how to get rid of voles in the winter

Moles are omnivores that prefer to feast on grubs, earthworms, and other bugs. (617) 340-1001, 945 Concord Street A very common misconception is that moles hibernate during the winter. Learn More, 300 Brickstone Square, Ste 201 L. B., Candia, NH. To prevent vole damage to trees, clear snow from around the trees’ trunks, or install a wire mesh cylinder around the trunk that is buried 3-6 inches in the soil and extends 18 inches above the surface. Moles can wreak havoc on your lawn and garden. Walk carefully around the entire length of your property, paying special attention to the ground. Although these beautiful birds won’t eliminate a vole population entirely, they will reduce their numbers. Purchase special covers ( trunk protectors) protecting trees so... 3. While these are easy to spot in the summertime, they can often go undetected in the winter months, giving you less opportunity to identify and eliminate them early. Poison can be viable against voles, but toxins may pose a risk to children, pets, and other wildlife. 1-800-525-8084, We’re not satisfied until you are. Here are some steps you can take for mole prevention this winter. Try this approach in a small garden; for greater expanses, pick up coyote or fox urine, available at home improvement stores and trapper supply houses (typically priced at $15 for an 8-ounce bottle). So don’t wait to roll up the welcome mat! (603) 436-6000, Copyright © 2020 Colonial Pest Control, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you don’t already have a cat, you may consider adopting one to roam your property and provide you with free pest control. Find licensed pros in your area and get free, no-commitment estimates for your project. With adequate shelter and a plentiful food supply, a colony will thrive. Privacy Policy. (508) 872-4420, 225 Cedar Hill Street, Ste 200 Bait traps with peanut butter or apple and set them at a 90-degree angle to the vole “runway.” Once you’ve captured the critters, release them far from residential areas—and at least half a mile from your home. To encourage their nesting, mount owl nest boxes in your trees (purchase premade boxes or plans to build your own from sources like The Hungry Owl Project). Prevent and manage vole damage through yard sanitation, reseeding grass, tree guards, trapping and pesticide application. GET GREEN PEST CONTROL FOR ONLY $39/MONTH*, Northwest Exterminating © 2020. Remove materials that provide winter cover for voles such as heavy mulch, heavy leaf cover, weeds, wild grasses, and litter. The scent of predators can send voles scrambling. Since voles do not go far away from their nests in... 2. So your first move is to eliminate environments that make voles feel at home: excess brush and mulch, leaf piles, wood stacks, and tall grasses. Framingham, MA 01701 Andover, MA 01810 Keep mowing your lawn in the fall until frost, but don’t mow it shorter than two inches to prevent winter injury to the grass. Unlike many mammals, voles do not hibernate, or even slow down, during the winter. They can have multiple litters in a year, and every 3 to 5 years there is a population boom. In past winters, we’ve had a problem with what we’ve been told are voles tunneling under the snow cover and destroying our lawn. But if you notice plants suddenly drooping for no apparent reason, it’s safe to suspect you’re the victim of voles. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. To prevent vole tunneling, remove excess thatch and keep mulch less than two inches deep. Step 4: Create a Long-Term Strategy. The way to prevent vole winter damage is to implement vole control measures before winter. Be proactive in eliminating grubs and other pests from your yard to help control mole populations, as well. By Jill Lawrence O'Hara and Bob Vila. Active year round, voles multiply rapidly, producing up to 100 offspring annually. As mentioned above, moles prefer to feed on earthworms, grubs, and other insects. The steel trap made by Havahart, available at home improvement stores and online (view on Amazon), and the Sherman Trap (SNG model), also available online (view on Sherman Traps), are both effective choices that hold up to 15 voles. Limit watering unless necessary. Non-toxic ways to ward off voles include castor oil, derived from the seeds of the castor plant, and capsaicin, an oil found in hot peppers. Hopefully by that point, moles and other pests have established themselves in a more hospitable environment than in your yard. (508) 485-6006, 344 Main Street KEEP BUGS AT A DISTANCE. Laying the traps during the fall and winter season when food is scarce increases the likelihood that the voles will take the bait. They also push soil and grass up as they dig, creating random mole hills across your yard. Follow these do-it-yourself control methods before you’re faced with a full-scale vole invasion. Besides the winter damage to lawns, voles can also damage trees as they chew off bark from below the snow line. Vole “runways” tend to be less obvious in landscapes with loose topsoil. Voles are rodents, related to mice (see Mice or Voles in Your Yard?). Heavy rainfall can also create these conditions so it is important to be vigilant after storms. Saturdays: 8:00AM to 11:00AM, November through March Finally, try natural deterrents. If you’ve never actually seen a vole, it’s not surprising. Non-toxic ways to ward off voles include castor oil, derived from the seeds of the castor plant, and capsaicin, an oil found in hot peppers. A vole’s life is tunneling through the surface of grasses (or sometimes old mole tunnels) to reach food that is mostly grass and other plants, and sometimes seeds. Don’t Overwater: Overwatering your lawn with sprinklers or irrigation will leave your soil saturated … Marlborough, MA 01752 The cliche of “making a mountain out of a mole hill” isn’t far from the truth. As the soil freezes, moles move from tunneling near the surface to digging deeper in the ground. Fill out the form below or call (888) 466-7849 for a free, no-obligation estimate. (603) 472-1083, 155 Fleet Street Moles cause dead grass patches because their tunneling disrupts the root system of grass. Don’t rely on outdoor cats to be of much help, though—they can’t be bothered going after pests who spend most of their time underground. The following steps can be included in this plan: 1. They actually remain active all winter long, continuing to dig and eat voraciously. Once you’ve rid your outdoor space of uninvited guests, replace the plants they’ve ravaged and otherwise spruce up the area.