Voles outwardly resemble several other small animals. Moles, gophers, mice, rats and even shrews have similar characteristics and behavioral tendencies. Voles thrive on small plants yet, like shrews, they will eat dead animals and, like mice and rats, they can live on almost any nut or fruit.

Voles like to nibble on the bark of fruit trees, ornamental plants, and plants in vegetable gardens. They usually eat grasses and weeds, but they also relish insects like gypsy moths, snails, and the remains of dead animals.

Voles, also known as meadow mice, are herbivores that feed on grasses, tree bark, roots, tubers, and vegetable crops. The rodents generally prefer to live in moist areas with plenty of grass and groundcover where they can scavenge for food without being spotted by predators.

How many voles are in a colony and what makes up a colony? There may be two adults, several juveniles, and a nest with up to 5 babies in a family colony. Adults are thought to defend their home habitat or territory from invasion by other voles.

Voles do not hibernate and are active throughout the year. During severe winters and snow cover, when green vegetation is scarce, voles often girdle tree trunks and roots killing or damaging trees and shrubs. Voles may be active day or night, but most activity occurs at dawn and dusk.

Top 5 Best Vole Repellents

• I Must Garden Vole Repellent Granules (our top pick)
• Molemax Repellent (a close second)
• Nature’s Mace Mole Repellent 100% Castor Oil.
• Dalen Natural Enemy Horned Owl.
• Solar Sonic Repellent.

Try Havahart live vole traps situated perpendicular to the widest vole runways or near the nesting sites at the base of trees and shrubs. Bait traps with peanut butter. Set baits midday to early evening when voles get more active. Reset the traps as often as necessary until you eliminate the population.

Castor oil-based repellents penetrate the ground and give ground vegetation an odor and taste that disagree with voles, driving them to find food elsewhere. What’s more, castor oil is all-natural, biodegradable and poison-free, making it a great alternative to pesticides.

Voles are attracted to areas with ample vegetation for food and cover. Rather than encouraging voles to live in your yard, take steps to remove these elements to help drive them out naturally. Mow your lawn and pull weeds regularly. Remove ground cover like brush, low-lying bushes & shrubs.

Voles like living in mulch, leaf and grass piles, and tall ground covers. Lawns should be mowed regularly. To keep voles out of the garden, do not mulch close to trees, keep mulch around shrubs to a minimum, and pick up unturned piles of leaves and lawn clippings from around the yard.

Vole Poisons We Reviewed:

• Tomcat All Weather Bait Chunx.
• JT Eaton Bait Block Rodenticide Anticoagulant Bait, Peanut Butter Flavor.
• Sweeney’s Mole and Gopher Poison Peanuts Bait 6 Ounce.

Vole tunnels have openings 1.5 to 2 inches across and are typically hidden beneath mulch, shrubs, or spreading plants. Look for fresh grass clippings or seeds near tunnel entrances. Spongy soil. Some voles burrow and create many shallow tunnels, while other types dig down to a depth of 12 inches.

Best Vole Bait and Vole Baiting Tips The best bait for voles includes bread and butter, small nuts, cherry pits, oatmeal, sunflower or similar seeds, mixed peanut butter and oatmeal or gumdrops.

Voles can be removed humanely from a yard by using live traps, or they can be exterminated with mouse traps or bait traps (which use poisons). They can also be deterred by fencing and driven away with vole repellents.

Voles are active day and night, year-round. You’ll normally find them in areas with dense vegetation. Voles dig many short, shallow burrows and make underground nests of grass, stems, and leaves. In areas with winter snow, voles will burrow in and through the snow to the surface.

How to Kill Moles With Juicy Fruit Gum

1. Cut several sticks of Juicy Fruit up into pieces about 1/2-inch square.
2. Dig into a mole tunnel using a small hand spade or shovel.
3. Place one of the sections of Juicy Fruit gum into the hole.
4. Cover the hole back up with dirt.

* Take the yellow wrappers off Juicy Fruit chewing gum. Put the sticks of gum, still covered with the aluminum wrappers, into the pushed-up holes. The moles will be attracted to the gum’s scent and will devour it. But they won’t be able to digest the gum and aluminum wrappers and will eventually die.