Voles

Although voles may seem small and harmless, they can wreak havoc on your property if left unchecked. Here’s why they’re problematic:

• Damage to Landscaping: Voles are known to tunnel through lawns and gardens, causing unsightly damage. They can destroy grass, flowers, and shrubs by gnawing on their roots and stems.
• Chewing Through Plants: Voles feed on vegetation, including tree bark, garden plants, and even ornamental shrubs. They often chew the bark of young trees, causing long-term damage or even death to the plant.
• Tunneling: Voles dig extensive tunnel systems under the ground, disrupting the structure of your lawn or garden. These tunnels can make it difficult to maintain a healthy yard, causing grass to die and garden beds to collapse.
• Attracting Other Pests: Vole activity can attract other pests, such as snakes, predators, and even larger rodents, who are drawn to the vole populations. This can compound the problems on your property.

Detecting a vole problem early is essential for preventing further damage to your property. Keep an eye out for these signs of a vole infestation:

• Surface Tunnels and Trails: Voles create visible surface tunnels and trails in your lawn, often covered in flattened grass or soil. These tunnels are typically close to the ground and can be seen running along garden beds, under trees, or across your yard.
• Chewed Plants and Trees: If you notice the bark of your trees has been chewed or garden plants have been nibbled down to the ground, it’s a strong indication that voles are present.
• Holes in the Ground: Small holes (about 2-3 inches wide) may appear around your lawn or garden, which are the entrances to vole tunnels.
• Damaged Turf: The tunneling activity of voles can cause the grass to die, leaving patches of bare soil or damaged turf. Voles can create underground channels that cause the ground to become uneven or compacted.

At Edmonton Pest Control, we use a comprehensive and effective approach to eliminate voles and prevent future infestations. Our expert team will assess your property, provide tailored solutions, and implement strategies to get rid of voles for good.

1. Inspection and Assessment

The first step in controlling voles is a thorough inspection of your property. Our technicians will:

• Examine your lawn, garden, and surrounding areas for signs of vole activity.
• Identify areas where voles are most active, such as under shrubs, along garden beds, or near tree roots.
• Check for tunneling patterns and holes that indicate an established infestation.

2. Customized Control Plan

We understand that every property is unique, so we create a personalized vole control plan based on the severity of the infestation and the layout of your yard. Our plan may include:

• Habitat Modification: We will recommend changes to your property to make it less inviting to voles, such as trimming back dense vegetation, eliminating excess mulch, and keeping your lawn well-maintained.
• Trapping: In cases of severe infestation, we may use live traps to capture and remove voles safely.

3. Vole Repellents

To deter voles from entering your property, we may use eco-friendly, non-toxic repellents that create an unpleasant environment for them. These repellents are safe for children, pets, and the surrounding ecosystem.

• Natural Repellents: We apply natural ingredients that voles find distasteful, encouraging them to leave the area and seek food elsewhere.

4. Tunnel Closure and Exclusion

After addressing the vole population, we will close up the tunnels they’ve created to prevent reinfestation. Our process includes:

• Filling in active tunnels with soil or gravel to remove existing pathways.
• Installing barriers or mesh fencing around vulnerable areas like garden beds and trees to prevent further tunneling.

5. Ongoing Monitoring and Maintenance

Vole control is an ongoing process. To ensure that your property remains protected, we offer regular follow-up visits to monitor for new activity and address any emerging vole issues. Our team will:

• Perform inspections to detect any signs of renewed vole activity.
• Provide tips for maintaining a vole-free yard, such as proper lawn care and vegetation management.