Voles are small rodents often mistaken for common mice due to their size and appearance. These creatures, sometimes called meadow mice or field mice, are found in diverse habitats, including fields, grasslands, and suburban lawns. Voles are herbivores, meaning their diet consists almost entirely of vegetation, making them a direct threat to gardens and landscaping. They remain active throughout the year and do not hibernate, consistently foraging for food across all seasons.
The Vole Diet: Specific Food Sources
Voles have a diet centered on a wide variety of plant material found near the ground surface. Their primary food sources include grasses and forbs (broad-leafed herbaceous plants), along with seeds and clover. They are particularly drawn to the nutrient-rich parts of garden plants, such as bulbs, rhizomes, and tubers like potatoes, carrots, and beets, which they find while burrowing underground.
When green vegetation becomes scarce, particularly during late fall and winter, voles shift their focus to woody plants. This involves gnawing on the bark and underlying cambium layer of young trees and shrubs, a process known as girdling. If the voles chew around the entire circumference of the plant, it can lead to the plant’s death. Damage becomes more pronounced when populations are high or when natural food is limited.
Identifying Vole Damage in Gardens and Lawns
The most recognizable sign of vole activity in a lawn is the presence of surface runways, which are narrow, well-worn paths one to two inches wide through the grass. These trails are created as the voles clip the grass blades and repeatedly use the same route to travel between their burrows and feeding areas. The grass within these runways is often short-clipped or completely absent, appearing like shallow ditches snaking across the turf.
Voles also create small burrow openings that are about 1.5 inches in diameter. Unlike other burrowing animals, these entry holes are visible and do not have volcano-shaped mounds of excavated dirt next to them. Plant damage is another clear indicator; a plant that suddenly wilts and collapses when pulled lightly may have had its roots or bulbs cleanly severed beneath the soil line. On woody plants, look for irregular patches of gnaw marks near the base, about one-eighth inch wide and three-eighths inch long, which distinguishes their feeding pattern from that of larger animals.
Vole vs. Mole: Clarifying the Confusion
Voles and moles are often confused because both creatures cause damage in the yard, but they are fundamentally different in appearance and behavior. Voles are rodents that look similar to field mice, featuring a stocky body, a blunt snout, small eyes, and a short, furry tail. They use their tunnels for nesting and foraging on roots, but much of their travel occurs in the surface runways.
In contrast, moles are insectivores, not rodents, and they are built specifically for life underground, rarely surfacing. Moles have cylindrical bodies, large, paddle-like front paws with prominent claws, and almost no visible external eyes or ears. Their tunneling is extensive and is done primarily in search of insects, grubs, and earthworms. Mole activity is identified by the presence of raised ridges or shallow tunnels in the lawn that feel spongy when stepped on, and the characteristic volcano-shaped mounds of soil they push up to the surface.