Voles (genus - Microtus)

The Definitive Guide to Vole Control and Where to Find a
Wildlife Control Professional!

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Identification

Voles, also called meadow mice or field mice, are compact rodents with stocky bodies, short legs, and short tails. Their eyes are small and their ears partially hidden. Their underfur is generally dense and covered with thicker, longer guard hairs. They usually are brown or gray, though many color variations exist.

There are 23 vole species in the United States, Of these we will highlight the seven species that are widespread or cause significant economic damage.

Meadow vole
(Microtus pennsylvanicus)

The meadow vole is the most widely distributed Microtus species in the United States. Its total length is 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 inches and its fur is gray to yellow-brown, obscured by black-tipped hairs. Northern subspecies may also have some red in their fur. Its underparts are gray, at times washed with silver or buff. The tail is bicolored.

Long-tailed Vole
(Microtus longicaudus)

The long-tailed vole can be distinguished from other Microtus species by its tail, which comprises 30% or more of its total length of 6 to 8 1/2 inches. The long-tailed vole has gray to dark brown fur with many black-tipped hairs. The underparts are gray mixed with some white or yellow. The tail is indistinctly to sharply bicolored.

Pine or Woodland Vole
(Microtus pinetorum)

The pine vole is a small vole. Its total length is 4 to 6 inches. Its brown fur is soft and dense. The underparts are gray mixed with some yellow to cinnamon. The tail is barely bicolored or unicolored.

Montane (or Mountain) Vole
(Microtus montanus)

The montane vole is 5 1/2 to 8 1/2 inches in total length. Its fur is brown, washed with gray or yellow, and mixed with some black-tipped hairs. Its feet are usually silver-gray and its body underparts are whitish. The tail is bicolored.

Oregon Vole
(Microtus oregoni)

The Oregon vole is 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 inches in length. Its fur is gray to brown or yellow-brown. Underparts are darkish, washed with yellow to white. The tail is indistinctly bicolored. When the Oregon vole is compared to the California, Long-tailed, and the Townsend's Meadow voles, they have longer tails, larger eyes, and longer fur. It's the smallest vole in its range 5 ˝ to 6 ˝ inches long. The fur is short, and the color is sooty-gray to dark brown or almost black mixed with yellowish hairs, and a gray or white belly. It has small eyes and a short tail, and its ears protrude from the fur.

California Vole
(Microtus californicus)

The California Vole is covered with grayish-brown fur. Its ears and legs are short and it has pale feet. It has a cylindrical shape (like a toilet paper roll) with a tail that is 1/3 the length of the body.

Prairie Vole
(Microtus ochrogaster)

The prairie vole is 5 to 7 inches in total length (nose to tip of tail). Its fur is gray to dark brown and mixed with gray, yellow, or hazel-tipped hairs, giving it a “peppery” appearance. Underparts are gray to yellow-gray. It is the most common vole in prairie habitats.

Range

Voles of one type or another are found everywhere in North America. They prefer areas with heavy ground cover of grasses, grasslike plants, or litter. When two species are found together in an area, they usually occupy different habitats. Though voles evolved in “natural” habitats, they also use habitats modified by humans, such as orchards, windbreaks, and cultivated fields, especially when vole populations are high.

Prairie Vole. The prairie vole, as the name suggests, is the most common vole of the Great Plains grasslands. It is found in a variety of habitats, such as old fields, marshlands, and grass prairies. When in association with the meadow vole, it is generally in drier areas.

Meadow Vole. The meadow vole is found in the northern United States and Canada. It prefers wet meadows and grassland areas. When in association with the montane vole or prairie vole, it is generally in moister areas.

Long-tailed Vole. The long-tailed vole is found in a wide variety of areas (for example, sagebrush grass-lands, forests, mountain meadows, and stream banks) in the western United States and Canada.

Pine Vole. The pine vole is found in the eastern United States. It inhabits a variety of areas such as deciduous and pine forests, abandoned fields, and orchards. Heavy ground cover is characteristic of these areas.

Montane Vole. The montane vole is found primarily in mountainous regions of the western United States. It is found in alpine meadows, dry grasslands, and sagebrush grasslands. It avoids forests. When in association with the meadow vole, it is generally in drier areas.

Oregon Vole. The Oregon vole is most often found in forested areas of northern California, Oregon, and Washington where there is an under-story of forbs and grasses such as in burned or clear-cut areas.

California Vole. The California vole inhabits the chaparral woodland shrubland of California. It is found in both wet and well-drained areas.

Damage Caused by Voles

Voles are members of the rodent family and are extremely destructive to plants. By burrowing under plants, they gain access to the plant's roots where they feast. The result is the death of the plant. Voles are often the culprit when people blame moles for damage to plants.

Voles pose no major public health hazard because of their infrequent contact with humans; however, they are capable of carrying disease organisms, such as plague (Yersinia pestis) and tularemia (Francisilla tularensis). Be careful and use protective clothing when handling voles.

Vole damage to plants

Control Methods

There are many methods of controlling voles. Eliminate weeds, ground cover, and litter in and around crops, lawns, and cultivated areas to reduce the capacity of these areas to support voles. Lawn and turf should be mowed regularly. Mulch should be cleared 3 feet (1 m) or more from the bases of trees.

Voles can live in dense populations in ditch banks, rights-of-way, and water ways that are unmanaged. Adjacent crop fields can be cost-effectively protected by controlling vegetation through mowing, spraying, or grazing.

Soil tillage is effective in reducing vole damage as it removes cover, destroys existing runway-burrow systems and kills some voles outright. Because of tillage, annual crops tend to have lower vole population levels than perennial crops. Voles are nevertheless capable of invading and damaging annual crops, especially those that provide them with cover for extended periods of time.

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