Tunnel Road: Get Moles and Voles to Hit the Highway Before First Frost

If you’ve ever seen a mole or vole, you know they are, for want of a better word, cute. But the damage they can inflict with their burrowing is anything but.

Let’s talk about moles and voles, and how those ardent burrowers with the sweet faces can be the kiss of death for your home’s foundation this winter. We’ll also check in about what those cracks and openings mean for your home’s healthiness. Finally, you’ll learn what you can do to get moles and voles to hit the highway before the holidays.

Moles Versus Voles: What’s the Difference?

Moles and voles are both burrowing mammals with names that rhyme. But that’s about where the similarity ends.

Moles are insectivores. They live off of grubs, worms, and insects. Their distinctive faces are tipped by a pointy nose and paws with claws. Voles, on the other hand, are more mouse-like. As rodents, they eat plants. Unlike mice, they tend to use their clawed paws to burrow outdoors, laying waste to gardens, shrubbery, plants of all sorts, and even trees. 

How Do You Know If You’ve Got Moles or Voles?

Moles, as they say, tend to make a mountain out of a molehill, a rise of sand and dirt along a tunnel segment. Feeding tunnels run across the yard, often killing the grass in the search for more earthworms and grubs. The mole damage to the lawn is a familiar sight to many homeowners. 

Voles, however, don’t stop with the grass. They leave tracks which include all sorts of dead plants. Voles like to burrow at the base of trees or shrubs, leaving a hole about one inch in diameter for surfacing. With voles in winter, you’ll often see bark eaten from several inches around trees and shrubs.

Why Are Moles and Voles a Problem?

Even if you’re not worried about the grass or garden, moles and voles are a big problem from a home healthiness perspective. Here’s why.

From first frost through the end of winter, the temperature rises and falls regularly. This is called the “freeze thaw cycle.” The freeze thaw cycle can affect sidewalks, slabs and foundations, especially when moles and voles are involved. 

Our burrowing friends dig tunnels. Some tunnels, for feeding, run long. Some tunnels, for sleeping, go deep. In spring and winter, deep tunnelling is the norm. In spring, the females burrow to protect their young. In winter, the entire family digs in for winter – and they keep digging. Contrary to popular belief, neither voles nor moles hibernate. 

Those tunnels create air pockets in the dirt. When rain or melted snow floods the tunnels, they don’t drain. Water begins to accumulate under the foundation. The flood and freeze cycle in those tunnels exerts pressure on foundations, walls, and slabs, causing structural damage such as cracks and openings.

Improper water drainage and dampness intrusions place one’s home at-risk for mold infestations, no matter where we live. But in the southern Appalachians, where ozone exposure is a real risk, those cracks and openings can lead to additional long term healthiness issues if left unattended.

Getting Rid of Moles and Voles This Fall

Luckily, there are a few things you can do to make your home and garden less hospitable to moles and voles this fall. Let’s dig into this subject.

1. Delay mulching in the garden

Lots of us start the task of mulching in September. Moles and voles love mulch, compost, and peat around your plants. Basically, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet 2-for-1 special for rodents (like voles, which eat plants) and insectivores (like moles, which eat earthworms and insects). This year, mulch after the first frost, not before. Your garden will be much less attractive to moles and voles, which may choose to move on.

2. Deal with drainage issues

Autumn rain, sprinklers, and irrigation for fall plantings create saturated, loose soil that’s super easy to navigate for moles and voles. Do what you can to keep too much wetness at bay.

3. Line beds with hardware cloth

Moles and voles do not like any barriers to their tunnelling and burrowing. Hardware cloth is such a barrier.

4. Make the most of natural enemies

The natural enemies of moles and voles include cats, snakes, and hawks. One of the best things you can do if overrun with small furry burrowing creatures is to let nature take its course. 

5. Invest in habitat modification

On or near foundations, choose to remove or mow ground covers. Consider replacing mulch with pea gravel or crushed marble. Move garden beds away from the house, and opt for landscape islands instead. Remember to remove snow from around the foundation to reduce the insulating effect, as well as the dampness, that makes your foundation a desirable shelter for burrows.

6. Trap the offending critters

Lots of “solutions” out there don’t work, so I wouldn’t waste the money: mothballs, ultrasonic transmitters, fumigation, groundhog poison, and the like will not get the job done. Don’t even bother. The best solution is to trap the offending creatures, take them far, far, away, and release them into the wild. Whether you or a professional pest remover do this, it’s the best way to get rid of moles and voles once and for all.

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