Yard Rodents: How to Get Rid of Voles in Your Yard
A common vole pops up out of a tunnel with blades of grass around the opening.
There are a lot of possible rodents and rodent-like creatures that could be creating havoc in your yard or even in your house.
In South Carolina, the main ones that cause yard damage are moles and voles. But how can you tell which one you are dealing with? And how do you take care of the problem and restore your yard to its former glory?
We’ll go into some of your most important questions about mice, moles, voles, and shrews in this post.
How can you tell the difference between a mouse, mole, shrew, and vole?
What do vole tunnels look like?
Are voles common in South Carolina?
How do you get rid of voles and yard rodents?
For more details about how to get rid of moles in the yard fast, please check out our resource here.
Need help with a vole infestation in Columbia, SC?
At Boots On Enterprises, we can take care of voles and moles in your yard and restore the damaged areas of your grass so it looks beautiful again.
We have professional-grade treatments for pests and we can handle any landscaping services you may need to beautify your yard.
Contact us today for a FREE estimate.
Phone: 803-521-4978
Email: bootsonenterprises@gmail.com
A mouse sitting on its hind legs in a wooded area.
How can you tell the difference between a mouse, mole, shrew, and vole?
Let’s go into the differences between these four little mammals so you can get a better idea of what you may be dealing with if you have an issue at your house.
Mice
Mice have small bodies, large ears, larger eyes, and longer tails than the other animals in this list. They eat almost anything. Mice may dig burrows but don’t usually make extensive tunnels.
They also like to get into your kitchen and eat your food if they can find a hold big enough to fit through. You can tell you have a mice infestation by the droppings they leave on your counter and in your cabinets and by the holes you find in your pantry goods.
A ground mole sitting on top of a molehill in a backyard.
Moles
Moles are larger with cylindrical bodies and large feet and front claws. They have very small, almost invisible eyes and ears. Moles eat insects and dig deeper tunnels than voles. They leave messy raised areas all over the yard and unsightly mole mounds, too.
A lesser white-toothed shrew standing on a clod of soil in a grassy area.
Shrews
Shrews look a lot like mice but have much longer snouts, small eyes, and very tiny ears. They eat insects, worms, and small vertebrates.
They don’t tend to dig lots of tunnels, although they may create shallow burrows. Shrews often use existing natural crevices or cavities for nesting. They don’t generally cause much trouble for people and they do eat a lot of insects, which can be a good thing.
A vole sitting on a piece of deadwood in a forest in the summer.
Voles
Voles, pictured above, are small rodents that have rounded bodies, short tails, and small eyes and ears. They eat plants and like to dig ruts around the yard or in meadows and wooded areas.
They can cause a lot of yard damage, unfortunately.
Vole ruts on a green lawn.
What do vole tunnels look like?
While a mole tunnel is raised and there will be lots of volcano-like mounds in the yard, a vole tunnel is more of a “rut.”
To see what mole tunnels look like, check out this post.
Are voles common in South Carolina?
Yes, voles are common in South Carolina. You can find the meadow vole, and pine vole in different areas across our state.
A common vole emerges from a tunnel in the soil.
How do you get rid of voles and yard rodents?
Here are five options you can try to get rid of yard voles.
Good lawn care
One of the best things you can do is keep your lawn mowed and clear out any dense plants or ground cover on your property. This will make your yard a lot less attractive to voles and other yard rodents.
Barriers
You can also install hardware cloth or mesh fencing to keep moles out of gardens. The barrier will need to go about 6 inches down into the soil and several inches above the ground, as well, to keep the critters out.
Vole traps/rodent traps
Set vole traps and bait them with things like apple slices, peanut butter, or commercial vole attractants. Then you can humanly remove the voles, still alive, to a more suitable location away from people’s yards.
For other rodents, purchase a trap specifically for that type of rodent and bait it as the manufacturer's instructions recommend.
Vole poison/rodent poison
There are also vole-specific rodenticides available, as well as other types of rodenticides for other pests. But it’s important to use this as a last resort and to follow all safety precautions to protect other animals and people.
Some poisons can be very dangerous to pets and other wildlife, causing primary or secondary poisoning.
Professional vole removal services
If these measures don’t work or you just feel you need help with a vole infestation or other yard rodents, consult with a professional landscaper or pest control service near you about how they can help take care of your vole problem/rodent problem safely and get your yard looking beautiful again.
A field vole sitting on a mossy area near some grass and weeds.
Need help getting rid of voles in Columbia, SC? Call us.
At Boots On Enterprises, we take care of all kinds of landscaping services, including pest removal for issues like voles, moles, fire ants, and more.
And, we can help to repair the damage to your lawn and restore your yard so that the damage becomes a distant memory.
Contact us today for a FREE estimate.
Phone: 803-521-4978
Email: bootsonenterprises@gmail.com
Next-day and same-week services are available.
