Essential Spring Strategies for Vole Control

Spring on the Canadian prairies uncovers the long-hidden world of voles.

What are these pesky rodents, and how can you keep them at bay before they strike? Keep reading to find out.

What Are Voles?

Voles, also known as field mice, are small, furry rodents, typically measuring between eleven to twenty-one centimetres (4 to 8 inches) long without counting their tails.

Voles prefer to live in underground burrows against rocks and logs that are located near water, the edges of forests, and fields. Their diet is mostly plant material and voles can cause significant damage to your lawn, trees, and garden.

Vole damage is noticeable in the spring when the melting snow reveals the tunnels they made through the grass they were eating over the winter.

Often mistaken for mice or moles, voles have some distinguishing characteristics and behaviours:

Vole tails are short and rarely more than one-third of their body-length compared to the long tails of mice
Vole bodies and faces appear rounder than those of mice
Vole ears appear smaller in proportion to their heads than the ears on mice
Vole fur usually appears thicker and fluffier than fur on mice
Voles are more likely to be seen during the day than mice, which are nocturnal
Moles do not naturally live in Alberta or Saskatchewan, but Manitoba has star-nosed moles that have 22 tentacle-like appendages around their snout

Voles are active year-round and reproduce rapidly, which means a small colony can quickly become a large infestation.

Spring Vole Control

In the Spring when the snow melts, there are some things you can do to control voles:

Look for signs of voles such as trails in the lawn, bark removed (girdling) around the bases of trees and shrubs, and small holes that are about two-and-a-half to five centimetres across (1-2 inches).
Rake and de-clutter your lawn to remove wood piles, dead grass, leaves, plant mulch, and dead plants where voles could hide.
Install barriers with wire mesh around gardens, shrubs, and young trees.
Bird feeders need to be removed or set up to prevent seeds from falling and feeding voles.
Trim grass and bushes to prevent hiding places for voles.
Apply repellents or grow repellent plants around affected areas.
Set up covered mouse traps baited with peanut butter and/or seeds near vole holes.
Call Poulin’s and we can identify potential problem areas, develop a customized plan, and carry it out for you.

Professional Vole Pest Control

When it comes to vole control and vole infestations in the spring, with an experienced and trusted pest control company, you will receive:

Professional Inspection and Treatment

Trained pest management professionals will conduct a thorough inspection of your property to identify vole activity and areas at risk. Based on this assessment, we will develop a customized treatment plan.

Integrated Pest Management for voles

A multi-faceted vole control strategy includes:

Strategic placement of control devices.
Reducing vole habitat conditions by clearing dense vegetation and keeping grass short.
Preventive measures including regular maintenance of control devices.
Year-Round Vole Control

Not Not only can our professional vole pest control service help you control voles when the snow melts and throughout the spring, but we can also provide expert advice on reducing vole-friendly habitats. Before the snow stays and hides voles, service in the fall can minimize vole populations and the damage they can do to your lawn and garden over the winter, and service can help prevent infestations from growing in the spring.

Vole Control Product Sales and Guidance

For those who want to do-it-yourself, a range of vole pest control supplies are available for purchase, including traps and repellents. You can receive expert guidance from our staff to help you choose the proper products and instructions on how to safely and effectively use them for vole control.

Find Effective Vole Pest Control Near You

It is important to control vole infestations quickly. While do-it-yourself methods can help with small numbers of pests, severe vole problems can require professional intervention. If you’re in Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Manitoba, Poulin’s Pest Control is the top choice.

With over 75 years of experience, we offer you solutions tailored to your specific needs. Our trained technicians use an integrated pest management strategy for voles that includes thorough inspections, customized treatment plans, expertise and professional-grade products, and year-round control tactics.

Don’t let voles wreak havoc on your lawn and garden this spring! Contact Poulin’s Pest Control today to keep voles and other rodents at bay.

We also provide indoor insect and rodent control, and we can help keep the mosquitos in your yard and garden down to a minimum. If you have a pest problem, Poulin’s has a solution, and that’s no foolin’. Find a location near you.

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