Watch out for meadow voles
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Throughout Lake County, meadow voles have reached damaging populations. Meadow voles, also called meadow mice or field mice, belong to the genus microtus. Voles are compact rodents with stocky bodies, short legs and short tails. Their eyes are small and their ears partially hidden. They usually are brown or gray, though many color variations exist.
Vole numbers fluctuate from year to year and under favorable conditions their population can increase rapidly. In some areas, their numbers are cyclical, reaching peak numbers every three to six years before dropping back to low levels. Voles can breed any time of the year, but the peak breeding period is spring.
Voles are mostly herbivorous, feeding on a variety of grasses, herbaceous plants, bulbs and tubers. They eat bark and roots of trees, usually in fall and winter. Voles store seeds and other plant matter in underground chambers. These rodents are poor climbers and usually don’t enter homes or other buildings; instead, they inhabit wildlands, pastures, croplands adjacent to buildings or gardens and landscaped sites with protective ground cover. Most problems around homes and gardens occur during outbreaks of vole populations.
To prevent vole damage, landowners need to employ a few control methods. Mowing the groundcover reduces the availability of foods preferred by voles and removes protective cover from predators and exposes them to seasonal elements. Wrapping quarter-inch mesh galvanized hardware cloth around the base of young trees prevents meadow voles from girdling trees and cultural and habitat modification practices can reduce the likelihood and severity of vole damage. Eliminate weeds, ground cover and litter in and around crops, lawns, and cultivated areas to reduce the capacity of these areas to support voles. Lawn or turf should be mowed regularly. Mulch should be cleared three feet or more from the bases of trees. Fumigants in the holes have limited effect because the complexity and shallowness of vole burrow systems allow the fumigant to escape. Trapping is not effective in controlling large vole populations because time and labor costs are prohibitive. Mouse or rat snap traps can be used to control a small population by placing the trap perpendicular to the runway with the trigger end in the runway. Fall and late winter are periods when voles are easiest to trap.
Many toxicant products are very effective and are available to the public; time and diligence are needed to place the products correctly and effectively according to manufacturer label directions. Most newer products are safe as well as effective.
