Can voles get into your house? - The Institute for Environmental Research and Education

Can Voles Get Into Your House? The Unseen Invasion

Yes, voles can get into your house, though it’s less common than with mice or rats. Their primary attraction is food and shelter, and identifying their presence early is crucial to prevent damage.

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Understanding Voles and Their Habits

Voles, often mistaken for mice or moles, are small rodents belonging to the Cricetidae family. Unlike mice, they have shorter tails, stockier bodies, and blunt noses. Understanding their behavior is key to understanding why they might venture indoors.

Diet: Voles primarily feed on grasses, roots, bulbs, and tubers. In winter, when outdoor food sources are scarce, they may seek alternative sustenance inside your home.
Habitat: Voles prefer grassy areas, meadows, and woodlands with dense vegetation. They create extensive burrow systems, often damaging lawns and gardens.
Reproduction: Voles reproduce rapidly, with females capable of having multiple litters per year. This rapid reproduction rate can lead to a significant population increase, increasing the likelihood of them searching for new food sources and shelter.

Why Voles Might Enter Your Home

While voles prefer the outdoors, certain circumstances can drive them indoors:

Severe Weather: Extreme cold, heavy rain, or snow can force voles to seek shelter inside your home.
Food Scarcity: When their natural food sources are depleted, voles may be attracted to stored food in your pantry or pet food.
Easy Access: Cracks in the foundation, gaps around pipes, and unsecured vents provide easy entry points for voles.
Dense Vegetation Near the House: Overgrown shrubs and ground cover near your home provide cover and attract voles, increasing the chance of them finding their way inside.

Identifying a Vole Infestation

Knowing the signs of a vole infestation is essential for early detection and control:

Runways in the Lawn: Voles create shallow runways on the surface of the lawn, characterized by bare patches of grass.
Damage to Plants: Voles may gnaw on the roots, stems, and bulbs of plants in your garden.
Small Holes Near the Foundation: These holes may indicate vole burrows leading under your home.
Droppings: Vole droppings are small, cylindrical, and dark brown. While less common indoors, you may find them near food sources.
Gnawing Sounds: Although less frequent than with mice, you might hear faint gnawing sounds, particularly at night.

Preventing Vole Entry

The best approach is prevention. Here’s how you can make your home less attractive to voles:

Seal Entry Points: Inspect your foundation, windows, and doors for cracks and gaps. Seal any openings with caulk or steel wool.
Trim Vegetation: Keep grass, shrubs, and ground cover trimmed back from your foundation. This reduces cover for voles and makes it harder for them to approach your house undetected.
Secure Food Sources: Store pet food in airtight containers and clean up any spills immediately. Ensure that garbage cans are tightly sealed.
Use Vole-Resistant Landscaping: Consider planting vole-resistant plants, such as daffodils, alliums, and fritillaries.
Hardware Cloth: Bury hardware cloth around vulnerable plants and structures to prevent voles from digging.

Control Measures if Voles are Inside

If prevention fails and voles get inside, you’ll need to take steps to remove them.

Trapping: Mouse traps baited with peanut butter or apple slices can be effective. Place traps near vole runways or known entry points.
Professional Pest Control: If you have a severe infestation or are uncomfortable handling traps, consider hiring a professional pest control company. They can assess the situation and implement effective control measures.
Consider Repellents: There are vole repellents available, but their effectiveness can vary. Look for repellents containing castor oil, which is known to deter voles.
Exclusion: Even after removing voles, continue to focus on excluding them from your home by sealing entry points and maintaining your landscaping.

The Difference Between Voles, Mice, and Moles

It’s easy to confuse these creatures, but knowing the difference is important.

Feature	Vole	Mouse	Mole
—————-	—————————-	—————————–	——————————
Appearance	Stocky, short tail, blunt nose	Slender, long tail, pointed nose	Cylindrical, small eyes, large paws
Habitat	Above-ground runways, grassy areas	Indoors, nests in walls and furniture	Underground tunnels, lawns and gardens
Diet	Grasses, roots, bulbs	Grains, seeds, crumbs	Earthworms, insects
Damage	Runways in lawn, plant damage	Gnawing on food, nesting materials	Mounds of soil, tunnel systems

Dangers Posed by Voles

While not as dangerous as some rodents, voles can still pose risks:

Property Damage: Voles can damage lawns, gardens, and stored food.
Disease Transmission: Although rare, voles can carry diseases such as tularemia and leptospirosis.
Attracting Predators: Voles can attract predators such as snakes, owls, and cats to your property.

The Impact of Voles on Your Garden

Voles can wreak havoc on your garden by:

Eating Roots and Bulbs: This can kill plants or stunt their growth.
Girdling Trees: Voles may gnaw on the bark of young trees, damaging or killing them.
Undermining Lawns: Their burrowing activity can create unsightly runways and damage the lawn’s root system.

Are Voles Nocturnal?

Voles are most active at dawn and dusk, a behavior pattern called crepuscular. They may also be active during the day, especially on cloudy days. Understanding their activity patterns helps in planning control measures.

FAQs: Vole Invasions and Your Home

Are voles dangerous to humans?

While voles can carry diseases like tularemia and leptospirosis, transmission to humans is relatively rare. The primary concern is property damage, especially to gardens and lawns. Always practice good hygiene after handling traps or cleaning up vole droppings.

Do voles carry diseases?

Yes, voles can carry diseases, including tularemia and leptospirosis. However, the risk of transmission to humans is low. Wear gloves when handling traps and wash your hands thoroughly afterward.

What attracts voles to my yard?

Voles are attracted to yards with abundant vegetation, such as dense grass, ground cover, and shrubs. They also seek out food sources like plant roots, bulbs, and seeds. Overwatering can also make your lawn more attractive to voles.

What smells do voles hate?

Voles are said to dislike the smells of castor oil, garlic, and peppermint. These scents can be used in homemade or commercially available repellents. The effectiveness of these repellents can vary.

How can I get rid of voles naturally?

Natural vole control methods include using castor oil-based repellents, planting vole-resistant plants, and encouraging natural predators like owls and snakes. Regular mowing and trimming of vegetation also helps.

Will mothballs keep voles away?

While some people use mothballs to deter voles, their effectiveness is questionable, and they can be harmful to the environment and other wildlife. It’s best to use safer, more targeted control methods.

How do I identify vole damage?

Vole damage is typically characterized by shallow runways in the lawn, girdled tree trunks, and damage to plant roots and bulbs. You may also see small holes near the foundation of your home.

Can voles climb?

Voles are not particularly good climbers, which is why they primarily travel along the ground and create runways in the grass. However, they can climb low-lying vegetation to reach food sources.

How far do voles travel from their burrows?

Voles typically stay within a relatively small area of their burrow. Their home range is usually less than ¼ acre, but this can vary depending on the availability of food and shelter.

What is the best bait for vole traps?

The best bait for vole traps includes peanut butter, apple slices, and birdseed. These foods are highly attractive to voles and can lure them into the trap.

Are voles active in the winter?

Yes, voles remain active throughout the winter. They create tunnels under the snow to reach food sources and stay warm. This is a time when they might seek shelter indoors if outdoor conditions become too harsh.

What is the lifespan of a vole?

The average lifespan of a vole is relatively short, typically ranging from 3 to 12 months. However, due to their rapid reproduction rate, vole populations can quickly become large and problematic.