Meadow voles are frustrating pests. All spring, summer and early fall they come into Moline yards and feed on turfgrass, plant bulbs, tubers and herbaceous plants. This can cause a lot of damage, not the least of which are long trenches (called runways) created in lawns. These are ugly and depressing to look at.
This time of year, when vegetables in our gardens are ripe and ready for harvest, voles can present a serious challenge as these ripe vegetables are appealing to voles. To protect your veggies from being a meal for voles before they can be a meal for your family, it is important to install fencing around your garden. Make sure your fencing goes at least a foot and a half below the ground so these rodents can't burrow under.
Winter Gardens
During the winter months, voles aren't as much of a threat to your garden unless you have perennial plants, such as flowers, which come back every year. Voles are known to eat a wide variety of flower bulbs. As food resources are harder to come by, your flower bulbs are going to be an attractive option for meadow voles in your yard.
Winter Vole Control
The voles in your yard will create nests to get through the winter. They will make these nests above and below ground. Vole nests are made from a mixture of grasses, weeds and sedges. If you see these nests being developed in the spring, you can remove them and potentially drive voles off your property. Good lawn care and proper control of organic debris is a helpful deterrent for these destructive critters.
Winter Food Sources
During the winter months, voles switch from eating grass, sedges and other vegetation to eating seeds, bark and roots. This is important to understand because voles eat their body weight in food every day and this can lead to damaged trees and damaged vegetation in your landscaping. Consider installing a hardware cloth around the base of your trees if you suspect that you have a meadow vole infestation in your yard. This will protect your trees from girdling. If you have bird feeders near your home, you may want to move them to the border of your property so that seeds won't draw meadow voles in close to your landscaping. If you already have voles in your landscaping, there is really only one solution. It is time to call a licensed pest control professional.
If Moline meadow voles have invaded your yard, reach out to Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators. Our highly trained and fully-licensed professionals have the tools and experience to locate and remove meadow voles. Get in touch with us today to request a free inspection to get started.