garden voles or moles

Larger species such as the european water vole live longer and usually die during their second or rarely their third winteras many as 88 of voles are estimated to die within the first month of life. Like moles they dig tunnels and destroy your gardens landscape while slowly but surely eating away the vegetative life out of your garden.

Vole 2 Uc Botanical Garden

Cut back brush mow weed and create a clean space.

Garden vole. They dig a network of tunnels and feed on roots bulbs rhizomes grasses grains or seeds. The wood mouse apodemus sylvestris the short tailed vole microtus agrestis and the bank vole myodes glareolus are widely distributed in britainthe yellow necked field mouse apodemus flavicollis mainly occurs in southern england and walesthese mainly nocturnal small rodents are active all year round. Voles can do significant damage to your landscape so the need for eradication should be taken seriously.

Voles are a pest most often identified by the clues they leave behind. They can tackle almost all plants in the garden shrubs vegetables celery squash chard. The vole by contrast is a rodent.

Keep your lawn mowed and bushes trimmed up from the ground. Q what attracts voles to gardens. Voles are similar to large brown skinned mice only with shorter tails that are very common in your garden.

When populations peak and food runs short voles are more likely to become a nuisance in the garden. Sometimes however they come into conflict with gardeners when food supplies consist of highly valued plants seeds and bulbs. A gardens are ideal habitats for these small mammals as they provide plenty of cover and a wide range of food sources.

Voles like dense heavy vegetative cover weeds and meadows because it provides them with protection from predators and provides nesting material. These voles rarely live longer than 12 months. Voles are cute but destructive.

A vole may also damage flower bulbs and potatoes in the garden. A vole will gnaw at the base of a tree or shrub especially in winter. Four species of mice and voles sometimes cause damage in gardens.

Voles can be removed humanely from a yard by using havahart live traps exterminated by using mouse traps or poisons frustrated by garden fencing or driven away with vole repellents. If your garden borders a natural or wild area both voles and moles are likely present. Here are some indicators that you may have a vole problem.

When faced with a vole problem the first thing that comes to your mind is how they get into your garden in the first place. Moles with their preference for insects and grubs over plants tend to do less. They are herbivorous rodents that live mostly underground although they sometimes move to the surface.

Remove woodpiles and hiding places for voles from near your garden shrubs and trees. Thus metal guards are sold to prevent such vole damage. But mainly the vole will eat the stems and blades of lawn grass.

The average life of the smaller vole species is three to six months.

Keeping Voles Out Of The Garden Bonnie Plants