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Voles

Voles

Microtus spp.

Mammalalso: Meadow mice, Field mice

Small, mouse-like rodents that work at ground level and below, voles girdle the bark of young trees, gnaw roots and tubers, and run a network of little surface trails through grass and mulch. They are most destructive in winter under snow and in weedy, well-covered ground.

🔎 How to spot it

Voles are compact, blunt-nosed rodents with small ears and short tails, often mistaken for mice. The clearest sign is their runways: inch-or-two-wide surface paths kept clear of vegetation winding through grass and mulch, dotted with small burrow openings and droppings. On trees, look for patches of gnaw marks about an eighth of an inch wide at the base, and chewed roots and tubers below.

🥀 Damage it causes

Voles gnaw the bark at the base of young trees and shrubs, and if they girdle the trunk or roots all the way around they cut off the flow of water and nutrients and can kill the plant, often unnoticed under winter snow. They also tunnel to eat roots, bulbs, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, and other below-ground crops, and damage lawns with their runways.

🛡️ Prevent it

Take away their cover: mow, weed, and pull mulch back a foot or so from the trunks of trees and from garden edges, since voles avoid crossing open ground. Guard young trunks with cylinders of quarter-inch hardware cloth set a couple of inches out from the bark and buried a few inches deep, tall enough to clear the snow line. Keep the area around the garden short and clean.

🧯 If it is already here

Where voles are active, snap traps (mouse size) baited with peanut butter and oatmeal or apple, set right in the runways and perpendicular to them, give effective control around small plantings and individual trees. Keep cutting back their grassy cover at the same time. Protect trunks with hardware-cloth guards before winter, when girdling damage is worst.

💡 Good to know

Mowing and clearing the dense grass and mulch that voles depend on is the single most effective long-term measure, since they will not stay where they have no cover. Check tree guards each fall, because most girdling happens in winter under the snow when the damage goes unseen until spring.

🌱 Plants it attacks

714 plants in the library can be attacked by this pest

Acorn SquashAdirondack Blue PotatoAdzuki BeanAfrican Blue BasilAfrican MarigoldAgapanthusAgeratumAgrimonyAji Amarillo Pepper🍓Albion StrawberryAlice du Pont Mandevilla🥔All Blue PotatoAlmondAloe VeraAmbrosia CornAmerican BasswoodAmerican Beauty Dragon FruitAmerican BeechAmerican PersimmonAmethyst Falls WisteriaAmish Paste TomatoAnaheim PepperAnemoneAngelique TulipAngeloniaAniseAnise HyssopAnjou PearAnnabelle Smooth HydrangeaAnnual VincaApeldoorn TulipApple MintApril Tryst CamelliaArbequina OliveArizona Sun Blanket FlowerArkin CarambolaArmenian CucumberAroniaArp RosemaryArugulaAshwagandhaAsian PearAsian PersimmonAtemoyaAtlantic Giant Pumpkin🥕Atomic Red CarrotAucubaAugust Beauty GardeniaAunt Molly's Ground CherryAutumn Joy SedumAvocadoBachelor's ButtonBalsam FirBalsam PoplarBanana PepperBarbara Karst BougainvilleaBartlett PearBay LaurelBayberryBeach PlumBeauregard Sweet PotatoBecky Shasta DaisyBee Balm🍅Beefmaster TomatoBenarys Giant ZinniaBengal Tiger CannaBetter Boy Tomato🥬Bibb Lettuce🍅Big Beef TomatoBig Boy TomatoBilberryBing CherryBitter MelonBlack BeanBlack Beauty EggplantBlack Beauty ZucchiniBlack Beluga LentilBlack Cherry TomatoBlack CrowberryBlack Currant🍉Black Diamond WatermelonBlack Kabouli ChickpeaBlack Krim TomatoBlack RaspberryBlack Sapote🥬Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce🥕Black Spanish RadishBlack Tartarian CherryBlack WalnutBlack-Eyed PeaBlack-eyed Susan VineBlood OrangeBloomsdale SpinachBlue Bird DelphiniumBlue Bird Rose of SharonBlue FescueBlue Lake Green BeanBluecrop BlueberryBocking 14 ComfreyBok Choy

For educational and informational purposes only. Pest control advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a pest positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.