Now that fall is upon us everyone will be spending more time inside their warm homes. With the temperatures dropping, we are not the only creatures looking to find a warm spot to call home. Many people are familiar with pestilent rodents like mice and burrowing moles, but not as familiar with one of Canada’s number one threats to plant life, the meadow vole.
Brown, and about six inches long, voles are often mistaken for mice or moles, and truthfully, they’re not that different. Their travelling and eating habits, however, make them a big threat to your lawn and garden.
Moles tunnel underneath the ground to make pathways, while voles like to travel on top. The number one sign of moles are little dirt mounds all over your landscape, which voles don’t make. The vole’s pathways are made above the ground but beneath cover like leaves and snow. The result is a crosshatch of tiny vole-roads in your lawn, with all of the vegetation eaten away and the dirt compacted by the pitter-patter of thousands of tiny vole-feet, compacting the earth and making it harder for the lawn to heal itself and re-grow.
The vole’s diet includes grass, plant roots, flowers, vegetables, and tubers. In short, they destroy just about anything that grows. They’re voracious eaters, and quick multipliers. In just one winter, they can destroy your whole lawn, and they threaten your vegetable gardens and other crops.
If you spot a vole problem, you need to deal with it right away. Small infestations can be dealt with yourself – make sure leaves, mulch and cover are at a minimum, and decide whether poison or traps are the best solution for you. If you need the services of a professional pest control company, look no further than Poulin’s Pest Control. We’ve been in the business since 1946 and rodent control is one of our specialties. We even helped make Alberta a “rat-free” province! We provide full service pest control solutions that use the latest products and processes, to keep your home and property pest free.