Spring snowmelt in the Treasure Valley often reveals the same thing in yard after yard: narrow, winding trails across the lawn where the grass has been clipped down to the dirt. Those are vole runways, and the damage underneath them can include chewed shrub bark, girdled young trees and bulbs that never come up. Voles are active all year, and Boise’s irrigated lawns and landscaped beds give them plenty of food and cover.
Here’s how to recognize vole damage, why landscaping attracts them and what you can do to protect your yard.
What Are Voles?
Voles are small rodents, about four to seven inches long, with stocky bodies, short tails, small eyes and ears that are mostly hidden in their fur. People often mistake them for mice or moles. Unlike mice, they rarely come into houses. Unlike moles, they eat plants, not insects. Montane and meadow voles are the most common species in southwest Idaho.
Voles reproduce quickly, with several litters a year, so a few voles in spring can become a much bigger population by fall.
Voles, Moles or Gophers?
All three tunnel through Boise yards, but the signs differ. Voles leave surface runways and small open holes with no dirt mound. Moles push up raised ridges and volcano-shaped mounds as they hunt for insects. Pocket gophers leave fan- or crescent-shaped dirt mounds with a plugged hole off to one side. Knowing which animal you have decides which steps make sense.
Signs of Voles in Your Yard
- Surface runways. Narrow trails, an inch or two wide, through the grass, most visible after snow melts.
- Small burrow openings. Clean, round holes about the size of a quarter, often near the base of shrubs or under groundcover, with no mound of dirt.
- Bark damage. Gnawing near the base of trees and shrubs, sometimes all the way around the trunk (girdling).
- Damaged plants. Bulbs, roots and garden plants eaten from below.
- Clipped grass and droppings along runways.
Why Boise Landscaping Attracts Voles
Voles want cover from above and food close by. Typical valley landscaping often gives them both: thick mulch against shrubs, dense groundcover, tall ornamental grasses, irrigated lawns that stay green all season, and fruit trees and gardens. Long periods of snow cover in winter let them feed under the snow without being seen, which is why so much damage shows up all at once in spring.
How to Prevent Voles in Your Landscaping
Reduce cover
- Mow lawns regularly and keep grass along beds and fences trimmed.
- Keep mulch thin (two to three inches) and pull it a few inches back from trunks and stems.
- Cut back dense groundcover and tall grasses near trees and foundations.
- Clear brush piles, boards and debris from the yard.
Protect trees and shrubs
Wrap the base of young trees with hardware cloth (quarter-inch mesh) or plastic tree guards. Bury the bottom a few inches into the soil and extend the guard above the expected snow line. Check guards each fall to make sure they aren’t too tight as the trunk grows.
Build barriers around beds
For gardens and raised beds, a barrier of hardware cloth buried six to ten inches deep and extending several inches above ground keeps voles out. Our post on vole damage to raised beds in Star covers this in more detail.
Time the fall cleanup
Before winter, mow the lawn short for the last cut, rake out matted grass and leaves and clear debris from around shrubs. Less cover in winter means less damage in spring.
Use trapping for small populations
Snap traps set in runways or near burrow openings, covered with a box or bucket so other animals can’t reach them, can reduce a small population. Check them daily.
University of Idaho Extension’s guide to managing voles in Idaho lawns and landscapes covers identification, habitat changes and barriers in more depth.
Repairing Vole Damage
- Rake out runways in spring and overseed thin areas. Most lawns recover quickly once voles are gone.
- Check trees with bark damage. Trees chewed all the way around the trunk often can’t recover and may need to be replaced.
- Replant bulbs in wire baskets.
When to Call for Help
If you’re seeing fresh runways and burrows across the yard, damage to multiple trees or problems that return every spring, it’s time for professional help. Our posts on preventing vole damage in Eagle yards and vole control for Nampa orchard properties cover what larger problems look like.
Vole control is a separate service from our regular residential pest control, which covers spiders, ants, wasps, mice, rats and fall invaders. We offer quarterly, bi-annual and one-time service. No contracts; cancel with 30 days’ notice. Quarterly service plan customers get free return visits.
Vole Help in Boise and Beyond
ProGuard is based in Eagle and serves homes and businesses in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Star, Middleton, Emmett and Garden City. Call (208) 352-2062 or contact us to schedule an inspection and talk through vole control options.