Protect your yard this fall and winter from voles

If you’re not from Utah, you may have never heard of a vole. Voles are small rodents, almost like a hybrid of a mouse and a mole. They live outside and in groups in the ground. If you’ve seen small holes in your lawn (about 2 inches wide), voles are likely the culprit. While many people believe voles hibernate in the winter, they actually burrow deep in the ground by digging tunnels to stay warm. Under the snow, these tunnels and holes are much harder to see. By springtime, if not properly treated in the fall and winter, you may uncover lots of yard damage once the snow has melted.

Steps you can take to reduce your vole problem

Fall is a crucial time to protect your homes from voles. As it gets colder, food sources diminish, and voles burrow in deep tunnels to stay warm. By proactively catching voles in the fall, you can help reduce populations before the most destructive months in the winter. Here are a few things that you can do on your own to help these voles reconsider settling in your yard:

1. Avoid Overwatering– Lawns with sprinklers and irrigation systems have moist, malleable soil. This creates an attractive environment for voles as it makes it easier to dig tunnels. Water sources are also key to a vole’s survival, so accessible water sources make your yard a comfortable place for voles to set up shop.
2. Create Digging Barriers– Place wire mesh around your garden to prevent voles from digging in your garden area. Garden’s are especially susceptible to voles as loose mulch makes it easy for voles to dig, and the additional soil makes it a warmer resting place during the cooler months. Aside from small holes in the ground, you can look for other signs of voles. Voles love to chew roots, bark, and wood, and if you have voles you will often find chipped wood at the base of trees.
3. Peppermint Oil– Voles hate the smell of Peppermint oil and tend to avoid nesting where the scent is present. A quick way to drive voles out of their holes is to spray cotton balls with peppermint oil and to toss them in the vole holes. Although this isn’t a permanent solution, it will make an uncomfortable environment for the voles which will make them think twice about nesting in your lawn. 

How we treat voles

Despite our best efforts, most people need professional help to get rid of voles. This small investment can avoid you the headache of repairing chewed water lines and landscaping bills in the spring. At BRD Pest Solutions, treating voles is one of our most requested services, so all of our technicians are happy to help get your lawn back in your control.

When a technician evaluates your home, he identifies where the voles are coming from, and any food source they might have. Then, our trained technicians will use a special device to place the bait deep into these existing holes and tunnels. This allows the bait to go right to where the voles are burrowing. We also use locked rodent bait stations with bait inside to treat these pests. Each time we come to your house, our technicians will refill these bait stations.

Having a vole infestation? Give us a call at 801-691-3561, today!