Subterranean pests, primarily moles and voles, can quickly damage a yard or garden, turning a manicured lawn into a patchwork of ridges and holes. These burrowing animals create disruptions as they forage for food and establish tunnel networks. Effective resolution hinges on correctly identifying which species is responsible, as their distinct biology and behavior require completely different removal methods.
Distinguishing Between Moles and Voles
Moles and voles are often mistakenly grouped together, but their physical characteristics, diet, and damage patterns are quite different. Moles are insectivores, not rodents, characterized by elongated snouts, nearly invisible eyes and ears, and powerful, paddle-shaped front feet designed for digging. They typically measure four to seven inches long and spend almost their entire lives underground pursuing food.
Voles, conversely, are true rodents resembling field mice, possessing a compact body, small eyes, partially hidden ears, and a short tail. Voles are herbivores, feeding on plants, roots, seeds, and tree bark, especially during winter. Moles create volcano-shaped mounds of soil or distinct raised ridges across the lawn as they tunnel just beneath the surface. Vole activity is marked by small, dime-sized entry holes near plant roots and well-worn, two-inch-wide surface runways through the grass, often hidden by dense vegetation.
Strategies for Mole Eradication
Trapping is the most reliable strategy for eliminating moles, who are solitary animals actively using deep tunnels for travel. Successful trapping begins by locating active feeding tunnels. Identify these by pressing down on a ridge and noting which flattened tunnels are pushed back up by the mole within 12 to 24 hours. Harpoon, scissor, or choker-style traps are the most common devices, placed directly over an active runway.
Mechanical traps intercept the mole as it travels through the tunnel system. Proper placement requires the trap to be firmly set in the runway, ensuring the trigger pan is activated by the mole’s movement. Liquid and granular repellents often utilize castor oil, which creates an unpleasant odor and taste in the soil. This makes the mole’s food sources, such as earthworms and grubs, distasteful, encouraging the mole to relocate to an untreated area.
Another approach is modifying the habitat by reducing the mole’s food source, which includes white grubs and other soil-dwelling insects. Applying a targeted insecticide to the lawn can decrease the population of grubs. However, moles also feed heavily on earthworms, so eliminating grubs may only partially deter them. This method is most effective when used with trapping or repellents to make the area less desirable.
Strategies for Vole Eradication
Voles are prolific rodents best controlled through trapping and baiting, given their rapid reproduction and herbivorous diet. Small, mouse-sized snap traps are effective when placed directly into the surface runways, perpendicular to the travel direction. Traps should be baited with preferred foods, such as apple slices, peanut butter mixed with oatmeal, or seeds.
For larger populations, rodenticides (poison baits) are an efficient method, especially during fall and winter when natural food sources are scarce. These baits, often containing anticoagulants, must be placed inside tamper-resistant bait stations or directly into burrow openings to minimize risk to non-target animals, children, and pets. Check the product label to ensure the poison is approved for use against voles.
Physical exclusion is a non-toxic method for protecting valuable plants from vole damage. Voles frequently gnaw on the bark and roots of trees and shrubs, especially under snow cover. Installing a cylinder of hardware cloth or wire mesh around the base of young trees and shrubs creates a protective barrier. This mesh should extend several inches below the soil line and up to 18 inches above the ground. Bulbs can also be planted in wire cages to prevent voles from accessing and consuming them underground.
Long-Term Exclusion and Deterrence
Maintaining a tidy landscape is fundamental to discouraging both moles and voles. These pests prefer areas with dense ground cover, unkempt weeds, or thick layers of mulch, which provide insulation and protection from predators. Regularly mowing the lawn and reducing mulch depth around garden beds to less than three inches removes the sheltered surface environment voles rely on for runways.
Installing subterranean barriers prevents new animals from migrating into the yard from adjacent properties. This involves trenching around the perimeter of garden beds or property lines and burying a physical barrier, such as hardware cloth, at least 10 to 12 inches deep. The mesh should be bent at a 90-degree angle at the bottom, facing outward, to discourage burrowing underneath. Continued use of castor oil repellents along the property perimeter can further deter both species by making the soil unappealing for tunneling and foraging.