Voles are small, rodent-like creatures, often mistaken for common mice or for moles because of their burrowing habits. These animals, sometimes called meadow mice, are stout-bodied with short tails, small eyes, and partially hidden ears. Understanding what voles seek in terms of food, shelter, and resources is the first step in managing their presence on your property.
Preferred Vegetation and Diet
Voles are primarily herbivorous, driven by the availability of plant matter, particularly underground parts. They have a strong preference for tender, succulent roots and subterranean storage organs like bulbs and tubers. Voles consume the bulbs of ornamental flowers, such as tulips and crocuses, often extracting them from below the soil surface.
Their diet extends to the roots of established plants, causing sudden wilting or death of seemingly healthy vegetation. Specific vegetable roots, including carrots, potatoes, and beets, are high-value food sources for them, often evidenced by partially eaten produce left behind. They also readily feed on the stems and blades of lawn grasses, creating narrow, visible pathways, or “runways,” through the turf.
During colder months, when green vegetation becomes scarce, voles shift their focus to the bark of trees and shrubs. They gnaw on the bark, typically at the base of the plant near the soil line, and may completely strip the circumference. This damage is identifiable by small, irregular gnaw marks and can be fatal to young trees and woody ornamentals.
Environmental Shelter and Ground Cover
Voles are attracted to yards that offer ample security and protection from predators like hawks, owls, and foxes. They are semi-fossorial, spending time both above ground, navigating visible runways, and below ground in burrow systems. Dense, heavy ground cover provides the ideal conditions for safe travel and residence.
Areas of thick, unkempt turf, overgrown weeds, or sprawling groundcovers like ivy create a protective canopy beneath which voles can move unseen. Deep layers of organic mulch are particularly appealing because they offer insulation, maintain soil moisture, and create a soft, easily tunneled medium for nesting. Mulch deeper than a few inches provides a hidden travel network.
Piles of yard debris, including stacked firewood, leaf litter, or grass clippings, also provide excellent cover and nesting material. These structures shield voles from view and offer secure access points to plant roots and bulbs. During winter, a thick layer of snow acts similarly, insulating their burrows and providing an environment for continued foraging activity.
Unintentional Yard Resources
Certain human activities and landscaping features inadvertently provide concentrated, easily accessible food sources that increase a yard’s attractiveness to voles. Spilled bird seed is a highly appealing food source that frequently draws voles to the area beneath feeders. These rodents will readily gather and cache the fallen seeds.
Accessible compost piles, especially those containing organic waste, offer a rich, concentrated food supply. Voles are opportunistic and will exploit the warm, organic material in a compost heap for both food and shelter. Similarly, fallen fruit from trees or berry bushes that is allowed to remain on the ground provides a seasonal feast.
Leaving pet food dishes outdoors is another common attractant. The dry kibble is a convenient source of carbohydrates and protein that voles will readily consume. Cleaning up these non-natural food sources and reducing debris are effective methods for making a property less hospitable to voles.