Vole Damage

[BSLNORTH]

Looks like the voles did a number on my backyard this year. I kept the grass really short as did my neighbors, but for some reason they liked my yard more. What is the best way to fix the damage. Lots of little tunnels and clumps of grass all over. I know its too early to start anything, but when everything thaws and warms up, should I rake the areas and use seed/black dirt, or will the grass come back? Thanks for any help!

[leech~~]

I have been ending up with a lot of Mole tunnels around that are just as bad.

[BartmanMN]

I figured they would be bad with all the snow and they were. I usually fill all my damage in with the Scotts seed/mulch stuff.

[BSLNORTH]

Bartman, is that something that is already pre-mixed? Thanks

[BartmanMN]

Yes, Scott's Patchmaster.

[Tom Sawyer]

Most of your grass will come back, unless the little buggers dug into the grass roots to make nests. Wait awhile for the grass to grow to see where you'll need to repair. Meadow voles mostly tunnel above ground and only eat grass shoots, not roots. The fix in the yard is much easier than dealing with the cause. During the winter of 09-10is when I was introduced to them in my yard. After munching down on just about anything above ground, these critters thought they were going to take up residence in my yard. Oh contray'. The following two years of using various ways to eliminate the problem, before it got out of hand, was essential. My yard is again vole free.

This up coming heavy snowfall can be used to your advantage, if the voles return to there grassy sanctuary. Shovel or snow blow rows in your yard to help isolate them under the snow that is left. Being this won't be snow from the first snowfalls, I don't know if they will come back in the yard, but they may.

As soon as the areas you've shoveled or blown melt to show grass, grab a shovel and start looking under the snow areas, following the tunnels. They don't move to fast in their tunnels so a quick stomp of the foot or whack from a shovel, ends future problems. You don't want to know how fast they can multiply in one year.

During the summer months the buggers are suckers for peanut butter on mouse traps. Place traps around shrubbery, under taller plants, or any shady place, for best results. Also, walk your yard looking for loose grass matter, they like to form nests underneath in sunny areas.

Stick with it, and happy hunting. Good luck.

[DrJuice1980]

I must have pulled over 30 of those little bassturds out of my pool last summer and I was out back the other day picking up a nice winters worth of dog droppings to find the same thing, vole tracks. Not sure why but these last 2-3 years there has been an abundance of them.

[BSLNORTH]

Tom, thanks for the advice and I hope you are right about not getting into the root system. As the snow has melted, they have several tunnels in the snow pack full of grass, so maybe they did not get to the root system. I will be buying some traps for these little bastar*s!

[fishing tech]

I will run my snowmobile around the yard after each of the first couple snow falls. This packs the snow down to the ground. Between doing that and the dogs running around I have not had any issues in 3 years. My neighbor does

[otterman91105]

I have them in my yard every year, it sucks but the area's will grow back it just takes a little while. The spots that i have had that don't come back i just seed with the pre mixed stuff. They are a pain!!

[corncob]

Get a cat!

[Hoey]

I work to avoid voles and snow mold by cutting my grass as short as I can get it in the fall. This year they only appeared though an old muskrat shore/bank run up to our bird feeder. In years past, they nearly destroyed our grass and a couple of crab trees.