Date Posted: September 2, 2023
Category: Voles
Some of the prettiest landscapes are in the State of Maine. Many folks are fortunate to have lawns facing the Atlantic coast, others along the edges of calming lakes. Still, others prefer to live in the vast woodlands, while others enjoy busy city and suburban surroundings. No matter where your property sits, the last thing you need is voles messing up your yard. Property owners using pest control services in Maine can help keep voles away and lawns looking their best.
Signs You Have A Vole Problem In Your Yard
One of the most mistaken critters in Maine is the vole. This small, stocky rodent is chunkier than a mouse, mole, or shrew. It can measure 3 ½ to 5 inches long and typically has a chestnut brown coat intermingled with black hairs. It has short legs, a short tail, small black eyes, and small furry ears extending just above its head. While some might think they're cute, please make no mistake, when voles take over yards, they can leave destruction in their wake.
Five signs that help identify a vole problem in yards include the following:
- Discovering burrow holes in the surface of yards measuring 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter
- Finding irregular pathways of raised ground about 1/2 inch in diameter (runways) on the surface of yards or small cone-shaped piles of dirt lying on the ground's surface
- Finding teeth marks on shrubs and trees
- Wilted or yellowed plants
- Slow-growing trees or sickly-looking trees
Voles are easily mistaken for other lawn pests and sometimes get blamed for damages that occur in lawns. Property owners should call Big Blue Bug Solutions to verify a suspected vole infestation. If an infestation is confirmed, we can recommend expert solutions for vole removal.
The Problems Voles On Your Property Can Create
While voles in Maine are only "in it for the food," their pursuit of sustenance can devastate yards. Voles typically hang out in groups within areas that offer heavy ground cover. During winter, they often feast on seeds and vegetation using shallow runways they create underneath the snow, so you don't see their operations until warm spring breezes melt snow and reveal scarred yards.
Voles don't limit their appetites to winter feeding; they enjoy a variety of plants year-round. They find grasses (roots and shoots), flowers, fruits, and vegetables delicious. As they feed, dirt mounds, holes, and spider-like veins can become established throughout yards, making them look terrible. Voles also gnaw on tree bark and seedlings, often damaging shrubs and trees. Keeping yards looking attractive is challenging enough without vole infestations. Property owners who want to protect their yards can rely on Big Blue Bugs Solutions; our wildlife control services in Maine are safe and effective.
Naturally Effective Ways To Prevent Voles
Property owners who take a proactive stance against invading voles can use some natural prevention measures to deter them. At a property owner's disposal are some naturally effective techniques that can help make properties unattractive to voles.
Four tips to help property owners affect vole control themselves include the following:
- Mow your grass frequently; keep it short.
- Eliminate debris in yards that can provide voles with ground cover (weeds, tall grasses, decaying vegetation, leaves).
- Consider burying cylindrical wire guards four to six inches deep around trees and shrubs.
- Refrain from placing mulch around the base of trees; replace it with gravel or stones.
Setting up vole prevention measures is always wise, but when voles forage, they can prove a formidable foe. Utilizing expert vole removal services from a knowledgeable and experienced pest company like Big Blue Bug Solutions can help restore yards to their healthy conditions.
The Key To Total Vole Control For Your Yard
The key to total vole control in yards is using a professional like Big Blue Bug Solutions for remediation. Our technicians are experts at locating where voles congregate and what yummy delights they consume. While their presence in yards is frustrating, they are essential to the ecosystem, so we'll humanely remove them from properties.
Big Blue Bug Solutions has provided professional and effective pest control solutions to our valued customers throughout New England for over 80 years. Call us for a free inspection and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Maine.
