Plant Problem Diagnostic
Vole Damage in the Lawn and Garden
The short answer
Voles are small plant-eating rodents. Their signature is a network of narrow surface runways, paths about 1 to 2 inches wide worn into the grass, often revealed when snow melts, along with small open burrow entrances and gnawed bark at the base of young trees and shrubs. Because voles eat plants, roots, and bark, they can kill grass, perennials, and even girdle young trees. Moles, by contrast, are insect-eaters that push up raised soil ridges and volcano-shaped mounds and rarely eat plants.
Extension management rests on two pillars: protect woody plants with quarter-inch hardware-cloth cylinders 18 to 24 inches tall, set 4 to 6 inches into the ground around the trunk, and remove the cover voles depend on by keeping grass mowed short near plantings (within about 2 feet of young trees in late fall) and pulling deep mulch back from trunks.
Vole vs. mole: read the evidence
- Voles: open surface runways worn into grass, about 1-2 inches wide, with visible clipped vegetation and small burrow holes; plants eaten, bark gnawed.
- Moles: raised ridges of pushed-up soil and round mounds; lawn feels spongy; plants not eaten.
- Girdled bark low on young trees with fine paired tooth marks, especially under winter snow: voles.
- Voles are active year-round and damage often peaks under snow cover, appearing suddenly at spring melt.
Protect trees and shrubs
- 1Install trunk guards — Make cylinders of quarter-inch hardware cloth 18 to 24 inches tall, set 4 to 6 inches into the ground around the trunk, leaving room for growth. This physically prevents girdling.
- 2Pull mulch back — Keep mulch a few inches away from trunks; deep mulch piled against bark gives voles hidden feeding cover.
Remove cover (the cultural fix)
Voles avoid open ground. Cut grass and weeds short in late fall within about 2 feet of young trees, mow lawn edges and ditches, clean up dense groundcovers next to beds, and store wood and debris off the ground. Yard sanitation, reseeding damaged grass, and tree guards are the core of Extension vole management for home landscapes.
✔ Lawn runway damage usually recovers. Rake out dead vegetation, overseed, and the grass typically fills back in during the growing season.
What not to do
Skip poison baits in home landscapes. Rodenticides put pets, children, raptors, and other wildlife at risk, and their use is regulated; this site does not recommend them. Repellents and frightening devices have little documented effect on voles. Where populations are damaging orchards or large plantings, snap trapping in runways is the Extension-described option, and rules for any lethal control vary, so check local wildlife regulations.
When to call a professional
If voles are girdling multiple trees, damaging an orchard, or persisting despite guards and habitat cleanup, contact your county Extension office or a licensed wildlife or pest management professional for an integrated plan.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- University of Minnesota Extension - Vole damage — Vole damage is prevented and managed through yard sanitation, reseeding grass, tree guards, and trapping; guards are quarter-inch hardware cloth set into the ground.
- Penn State Extension - Voles — Wire cylinders of quarter-inch hardware cloth 18 to 24 inches high, set 4 to 6 inches into the ground, prevent meadow voles from girdling trees; cut vegetation short within 2 feet of young trees in late fall.