How to kill voles

Voles, also known as meadow mice are in fact not mice at all. Mice and voles are both rodents, but belong to entirely different groups. Voles are dark n color, have thick fur, short, furry tails, and stubby noses. Mice are just the opposite. Voles can cause huge amounts of damage to your property wiping out gardens and even killing trees and shrubs. Voles have voracious appetites, and eat everything. This means you are in danger of losing not only your beautiful lawn grass, but any leafy greens, seeds, plants and root it can reach. A vole population can quickly wipe out, your flowers and vegetables gardens. Signs of voles are one to two inch “runways” across the tops of your yard. These look like bare spots and are in fact the trails the creatures use frequently. If you determine that you have voles, you may want to kill them off and be rid of the pests. Here are several ways to do just that.



Start by Tilling/cultivating the infected ground; this method destroys their homes and kills any nesting creatures too.

Flooding or gassing the burrows; you can shove a water hose down a hole and hope to flood the tunnel system, thus destroying their homes and drowning the nesting voles. Toxic gas canisters purchased commercially work the same way. Empty the canister into the hole and the tunnel is flooded with toxic gasses. Place snap traps at entrance/exits; these are the same type used for rats and mice, and prove very effective. Check them frequently and remove dead bodies as soon as possible to avoid disease and attracting other unfavorable critters.

Poisoning; while this is a popular method isn’t always, the best choice to eradicate the voles. Poisoning these pests can be an effective, but please remember; it is potentially hazardous to your family, your pets, your neighbors, and other wildlife. Left unattended, it can seep into your water table, and poison your soil. . If you still decide to use poison, late winter or early fall, when food is in smaller supply, and they an actively searching for a meal is your best chance. Many reliable types of bait can be purchased at your local hardware or feed store. Most poison act as an anticoagulant that prevents blood from clotting, thus leading to death. Broadcast the poison for about week or around the main feeding areas. y. Always read the product label warnings and remember it is ILLEGAL to use in any other way. Some precautions to avoid accidental poisonings are to place bait directly into tunnel openings, or to use one way box traps with the poison placed inside.

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