Voles (Meadow Vole, Meadow Mice)

Voles are also called meadow mice. Adults:

• Larger than house mice but smaller than rats
• Blunt-nosed stocky rodents
• Full grown length is 4 to 6 inches
• Small ears and eyes
• Short legs
• Short tails
• Coarse fur is usually dark gray or grayish brown

Compared to deer mice, voles have a more robust body, less obvious ears, and a relatively shorter tail. Vole ears are at least partly obscured by the hair in front of them and their tails are about one-half to one-quarter the length of their head and body combined. Deer mice have relatively large and prominent, fleshy ears, white belly and feet, and their tail is bi-colored and more than 70% the length of their head and body.

Voles live in colonies and are active both day and night, all year round. Females bear 5 to 10 litters per year, with peaks of reproduction in spring and fall. Because voles mature rapidly and bear multiple litters yearly, numbers can increase quickly reaching as high as hundreds of voles per acre. In many areas, populations peak every 4 to 8 years, and then decline fairly rapidly. Voles live in areas such as irrigated pastures, fencerows, or weedy ditchbanks, where the soil is suitable for burrowing and where vegetation provides cover. Grasses and other dense ground cover provide food and shelter that favor the buildup of vole populations. They usually avoid sandy soils. The soil of the Tulelake Basin of Northern California is a location that is highly favorable for voles.

You can recognize vole activity by the narrow runways in grass or other ground cover, connecting numerous shallow burrows with openings about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Voles seldom travel far from their burrows and runways, usually less than 10 feet (3 m) from the nest. Droppings are about 0.18 inch (4.5 mm) long and greenish when fresh, turning brown or gray with exposure to the environment. Sometimes fresh leaves or other cuttings are found in these trails.

Five species of voles, genus Microtus, occur in California. The most widespread species in the state is the California vole (Microtus californicus), which occurs in the Central Valley and throughout the length of the coast range. In potatoes, most damage occurs in the Klamath Basin, where the montane vole (M. montanus) is found.

Voles can cause severe damage in orchards and vineyards by feeding on bark. Characteristic damage is complete or partial girdling of trunks from just below the soil line to usually no more than 5 inches high. In rare situations, voles climb higher on young trees or vines.

In addition to bark, voles also feed around the root crown, and sometimes chew holes in irrigation lines. Young trees or vines are more readily fed upon and most susceptible to being completely girdled and killed by voles. Large trees or vines can be damaged, but this is uncommon and rarely ends in death. For instance, after severe pruning, sufficient light penetrates the canopy for vegetation to grow near trunks, providing cover and food for voles. Voles live in areas where grass or other permanent vegetative cover remains year-round. Orchards or vineyards that have cover crops or those in which grass and herbaceous plants are left to grow next to trunks are most susceptible to damage.

The best management programs for voles keep numbers at low levels; once vole numbers reach high levels, control becomes much more difficult and costly. Vegetation management and the proper use of exclusion keep damage to a minimum. Poisonous bait (either multiple-dose anticoagulants* or zinc phosphide*) can control voles that reach harmful numbers. All field-use rodenticides for voles are restricted use materials that require the applicator to be a private or commercial certified applicator or to be under the supervision of a certified applicator. Some require a permit from the county agricultural commissioner for purchase or use.

Predators such as coyotes, foxes, badgers, weasels, owls, and hawks feed on meadow voles; however, predation is rarely, if ever, a major factor in controlling a rapidly increasing vole population.

Habitat Management

Cultural practices can significantly affect meadow vole numbers. Because voles travel only a few feet from their burrows to obtain food, any destruction of vegetation will make the area less favorable to them and results in burrow abandonment and/or mortality. Physically removing vegetation, using herbicides or other methods to keep an area about 3 feet out from the trunks free of vegetation, has been proven to reduce damage. If you maintain ground cover or resident weeds in the row middles, keep it mowed fairly short (< 2 inches) to be less attractive to voles.

Maintaining weed-free fencerows, roadsides, and ditch banks is also an important preventive measure. A vegetation-free zone 30 to 40 feet wide between a field and adjacent areas helps reduce the potential for invasion by voles, but such a wide area is rarely practical; bare soil borders may be undesirable where off-site movement of contaminated soil and water must be prevented with a vegetative border to filter runoff.

Exclusion

Cylindrical wire or plastic trunk guards to protect young trees or vines from voles are widely used. An effective guard can be a 24-inch-tall cylinder made of ¼ - or ½ -inch mesh hardware cloth that is of sufficient diameter to allow several years' growth without crowding the tree or vine. Bury the guards' bottom edge at least 6 inches below the soil surface, but note that voles may dig beneath them.

Plastic, heavy cardboard, or other fiber materials, such as milk cartons, can also be used to make trunk guards. These materials are less expensive, also provide sunburn protection, and are more convenient to use; however, they provide less protection against vole damage since the voles can chew through them and sometimes use them as a harborage.

Regularly check beneath tree guards for evidence that voles are burrowing underneath them to gnaw on the tree trunk, looking also for the presence of other pests such as snails. If voles take up residence inside the cover, the damage is often greater than if the covers were not used. Good weed control around trunks improves the effectiveness of trunk guards.

Exclusionary fencing consisting of aluminum flashing can be used along field borders. The fencing should be buried at least 6 inches below ground and should extend 12 inches above ground. Drive rebar or wooden stakes into the ground every 15 feet to provide support for the fencing. The efficacy of such fencing is greatly increased if bare soil is present around the base of the fence. Be aware that equipment must frequently move in and out of fields, thereby limiting sites where fencing is practical. Fencing is expensive, so significant damage should be expected to justify the cost of installation.

Flood Irrigation

Where still feasible, flood irrigation can help control vole populations. When a field is flooded, the voles must come to the surface or drown. When at the surface, they can be picked off by a number of predators; growers and their dogs can also actively seek out voles at this time to further reduce population size.

It is important to monitor for voles carefully. Otherwise, you may not notice damage until it is too late to prevent significant injury.

Make sure to check ditch banks, fencerows, roadsides, and other areas where permanent vegetation favors the buildup of voles. Dense grass is their preferred habitat.

Starting in midwinter, monitor monthly in cover crops, weedy areas, and alfalfa fields looking for:

• Active runways: 1- to 2-inch wide surface paths that lead to silver dollar-sized burrow openings.
• Place snap traps in runways to detect pests. Scatter around the field to identify active areas needing baiting. Use expanded trigger traps to avoid having to use bait.
• Fresh vole droppings and short pieces of clipped vegetation, especially grass stems, in runways.
• Burrow openings around the bases of orchard trees or vines. Burrows frequently have numerous openings to the surface. They are relatively shallow and contain food and nesting chambers.

If you find burrows in orchard or vine crops, remove the soil from around the base of the tree or vine and look for bark damage. Voles usually start chewing on bark about 2 inches below the soil line and then move upward to about 5 inches aboveground.

Baiting

If you find damaging infestations or numbers increasing within orchard, vineyard, or vegetable crops, poison baits can be used during the dormant season to greatly reduce vole numbers. Baiting can also reduce voles in adjacent areas before they have a chance to invade. Single- and multiple-dose baits are available, but there may be baiting restrictions in some areas to protect endangered species. It is imperative that you understand and follow the label directions for use. In particular, please note that poison baits cannot be applied within orchard, vineyard, or vegetable crops from green up (spring) until after harvest occurs.

For small infestations, scatter the bait in or near active vole runways and burrows according to the label directions. For larger areas and where the label permits, you can make broadcast applications using a belly grinder-type seeder or a vehicle with a tailgate seeder. Broadcast application rates vary, depending upon estimated numbers of voles and type of toxicant. Both single-dose (e.g., zinc phosphide*) and multiple-dose (e.g., first-generation anticoagulants, chlorophacinone* and diphacinone*) poisons are used for meadow vole control in orchard, vineyard, and vegetable crops. These are restricted-use pesticides that require a permit from the county agricultural commissioner for purchase or use.

In ditchbanks and other non-cropland sites, bait should be applied in fall or spring before the voles' reproduction peaks to slow or prevent populations from expanding into the crop. However, application within an orchard, vineyard, or vegetable field is restricted to the nonbearing season, so timing is key to prevent a population explosion during the growing season. Bait acceptance will depend on the amount and kind of other food available. When baiting for voles with anticoagulants, you should remove all aboveground carcasses by burying them underground, or by bagging and disposing them in the trash. This will reduce potential secondary poisoning hazards.

Trapping

Trapping is not typically practical as voles often number in the thousands over even relatively small areas.

Fumigants

Fumigation is not typically effective because of the shallow, open nature of vole burrow systems and the large number of voles.

Repellents

Repellents are not effective in preventing damage.

*User must be a certified applicator or be under the supervision of someone who is. Some products also require a permit from the county agricultural commissioner for purchase or use.