Voles are small, stout rodents, often mistakenly called meadow mice, that are frequently confused with other burrowing pests like moles. These herbivores thrive in areas with dense ground cover, utilizing this environment for both food and protection. While voles are prolific diggers and create extensive underground systems, the simple answer to whether they leave mounds of dirt is generally no. The presence of large, distinct soil piles is typically an indicator of a different subterranean resident.
Vole Tunneling Habits and Dirt Displacement
Voles construct complex networks that primarily consist of shallow tunnels and surface runways. Meadow voles, for example, create visible surface trails, typically one to two inches wide, which they keep clear by repeatedly clipping the grass and vegetation down to the soil level. These paths are often hidden beneath the longer grass or mulch, providing cover from predators.
When voles do burrow underground, their excavation is typically limited to creating small, neat entry holes and expanding their existing runs. The soil displacement from their digging is minimal because they tend to scatter the loosened dirt or push it into the tunnel walls rather than ejecting it onto the surface in a large pile. The small, circular openings to their burrows are usually about one to one-and-a-half inches in diameter and remain open, lacking a soil plug.
Identifying Vole Evidence vs. Mole Mounds
Vole activity is characterized by the presence of numerous open entrance holes and the crisscrossing network of visible, worn paths on the lawn’s surface. These surface runways are the defining feature of a vole infestation, particularly noticeable in early spring when the snow melts away.
Mole activity, in contrast, creates two distinct types of visible damage. The first is the large, conical, or volcano-shaped mound of soil, often called a molehill, which results from the animal pushing excavated dirt up from deep underground tunnels. The second is the raised ridge or heave of soil that appears when a mole digs a shallow foraging tunnel just beneath the surface, which will flatten easily when stepped upon. Unlike the small, open vole hole, the entrance to a mole’s deep burrow is usually plugged and hidden beneath the volcano-shaped mound.
Other Visible Signs of Vole Presence
Beyond the runways and small holes, voles leave specific feeding evidence. As herbivores, they target plant matter, causing damage to grass stems and various garden plants. Voles clip grass and plant stems cleanly at a sharp 45-degree angle. Their continuous foraging can cause plants to unexpectedly wilt or be easily pulled from the soil due to severed roots and consumed bulbs.
A particularly damaging sign of voles is the girdling of trees and shrubs, which occurs when they gnaw the bark in a ring around the base of a woody plant. This feeding behavior is most common in the fall and winter when other green vegetation is scarce. The resulting gnaw marks are small, non-uniform, and often appear in irregular patches, typically about 1/8 inch wide and 3/8 inch long, found from a few inches above the soil line to slightly below it.