Voles, often mistaken for mice or moles, are small rodents common in various landscapes. Understanding their dietary preferences is valuable for anyone managing outdoor spaces, from avid gardeners to homeowners. These creatures can significantly impact their environment through their foraging behaviors.
The Primary Diet of Voles
Voles are primarily herbivorous, meaning their diet consists mainly of plant material. Their staple foods include a variety of grasses, herbaceous plants, stems, and roots. They consume common plants such as clover, dandelions, chickweed, and sedges. These readily available plant parts provide necessary sustenance for voles, which are active year-round.
Their preference for these food sources stems from their widespread availability in many habitats, including meadows, fields, and gardens. Voles constantly forage, often eating a significant portion of their body weight daily to meet their energy needs.
Seasonal and Supplemental Food Sources
While grasses and herbaceous plants form the core of a vole’s diet, their food choices adapt seasonally and opportunistically. When primary vegetation is less abundant, particularly during fall and winter, voles expand their diet to include other plant parts. This includes seeds, fruits, bulbs, and tubers, which they may also store in underground chambers.
During colder months, tree bark becomes a more prominent food source, especially for young trees and shrubs. Voles gnaw on the bark near the ground level, often hidden beneath snow cover. While predominantly plant-eaters, some vole species may occasionally supplement their diet with insects or fungi.
Identifying Vole Feeding Habits
Observing specific signs in a yard or garden can help identify the presence of voles and their feeding activities. A common indicator is shallow, well-traveled runways, typically one to two inches wide, that crisscross through grass or groundcover. These pathways are created as voles move between burrow openings and food sources.
Vole damage to plants often appears as clean, angled cuts on stems, indicating they have “clipped” the vegetation. They also feed extensively on roots and bulbs underground, which can cause plants to wilt or collapse. On trees and shrubs, voles leave irregular gnaw marks about 1/8 inch wide and 3/8 inch long on the bark, usually near the ground. Unlike moles, voles do not create distinct mounds of soil.