Do moles drive voles out of their habitat?
After first having problems with voles in my vegetable garden this year and now that a mole seems to have moved in (yes, I can tell the difference... frustratingly, that’s more or less the only result search engines turn up for my initial question), I’ve been wondering whether voles and moles tolerate each other, or whether the mole’s presence prevents the voles from attacking my vegetables again? I couldn’t find an answer right away, what do you think?
12 replies
I haven’t seen any voles around. But i certainly have a mole in the garden. One year i watered deeply and it came out of its tunnel. It was beautiful and i felt so rude.
I always put hardware cloth on the bottom of my raised beds. Idk whether it’s working or completely unnecessary. But I haven’t experienced pest pressure from underground
They don't as they can't get motorist licences with their poor eyesight.
Seriously, though, probably not. Moles and voles have very different diets which means they're looking in different places for different things.
That is, your yard mole is digging underground looking for chewy worms while the vole family is at the surface looking for plants and roots.
If they do bump into each other, voles would have a numerical advantage that would overwhelm the mole.
Okay, first of all, thanks for your input!
I think I need to clarify this a bit: We have several species of voles here. What you’re describing (above ground, looking for plants) would be the common vole (Microtus arvalis) in our area; they’re also found in my meadow, but they cause me fewer problems in my garden beds (and are easier to catch there). The really nasty creatures are the voles (Arvicola terrestris), because those pesky beasts feed underground, mainly on roots, and can ruin both fruit trees and most types of vegetables.
I’d heard once that field voles and moles can’t stand each other (and in captivity, moles apparently even eat young field voles, though the natural relevance of that is perhaps rather questionable), which is why I asked.
Well, the moles may not drive them out, but hopefully they may snack on the babies.
Either way, good luck to you.
Well, haven't seen that one in a while, thanks! xD
Do moles drive voles out of their...holes? Hmm. Ill punch myself in the face now.
Someone had to do it I guess...
^^'
At least some mole/vole species combinations coexist. I was actually down a very similar rabbit hole recently and my most interesting find was that mole tunnels seem to predict vole population booms.
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01134.x#%3A%7E%3Atext=%23%23+Summary+-%2Cchemical+pest+control.
That's a very interesting read indeed! Thank you very much.
Unfortunately (or luckily) moles are under protection where I live and I personally also wouldn't want to eradicate them. But the paper recommends destroying the tunnels... maybe that way I can get both moles and voles to move elsewhere.
It's a good idea, and I think if you fail to herd them it will be related to where they placed their larder.
I wonder if voles are thieves, and a population boom in a mole tunnel system results in the mole starving?
I don't think voles and moles get in each other's way when foraging (or only if, by chance, they both happen to want to use the same tunnel). As far as I know, voles are vegetarians with a preference for roots (which is why these critters cause me so much trouble in the garden), while moles eat insects and other invertebrates.
Well, in any case, thanks for your input... let’s see if the “trample the tunnels” tactic works.
I love moles, but I also love voles.. how can I find out which one is best?