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VOLES
Damage Prevention and Control Methods
Exclusions
- Recommended to protect trees, ornamental plants, and small areas
Habitat Modification
- Eliminating ground cover reduces populations
- Soil cultivation destroys burrows and reduces cover
Trapping
Identification
Soil cultivation destroys burrows and reduces cover.
There are 23 voles species in the United States, 3 of which are common in this area; the prairie vole, meadow vole, and pine vole.
The prairie vole is 5 to 7 inches in total length (nose to tip of tail). Its fur is gray to dark brown and mixed with gray, yellow, or hazel-tipped hairs, giving it a "peppery" appearance. Underparts are gray to yellow-gray.
The meadow vole is the mostly widely distributed in the United States. Its total length is 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 inches and it's fur is gray to yellow-brown, obscured by black-tipped hairs. Its underparts are gray, at times washed with silver or buff. The tail is bicolored.
The pine vole is a small vole. Its total length is 4 to 6 inches. Its brown fur is soft and dense. The underparts are gray mixed with some yellow to cinnamon. The tail is barely bicolored or unicolored.
Habitat
Voles occupy a wide variety of habitats. They prefer areas with heavy ground cover of grasses, grasslike plants, or litter. When two species are found together in an area, they usually occupy different habitats. Though voles evolved in "natural" habitats, they also use habitats modified by humans, such as orchards, windbreaks, and cultivated fields, especially when vole populations are high.
Food Habits
Voles eat a wide variety of plants, most frequently grasses and forbs. In late summer and fall, they store seeds, tubers, bulbs, and rhizomes. They eat bard at times, primarily in fall and winter, and will eat crops, especially when their populations are high. Occasional food items include snails, insects, and animal remains.
General Biology, Reproduction, and Behavior
Voles are active day and night, year-round. They do not hibernate. Home range is usually 1/2 acre or less but varies with season, population density, habitat, food supply, and other factors. Voles are semifossorial and construct many tunnels and surface runways with numerous burrow entrances. A single burrow system may contain several adults and young.
Voles breed throughout the year, but most commonly in spring and summer. Litter size range from 1 to 11, but usually average 3 to 6. Lifespans are short, probably ranging from 2 to 16 months. Large population fluctuations are characteristic of voles. Population levels generally peak every 2 to 5 years; however, these cycles are not predictable. Voles are prey for many predators (for example, coyotes, snakes, hawks, owls, and weasels); however, predators do not normally control vole populations
Damage and Damage Identification
Voles may cause extensive damage to orchards, ornamentals, and tree plantings due to their girdling of seedlings and mature trees. Girdling damage usually occurs in fall and winter. Field crops may by damaged or completely destroyed by voles. Voles eat crops and also damage them when they build extensive runway and tunnel systems. These systems interfere with crop irrigation by displacing water and causing levees and checks to wash out. Voles also can ruin lawns, golf courses, and ground covers
IGirdling and gnaw marks alone are not necessarily indicative of the presence of voles, since other animals may cause similar damage. Vole girdling can be differentiated from other animals by the non-uniform gnaw marks. They occur at various angels and in irregular patches. The most easily identifiable sign of voles is an extensive surface runway system with numerous burrow opening. Runways are 1 to 3 inches in width. Vegetation near well-traveled runways may be clipped close to the ground. Feces and small pieces of vegetation are found in the runways. The pine vole does not use surface runways. It builds an extensive system of underground tunnels.
Voles pose no major public health hazard because of their infrequent contact with humans; however, they are capable of carrying disease organisms, such as plague and tularemia. Be careful and use protective clothing when handling voles.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above information was adapted from PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE with permission of the editors, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson (Cooperative Extension Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee). It is will great gratitude and appreciation that we are able to pass along this useful information.
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