If you’ve ever lost your precious garden plants, veggies or fruits to burrowing critters, then you’ll want to know how to get rid of voles and moles. Chances are if you’re here reading this article it’s because you know the pain of that loss.

We lost many plants to moles last year, and something is already destroying plants this season.

We were harvesting some dandelion leaves for one of our favorite salads, from our hugelkultur bed and noticed some of the plants were wilted. I went to snap a leaf off and the whole plant came up out of the ground.

That’s when I noticed the telltale furrows in the soil… those raised ridges branching out like veins on top of the garden bed. Uh-oh! Voles or moles! Darn! It’s mid spring and the garden’s just getting started and those critters are already wreaking havoc on our plants!! Turns out they can even cause damage to plants under snow cover in winter. Yikes! Makes you wonder how our pioneer ancestors survived. They couldn’t just run to the local home store for traps, poisons and other deterrents.

If you’re wondering the difference between moles and voles, hop on over to our article on moles first. There we show and tell the differences so you can be sure you’ve identified the right garden pest, so you’ll be able to determine the best plan of attack. There’s also a descriptive image below.^[1]https://www.gardensall.com/how-to-get-rid-moles/

We don’t have critter problems in our straw bale garden beds. You can read more about those here.

Here, we turn our attention from moles to voles.

If you don’t want to see and learn the differences between voles and moles, etc. you can go straight to the “how to get rid of voles section here.“

VOLES: Habitat and Appearance – What does a Vole Look Like?

Size, feet, and face, fur coverage and tail, all distinguish these rodents from their subterranean insectivore counterparts, moles.

Voles are rodents. Moles are insectivores.

Voles are actually kind of cute. At least, a bit more cuddly looking than moles. Yet, these herbivores can wreak havoc on a garden in short order. They also feed on the roots and bark of woody plants, including those in nurseries and orchards where they can inflict a lot of damage in short order.

Some common names for voles include meadow moles, meadow mice, field mice, and ground moles. Voles resemble chubby house mice with short snouts, stubby tails and thickly layered fur.

These cute little herbivores can wreak havoc on your garden.

Voles live in thatch and brush cover in grassy fields, shallow tunnels, and surface runways. They also can thrive under long term snow cover, a significant factor in relation to root and stem damage.

There are numerous species, but the ones considered here are the pine vole (Microtus pinetorum), the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus), and the prairie vole ((Microtus ochrogatser). The latter two form tunnels on or near the surface while the pine vole digs deeper channels. So we likely have the meadow vole in our hugelkultur bed.

The species differ but not so much in how to control them.

Voles, Moles, Mouse and Shrew – Appearance Comparison

For an artistic sketch of the differences in these gnawing rodents and insectivore mammals in this article on how to get rid of garden moles.

What Do Voles Eat?

Voles consume mostly vegetative matter though they will devour small creatures and occasionally scavenge. They go for grains, roots, and tender bark which leads to us discovering dead plants overnight, and all to often, dead shrubs and trees that fail to flourish with new growth in the spring.

Unlike the solitary seeking moles, these little fur balls are quite gregarious, short-lived with an average life expectancy in the wild of just 6-12 months. The vole breeding season is spring-fall, around April-November, (depending on the climate) and females give birth to 5-6 litters of 4-5 babies each year.

and prolific in breeding 5-10 litters per year with 3-4 young per litter, so an average of 26 new voles per female per year. However, they’re also dying off.

Not sure the math on that but the bottom line is that there could be a perpetual population of voles at any time, happily chomping on the roots and bark of your plants and trees! And they can decimate crops in short order.^[2]https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/g887.pdf

The Cost of Vole Damage

Wintertime, when food sources are scarce, is the costliest period for vole damage. They will gnaw the roots below and the trunk’s green cambium layers of orchard trees and other woody plants.^[3]https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/g887.pdf

Plants, that are not killed directly often succumb to opportunistic diseases and pests that finish the job the voles started. Here in North Carolina our extension agents estimate that voles have inflicted moderate to severe damage to around 90 percent of the state’s home landscapes and gardens.

Vole damage to fruit tree – Image by RodRepel.com^[4]https://rodrepel.com/blog/blog/woodland-voles-causing-damage/

Voles cost apple growers $50 million a year in damage.

It’s been estimated that voles cause just apple growers close to $50,000,000 a year.^[5]https://rodrepel.com/blog/blog/woodland-voles-causing-damage/ They also do substantial damage to soy, corn, and potato crops, particularly those in no-till cultivation.^[6]https://extension.missouri.edu/p/G9445

In order to treat the pest problem, you want to first diagnose the cause.

Do I Have Voles? Determine if You Have Voles

In our survey of the non-commercial literature, the approach that makes the most sense to us is Integrated Pest Management or IPM. In so doing, there’s no relying on a single method that may or may not yield results as desired.

The first thing is to determine if voles are about the property in question. The “Apple Sign Test” has been recommended by our NC State University as the first step. It involves setting up test sites by placing a single roof shingle on the ground and putting a morsel of food underneath it and waiting 24 hours to check it. The result is noted on a map where you’ve already marked each test site’s location.  (For more details refer to the footnoted reference). ^[7]https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/voles-in-horticultural-plantings

At the end of the Apple Sign Test you should know if there’s a vole presence and if so, where they are generally located. The test should be conducted every fall and spring and records kept of the locations and subsequent control treatments. ^[8]https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/voles-in-horticultural-plantings

There are numerous ways to control vole damage and get rid of voles. Here are the four most relevant methods: Exclusion, Habitat Modification, Frightening, and Repelling.

How to Get Rid of Voles Naturally

If you’re here looking for how to get rid of voles naturally, the good news is that there are a number of options that work. One neighbor might swear by one method, whereas your other neighbor might say that same remedy hasn’t worked for him. What works for one, may not work for the next one.

Because of that, the efficacy of specific methods is hard to nail down because circumstances vary and often times it’s multiple factors that contribute.

For example, several contributors said that coffee grounds work to repel voles for them, whereas another few said that it didn’t.

That said, the good news is that if one doesn’t work for you, then try the next. Your garden goodies are too precious to leave it to chance, and if you try one or more of these, you should see positive results.

5 Ways to Control Vole Damage

1. Barriers – Control by exclusion to access
2. Control – Habitat modification – reduce vegetation around trees
3. Frightening – ultrasonic and other devices are unproven, however some people say it works for them
4. Repelling – thiram, capsaicin and other odor-based repellents
5. Lethal – When nothing else works, this includes traps and poison

Image from Extension.PSU.edu^[9]https://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/wildlife/images/wire-cylinders-protect-saplings/image_full-width-no-col

Exclusion – Vole Barriers

The best and easiest way to control voles is to control their habitat. It’s hard to spend the time and money creating barriers before you have any problems, yet that’s the very best time to do it. If you can deter the critters before they set up house reproducing, life will be easier. Rodent control barriers are like insurance: a hassle to have to do but the best thing when you need it. So barriers are the best long term effective prevention strategy.

One exclusion method for vulnerable trees is to encircle the trunk with a wire cylinder 18 – 24 inches tall. The wire cage should be buried 4-6 inches below ground level. Obviously this works best for young saplings. Allow enough diameter for 5 years growth expansion.^[10]https://extension.psu.edu/voles

Control – Vole Habitat

Mowing ground covers to a maintained height of 3-6 inches, creating vegetative-free zones a minimum of 2 feet from the tree’s trunk, and removing organic materials such as mulch from around the trunk and replacing it with 3-4 inches of crushed stone or gravel will help.

Vole Barriers and Control for Exclusion

• Keep ground covers near trees cut short
• Keep mulch cleared back from around trees
• Replace mulch with 3″ of crushed stone instead
• Set wire mesh hardware cloth around base of tree trunk
• For one raised bed of veggies, we’re experimenting with a heavy layer of weed barrier fabric. It’s definitely in the mole/vole zone. We’ll report the results later in the season.

Repellents for Frightening and Repelling Voles

Unfortunately, most don’t really work. Clackers, beepers, and high frequency sonic devices that supposedly scare rodents are marginal at best.

Thiram and Peppers

Repellents containing capsaicin (the hot component in peppers) and thiram (fungicide) may help, however, these can be expensive and there’s no proven effectiveness yet. They may make a plant taste bad but are temporary at best since the voles may adapt to the taste or not be affected at all.

These could get expensive, because that’s a lot of plants to cover plus you’ll need to reapply periodically and especially after rain.

Lethal Vole Remedies

We love animals and try to use natural, non-lethal remedies whenever possible. But when it comes to the food for your family or your business livelihood, such as with an orchard business, you might have to take more strenuous measures such as mouse traps or vole poison.

Poison – Vole Poison – Rodenticides

Just remember that all rodenticides are designed to kill mammals, so if you can’t keep your pets away you’ll have to find another method.

You can find rodenticides at your local homestore or on Amazon. The upside is that these can work. The negatives…?

Rodenticides – Negatives

• Kill slowly over time – takes awhile plus long slow death for the critters
• Multiple applications in multiple locations required
• Can be time consuming to find the best locations to apply
• Can be costly over time
• Second-hand poisoning of predators that eat voles

For more on voles and moles, you can read this article. For more details on the vole problem, visit this article on Missouri.edu and this extensive article on Penn State’s ag site.

Traps – Vole Traps

You can trap voles by placing traps baited with apple or peanut butter around the vole pathways. You’ll need to anchor them so that the vole doesn’t drag the trap away from that location.

These can be catch-and-release traps or lethal. We prefer to try catch-and-release traps first.

This Reader Uses Mouse Traps

We set mouse traps with peanut butter…. Works great!

We place the traps near the holes. Sometimes my husband will put them under a coffee can with a brick on top of the can over the holes. We have caught a lot of them. Our neighbors yard has condos in it from all the little buggers!!
~Sherri Patterson

Wisdom from the Crowd – Contributions from the GardensAll Community

Whenever we can we like to share the wisdom of experience from our GardensAll Facebook and email community.

Cats for Rodent and Vole Control (Kitty Litter too!)

A number of reader’s cats have eliminated their vole and other critter problems from the garden. Cats are better than dogs for this because they don’t dig up the yard to get to their prey.

Emptying Kitty Litter Box Dropping into Holes Works to Get Rid of Voles

I started dropping cat box droppings down the holes in my yard last year as soon as I noticed holes and didn’t see any new holes.
~Robi Hathorn

I’ve been putting used cat litter in mole holes for years – seems like if you get rid of them from yard they aren’t in flower beds either – just wished it worked as well on chipmunks!
~Joyce Cochran

Dogs for Rodent and Vole Control

Several readers have said that their dogs have solved their varmint problems.

“We used to have a huge problem with them. My goldie Daisy took care of it.“
~John Loertscher

“My Vole, Mole repellent …. can hear a feather drop at the barn, can dig faster than a groundhog and is always 100% accurate…

They are Rescues, he has a twin. Our vet says they are Walker Hound and Lab Mix, before I got them the voles were eating my Hosta’s, tulips, sweet potatoes & moles had tunnels everywhere and now I have No Voles or Moles, it is the best $35 I have ever spent. And Yes, at first We had a lot of holes to fill in but so worth it.”
~Betty Hall

Cinnamon for Pest Control

I use cinnamon to keep critters of all sorts out the garden. It works good. You can sprinkle the powder around and also add it to water and spray it. I also will break up a cinnamon stick and place chunks around the garden. Cinnamon also helps prevent or kill any type of fungus growing and it adds phosphorus and copper to my soil making me get more flowers.
Aram Brodeur

Coffee Grounds to Get Rid of Voles

After reading our article on using coffee grounds for plants, Bill Kurnig sent an email to share his coffee grounds success story.

I know this does not directly apply to your [coffee grounds] article, but I have a raised terrace garden bed and had a few either voles (or chipmunks) burrowing down inside of the wall. They spent a lot time killing plants by chewing on the roots.

I fill the burrow holes with dried coffee grounds and patted [the filled area] smooth to check for any disturbance. 
Result: no disturbance and the little critters seem to be gone. I have no hard proof but make of it what you will.
Critters and holes gone post coffee grounds!
~Bill Kurnig

Another reader asked if coffee grounds would help get rid of gophers and the answer is “yes” many have found coffee grounds to be an effective gopher deterrent!

We LOVE this tip. We’ve lost crops each year thanks to voles and moles. So since we’re avid coffee drinkers, we’ll put our grounds to good use at the first signs of voles, moles or chipmunks!

Granulated Castor Oil

Look for any brand of granulated castor oil. Doesn’t kill them but drives them away because it makes the earth worms, grubs etc that they eat taste bad. Does not hurt beneficial insects and it’s safe to use around kids and dogs.
Phyllis Stewart

Hot Pepper and Soap

I spray hot sauce in a pump sprayer mixed with water and lemon dish soap. It gets rid of the grubs, but I still have worms.

I spray my whole yard not just in the holes. It keeps fleas and ticks and snakes, etc away. All of it move on. Lol I been using this for years even when we lived in the country.
~Carrie Boyd

Mouse Traps With Peanut Butter

We catch them on a mouse trap with peanut butter.
~Sherri Patterson

Poison – Consider the Second-Hand Impact of Poison

Under the “negatives” for using poison, the second-hand poisoning of the predators that eat voles should be mentioned. Use of poison, if you cannot control where the creature will end up, should never be an option.
~Cindie Lyn

Vibrating Solar Sensors Work

“Solar sensors that make noise or vibration in the earth work really well. There are many different brands but it’s a very effective non harmful way that works. 

They usually come in packs of 2. I have a bunch scattered throughout our yard. They work VERY well and are harm free. Moles, voles and rats don’t like the frequency it makes. I recommend using them around garden and maybe a few other places in the yard just as precautions. Best of luck.“
~Jacob Kolberg-Lunak

If you need help with how to keep squirrels, rabbits and rodents out of the garden.

Meanwhile, we have redone our raised garden beds to include layers of protection as well.