Moles and Voles: Part two … another perspective and a little clarification

You may recall, we recently discussed how these little creatures can be pretty destructive in the blog post, “Tunnel Road: Get Moles and Voles to hit the highway before first frost.” 

This is true for many reasons as I discussed in the previous post … however, here are some additional thoughts about these creatures. 

The good.

As dense, compacted, and wet as our soils are here, mole and vole activity can be a good thing for a healthier soil environment. For trees, shrubs, and especially for turfgrass, they help in more ways than they harm.

Moles create those maze-like raised humps in the lawn, but they’re doing more good and minimal harm to the turf. They do help to loosen and aerate compacted soils. They help soils drain a bit better. This helps other creatures in the soil community, and it very much helps

the roots of surrounding plants. Earthworms are the mainstay of a mole’s diet, but by eating grubs too they reduce turfgrass root damage. When it comes to moles, they certainly can do much good and minimal harm to the landscape.

Not so good.

Voles? In some circumstances, voles can create much more harm than good. 

Even if one exit port is only a 6″ diameter soil mound, if there happens to be a period of extensive vole activity, a great number of exit mounds can make a section of turf look like the site of a wartime mortar shelling attack. 

In such a case, you’re going to want to apply grass seed and drag with a weighted section of cyclone fence, and the fall is definitely a good time to do this. The area overall will be healthier for it over the coming seasons. Thus, no more than a temporary annoyance.

… and definitely bad. 

Voles feeding on the roots of landscape plants? Stripping the bark off shrubs? 

Eating your produce?  Now those are another matter!

When there is aggressive vole activity in your shrub beds, flower gardens, and vegetable gardens, they can be very destructive. You could say, at this point, they’ve crossed the line of a “live and let live” relationship with the property owner. 

Animal populations and weather patterns swing back and forth. But occasionally conditions align to create more harm to plants that you want to–or can–protect. This is when it’s time to step  beyond vole discouragement and into vole control measures and help Nature apply a little more “checking” pressure on that vole population to achieve a more sensible and feasible balance. Nature’s checks and balances. 

Whether you feel you want to continue with methods to discourage the voles or it’s time to “capture or kill” them, that is going to be a personal preference and tolerance. But, it’s best to take into consideration just how the voles and the moles fit into the ecosystem. There are so many helpful tips that can be found on the Internet. As with any complex dynamic, there will be suggestions that work in some circumstances but not in others. You’ll have to experiment with what works best in your situation. 

Some Final thoughts: 

• Think practicality and common sense. 
• Reduce, rather than eliminate trouble. 
• Make it affordable and manageable. 
• Give a little where you have to. 
• Be more aggressive when it makes sense.  
• Read up on mole and vole lifecycles, habits, and their importance to a healthy soil environment.  

There are a couple of mole species in North Carolina. The eastern mole is the species that is typically making tunnels in people’s lawns. The other mole species in North Carolina is the star-nosed mole and is less commonly seen. Since the star-nosed moles are a rare species, all moles are protected species in North Carolina. While it is not illegal to kill moles, certain regulations apply. So, bear in mind when dealing with these creatures. You’ll find more information from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and other sources. 

Amidst it all, appreciate the good of moles and voles too. And, in the end, work along with Nature to some degree rather than trying even harder to fight Her.