it as soon as possible. Here are a few simple tips:

Apply a gentle rake to the entire lawn surface to break up dirt and faeces in vole runways and stimulate lawn growth.
Topsoil should be used to fill in vole trails.
Fertilize and overseed any thin or chewed-down grass sections.
Trees and bushes that have been gnawed on by voles should be pruned and fertilized.

How to Get Rid of Voles

If voles are already causing damage to your landscape and exclusion and prevention efforts have failed, you may need to explore vole eradication. Voles can be removed from a yard in a humane manner using live traps, or they can be killed using mouse traps or bait traps (which use poisons). Vole repellents and fencing can also be used to keep them away.

Trapping voles with mouse traps

Voles can be killed with mouse snap traps. Place the trap perpendicular to a vole runway, with the trigger aligned with the path the vole must follow to use the runway. Peanut butter is a great bait for trapping voles. Trapping is best done in the autumn or late winter.

The key to trapping success is knowing where on your property the voles are most likely to use as a thoroughfare; this is where you want to place the trap. The widest variable runways indicate high traffic. Another good clue is a runway that is severely polluted with vole pee and excrement.

Using Live Traps to Catch Voles

If you do not want to kill vole pests, you can try to trap them in live traps (such as Havahart traps) and relocate them to a suitable place. However, in many regions, transferring pest rodents is limited or forbidden, so consult with local authorities before employing live traps.

Use a live trap intended for tiny rodents with two entrances for the greatest results. Place the trap directly in front of and parallel to a well-defined surface runway (sort of like a bridge on a roadway). Baiting is not necessarily necessary, but if desired, peanut butter can be placed within the trap. Check the trap on a regular basis, and relocate any trapped voles to an approved place at least 5 miles away from your residence.

Chemical Repellent for Voles

Thiram-based vole repellents like Shotgun Deer, Bobcat urine, and Rabbit Repellent may be helpful against these pests, but they must be used frequently because they fade with rain. The voles become acclimated to the smell after numerous applications, diminishing the repellent's effectiveness. Garden plants should not be treated with thiram. Because predator urine is the most repulsive to voles, it is frequently used as a vole repellent. Fox and coyote urine are frequently available for purchase online and at farm and garden retailers.

Voles' Deterrence Using Fencing and Gravel

In the winter, wrap wire mesh garden fencing (hardware cloth) around the base of a young tree to deter voles from chewing at its bark. Garden fencing can also be used to protect garden plants' roots from voles. To prevent voles from digging underground, bury all fencing at least 6 to 10 inches below the ground surface.

Voles also avoid crossing jagged gravel. To protect the roots and bulbs while planting perennials or bulbs, place a gritty substance, such as perlite or jagged gravel, in the bottom and up the sides of the hole at planting time. Plant garlic in your bulb and perennial beds to deter voles, who loathe the smell.

What causes voles?

Voles are attracted to yards and gardens for food and shelter. Unlike mice and rats, they rarely seek protection indoors. Voles are more common in landscaped regions during mild but snowy winters. Damage is most likely to occur at local population peaks, which occur every three to five years. A female vole can have 15 to 50 babies per year. These rodents live for around a year. Voles nest in grassy clumps or in tunnels several inches underground.

How to Prevent Voles in Your Yard and Garden

Vole voles are most likely to occur in yards with lots of foliage and debris to hide beneath and establish their nests. Voles are less likely to bother you if you keep your garden weeded, avoid dense ground covers (like creeping junipers), and keep your grass cut. That's the first guideline of IPM: avoid pest problems before they cause damage that requires pest control.

But voles don't just hide in plants. Vole eating damages trees and shrubs, so avoid mulching too close to trees and shrubs. A thick layer of mulch will encourage voles. Even in the winter, voles can cause harm to your landscaping by hiding behind snow. Snow should be kept away from shrubs and young trees. Wrapping the bottom trunk with wire mesh protects young trees. Voles mostly eat roots, but they will bite into tree or shrub bark just above ground. Damage to the bark surrounding the trunk or main stems (girdling) can kill the plant.

Voles vs. Moles

Voles are commonly confused with other pests, such as moles, because they leave runways in lawns and gardens. Because moles and voles are rarely observed, identification is based on the evidence they leave behind rather than their appearance.

Unlike voles, moles' travel pathways are underground and come in two varieties. One type is subsurface. These are feeding tunnels that look like elevated ridges on your lawn. The second form of mole runway is deeper and connects the feeding tunnels. The earth extracted from the deep tunnels is seen on lawns in little mounds resembling volcanoes. These mounds indicate a mole problem, not voles. Voles do not leave dirt mounds on the ground.

Read also How to Kill Moles In Your Lawn