Vole
Category: Rodents
Scientific Name: Microtus
Identification:
Color: Grey or Brown
Size: 4-9 inches long
Region: Found in North America, Asia, and Europe
Lifespan: 3-6 months
Important Considerations:
- Voles reproduce year-round, and usually have between 15 and 60 offspring each year.
- A vole consumes up to its own body weight in plant matter each day. This high-level consumption can cause serious damage to your vegetation in a short matter of time.
- Trees are especially vulnerable to damage by voles. One of the main ways that voles feed is by girdling, or stripping bark, from trees. This exposes the wood and can make the tree die.
Where to Find Them on Your Property?
Like moles, voles dig burrows for shelter underneath the ground. Occasionally they use burrows already dug by other animals, but more often they dig their own. Voles choose areas with soft soil to form their burrows where it is easiest for them to dig runways to connect the underground chambers of their burrows. However, they leave no soil mounds above ground, so it can be hard to spot a vole infestation from their burrows alone.