Voles can and will girdle small trees that you may have planted in your yard and depending on the amount of damage over the winter, can cost you a pretty penny in replacement costs in the spring. Girdling refers to eating the inner, living layer of bark that the plant needs to survive. If you were to girdle a large oak tree out in the forest by cutting around it deep enough, it will surely die, a tactic used by some small scale loggers to produce dead standing timber.
Moles get a bad wrap from unknowing homeowners. It's usually the field mice that will make "tunnels" of clippings that they eat during the winter and will be extremely noticeable in the spring. A simple raking of these tunnels will pick the clippings up off your lawn and the grass in most cases wasn't injured to the point where you have bare ground. Remember, the crown, or growing part of the grass, is down just off of the soil. If the vole damage produces enough clippings to shield out light, and you don't get out there to rake up the aftermath, you will see some chlorotic grass growing under the vole clippings. If you leave the clippings there too long, you'll most likely see a yellowish, thin turf growing under the piles of clippings and vole huts.
Where predatory birds are few and far outnumbered by the small vermin, the field mice's numbers can thrive to prove to be quite the headache for homeowners in cities.
Think about this:
When do you see the most vole damage in your lawn?
Answer: spring.
Why is that? Voles are sneaky and try not to get eaten as often as they can.
Snow cover is the perfect environment for these little creatures to go about their primary function in life, eating massive amounts of plant material to facilitate their next biggest goal in life, breeding. Out here in the country, we rarely see vole damage due to the higher counts of raptors and fox. As with any cycle in nature, there is a balance between predator and prey, and in the city, there are far fewer predators to balance out the field mice. Makes sense, right? Some researchers say that you can enlist the help of a cat, but truth be told, many city cats are worth their weight in helium...
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| This is Fuzzy, she has a kind heart |
On to the topic at hand and why I call the Vole the Poa Annua of the vertebrate world.
Field mice are very good at multiplying. Poa Annua produces massive amount of seed. Spring and fall are the times that field mice seem to multiply at an uncontrollable rate; Poa Annua seedheads are controlled by "looking into the boot" on the plants on your south facing slopes in taller grass and looking for seedheads in the spring. They both do very well in milder winters.
You could argue that voles could be classified as a winter annual, just like Poa Annua...maybe a new taxonomical subdivision, Poa annua verbetus, write that down, it'll catch on.
When you think about it, what do these critters need out of life? They usually live around 1 to 1.5 years, reproduce like bacteria, and feed aggressively on plant material. The damage can be raked up in the spring, and with some good management practices( in this case, mother nature) the grass will come back and be good as normal.
Although there are options of using chemicals to deter this critters, I suggest shying away from this route. Yes, I'm a superintendent, yes I use chemicals, but I stay away from things that can kill puppy dogs and kitty cats. If you have pets, I suggest trying a more natural approach; a proactive method to alleviate some of the raking in the spring. I could really "go deep" here and talk about cool-season grass physiology, but I won't.
Let's just go with this: As the fall rolls into winter and you are out cutting your lawn for what should be the last time, mow it at a lower height of cut. Most lawns in the northern regions are a predominate stand of blue grass/fescue mix which is mowed around 2.5 to 3 inches for optimum grass. If a smaller field mouse can fit through a hole .5 inches in diameter, I think it could hide in 3 inch tall, thick grass, don't you? Voles dislike open spaces where they have to travel distances between being covered, I have noticed this on golf courses in the area. Low lying areas with higher grass height are riddled with tunnels whereas the higher areas with a shorter height grass are undisturbed. *** I am not telling you to go out and scalp your lawn in the fall.*** Please note this so I don't get threats a year from now that people's lawns are dead because they tried to get rid of the voles by getting rid of their lawn.
You will have to pay attention to the growth of your grass leading up to this final mowing to ensure your not lowering the height too early. Once the plant has slowed down, or stopped all top growth, drop the height of cut down , BUT NOT TOO LOW AS TO SCALP OFF THE GRASS, and remove the clippings. Remember this: Don't take off more than one/third of the amount of leaf tissue at one time EVER! This is a definite no-no in the turfgrass world. You reduce the leaf tissue, which reduces the This will open up your lawn, increasing the chance that these voles will get the hint that there really isn't a lot of cover here and will move onto your neighbors lawn with the typical 3 inch cover. This would also help in the spring; less matted down grass in the spring= more light penetration and a healthier grass following.
As far as what you can do this spring? Rake it up, and plan for next fall.
For my friends who's back yard has a dog, and an open shot at a field, I wish you the best of luck. This is basically an extension of their natural habitat, such is their name, field mouse. My suggestion is to still do what I outlined above, and get a good rake.
Aaron Johnson
GCS, Wildflower Golf Course
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