Spring Cleanup: Addressing Vole Damage Post-Winter for a Pest-Free Property

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Spring has arrived and the snow has finally melted. But wait – your lawn and garden have suffered damage throughout the winter from voles!

Voles can be very destructive for your garden and lawn. Let’s take a look at some measures you can take to help repair the damage as well as prevent future problems.

Identify if You Have a Problem

Voles will create tunnels beneath your lawn, garden, and under sidewalks causing extensive damage.

Signs of a vole infestation include:

  • Bark that has been completely removed from the base of a tree
  • 2.5 to 5 cm (1- to 2-inch) wide dead strips (surface runways) through matted grass leading to shallow underground burrows
  • Small 2.5 to 5 cm (1- to 2-inch) holes near foundations, sidewalks, driveways, decks, and rocks
  • Small piles of brownish droppings and short pieces of grass along the runways
  • Seeing voles

Getting Rid of Voles

So, you have voles. How do you get rid of them?

First, let’s take a look at how you can prevent voles from becoming a problem in the first place:

Preventative Measures

  • Store seeds properly: use a metal or glass rodent-proof container to store seeds and bird feed, and clean up any spilled seeds.
  •  Guard vulnerable plants and trees: protective barriers of mesh or other materials will need to be above the snow line in winter.
  • Reduce cover: voles do not like to be exposed to potential predators. Remove log piles, keep grass short, control weeds, and remove places for them to hide.

Once you have voles, how do you get rid of them?

Pest Control

  • Traps: put covered traps in areas where you know voles go. Use more than the number of voles you think you have to catch many at once and get rid of them faster. Bait with sunflower seeds or seeds of any kind, and peanut butter.
  • Repellents: registered animal repellents can be sprayed on plants and surfaces to help deter voles from chewing. These repellants have a bitter and unpleasant taste. Do not use on food, edible plants, or directly on the fruits or nuts of trees.

Vole Damage Control

Vole infestations can be very damaging to your lawn. Once you’ve gotten rid of the vole problem, you can start repairing the damage they’ve caused. If you take care of your trees and your lawn, they’ll heal in time. You may need to reseed damaged areas and trim the damaged bark on your trees.

Call the Pros

If you feel you have too many voles and you need vole damage control, you should call Poulin’s Pest Control. We can take care of vole problems, just give us a call and we can help!

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