What do voles feed on

Voles, also known as lawn rodents or field mice, create both above-ground and underground passageways in the soil. Voles feed mostly on vegetation, causing damage to not only your grass but also to your gardens and flowerbeds. A mole's feet, nose and tail are pink and their front feet are equipped with well-developed claws that allow them to dig rapidly. Voles host fleas and ticks. Moles can do great damage to lawns, landscaping and golf courses by tunneling, which destroys plant root systems.

Voles will also destroy flower beds, girdle fruit trees, and kill vegetable gardens from the roots up. Moles prefer soil that is shaded, cool, and moist because of plentiful worms and grubs and easy digging.

Moles typically make their home burrows in high, dry spots often under large trees, buildings or sidewalks. Voles are attracted to landscaping with long grass, lots of ground cover and heavily mulched planting beds. Moles feed primarily on earthworms and white grubs, but will also eat millipedes, centipedes, beetles, spiders, and other insects that venture into their underground tunnels. Voles are active throughout and will not hibernate like other animals when conditions are unfavorable.

They will often girdle tree roots and trunks if green vegetation becomes scarce in their natural habitats. Voles are most active at dusk and dawn in the wild when they make short forays from their burrows to the fields looking for food. Each foray will last for approximately ten minutes. Yes, voles can eat meat.

They will consume carrion if they find it. Voles can also feed on snails and insects like gypsy moths. Moreover, a few researchers have pointed to the possibility of voles turning cannibals and feeding on the other members of their species when populations are too high or there is lack of food available.

Yes, voles like other rodents need water. Each vole is different when drinking water. While some will take a few sips from the water bottle every few minutes, others will visit the watering spot only once in a while but take a big drink. Yes, voles can eat chocolates. Even so, chocolates are not healthy foods for your pet vole.

Zinc phosphide is the toxicant most commonly used to control voles. It is a single-dose toxicant available in pellets, as a concentrate, and as a grain-bait formulation. Zinc phosphide baits generally are placed directly into runways and burrow openings at rates of 2 pounds per acre. Although prebaiting application of similar nontreated bait prior to applying toxic bait is usually not needed to obtain good control, it may be required in some situations, such as when a population has been baited several times and bait shyness has developed.

Zinc phosphide baits are potentially hazardous to ground-feeding birds, especially waterfowl. Minimize risks to nontarget wildlife by placing bait directly in burrow openings or in runways and tunnels under cover boards. Anticoagulant baits are also effective for controlling voles. Anticoagulants are slow-acting toxicants in pellet form that take effect in 5 to 15 days. Multiple feedings are needed for most anticoagulants to be effective. Recommended application rates for anticoagulant toxicants are 10 pounds per acre when placing pellets directly into runways.

If vole problems persist, reapply the anticoagulants 30 to 60 days later. Because of the hazard to nontarget wildlife, it is recommended that baits be placed in bait containers.

Water repellent paper tubes with the bait glued to the inside surface make effective, disposable bait containers. Bait containers protect bait from moisture and reduce the likelihood that nontarget animals and small children will consume the bait. Bait stations also can be made from discarded beverage cans. Put the bait in the can and place the can, dented side down, in the area to be protected. Mark the bait containers with flags or stakes so they can be relocated.

Another type of bait station that has been successful is made from an automobile tire split longitudinally. Tires are placed with the hollow side down, and the bait is placed in a small cup under the tire.

The tire halves are then distributed throughout the area at a rate of one per tree or one every 10 yards. Discontinue use if nontarget animals are coming into contact with bait. Woodland voles are not as active above ground, so when targeting these types of voles, place the bait directly in runways and burrow openings under infested trees at two to four locations.

If runways and burrows cannot be found, roofing shingles, boards, or other objects may be placed on the ground to encourage woodland voles to build tunnels or nests under them. Bait can then be placed under these shelters once woodland voles are using them. Timing also influences the success of control programs. Wet weather reduces the effectiveness of toxicants. Therefore, try to place the bait when the weather is likely to be fair and dry for at least three days.

Baits are most effective when naturally occurring foods are limited. Late fall is an important time to place bait for voles because this practice helps reduce populations before the onset of winter, when vole damage is most severe and snow cover precludes the use of toxicants. When the vole population is high during early spring, baits should be applied before the breeding season and before the renewed growth of ground cover reduces the chance that voles will accept bait.

Toxicants are poisonous to all forms of animal life. Nontarget animals can be injured or killed by eating toxicants directly or by eating voles that are killed by toxicants. Therefore, do not place bait in piles or on bare soil. Do not use baits where there is a chance of harming humans, domestic animals, or desirable wildlife. It is unlawful to use pesticides in a manner inconsistent with their labeling.

Fumigants usually are not effective because the complexity and shallow depth of vole burrow systems allow fumigants to escape. Although not effective on a large scale, trapping is the safest way to remove voles in home grounds or small orchards before vole numbers are extremely high. Fall and late winter are periods when voles are easiest to trap. Set mouse-sized snap traps at burrow openings or in runways near ornamental shrubbery, flower beds, gardens, or rock walls.

Bait the traps with a peanut butter-oatmeal mixture or apple slices. Set the trap perpendicular to the runway, and cover the trap with an inverted cardboard box or pan. Be sure to allow space for the trap to operate freely under the covering. Check the traps twice daily, in the morning and evening, and reset the traps until no more voles are captured.

See the Trapline Products website for more information on trapping and a video describing trap placement. Although voles rarely invade houses, in the event that they do, they can be controlled by setting snap traps or live traps Sherman or box-type as you would for house mice. Voles may be live trapped using mouse-sized box traps in areas of vole activity. Voles should be released more than a half mile from the capture site into overgrown fields or other grassy areas where they will not pose a problem for other landowners.

A wide variety of predators feed on voles. Voles are relatively easy for most predators to catch and are active, and therefore vulnerable, day and night and year-round. Despite their vulnerability, vole populations usually are not controlled by predators, because voles have a high reproductive potential and can increase their populations at a faster rate than predators.

However, predators may help keep populations low once the initial vole populations have been reduced through alternative techniques. Leaving large trees or installing raptor perches in the area may encourage birds of prey to hunt in areas experiencing vole damage. Critter Control wildlife removal specialists can eliminate troublesome voles in the most humane and effective manner possible, as well as help secure residential areas against future vole infestations.

Diet: What Do Voles Eat? Diet Overview Voles, also known as meadow mice, are herbivores that feed on grasses, tree bark, roots, tubers, and vegetable crops.

Prevention Removing food sources attracting voles to private properties is one way to make residential lawns less favorable burrowing sites.