When a lot of people think of rodents, they may picture mice, rats, or even squirrels – but what about voles? While they’re more likely to invade your garden than your home, voles can cause plenty of trouble if they go unchecked in Orange County yards.

Here’s what local residents should know about identifying voles based on appearance, how you can get them out of your yard, signs of voles in your garden, and how to permanently get rid of voles with pest control in Orange County.

What Does A Vole In Orange County Look Like?

Voles can be troublesome for Orange County homeowners, but how do you know if you actually have them, and what do they look like?

At first glance, you might mistake voles for field mice, given their short tails, round bodies, and beady eyes. However, full-grown voles are larger than most field mice, measuring between five to eight inches in length.

There are a couple of other ways to tell the two species apart. Not only do voles have stouter bodies, but their ears and eyes tend to be smaller than most mice. If you manage to catch a look at their teeth, you’ll notice that voles also have large, yellow-orange teeth that allow them to easily chew through plants and roots.

Besides appearance, here are a few other crucial facts to understand about voles in Orange County: 

  • Since they burrow, voles create shallow holes and tunnels in your garden, which they may line with leaves, grass, and stems.
  • Voles do not hibernate and they can reproduce at any time during the year, which means your yard is susceptible to a vole infestation in the winter and the summer.
  • The average lifespan of a vole in the wild is around three to six months, but these pests can cause plenty of damage within that time.
  • While voles are capable of eating insects or snails if they have to, most of their diet consists of plants, stems, grass, and other vegetation.
  • Voles are some of the fastest reproducers in the rodent family, with a single female vole being able to produce 30 to 60 new offspring within her short lifespan.
  • Even though voles aren’t known to attack or lash out at people, they’re still considered dangerous because they are capable of spreading disease and parasites to humans like most rodents.

As with all pest rodents, it is wise to keep voles out of your home and away from your property.

a vole in a yard

How Do You Get Voles In Your Yard?

Unfortunately, preventing voles isn’t always easy because these pests can survive on almost any grassy lawn – but Orange County yards with thriving gardens and vegetation are especially attractive to them.

If you’re a frequent gardener or someone who has a lot of plants in your yard, you’re more susceptible to a vole infestation. Things like excess mulch, brush, weeds, or heavy vegetation can all attract voles into your yard, and once they’ve started burrowing, a vole infestation can spread quickly.

Signs Of Voles In Your Garden

Because they burrow underground, it can be difficult to recognize a vole infestation immediately, but here are some tell-tale signs that your Orange County yard has voles in it:

  • Some of the plants in your yard have “collapsed” and the roots and stems of these plants look like they’ve been chewed or gnawed through.
  • When it comes time to harvest your plants, you notice that some of them are turning yellow or wilting, which is another sign that voles have been chewing through the roots.
  • There are tiny trails in your yard, usually measuring around one to two inches wide, where voles have used the same paths to scurry around.
  • When you walk on your soil or mulch, it feels spongy, which can result from voles creating shallow and deep tunnels in your soil.
  • There are one to two-inch wide holes in your soil.

In addition to the signs above, you may also sometimes spot live voles in your garden – however, these critters move quickly and aren’t always easy to identify based on sight.

How To Keep Voles Away For Good!

So, you’ve recognized voles in your Orange County garden, but what now? Since voles can be tricky to get rid of once they’ve started reproducing, the best way to protect your garden is by working with the home pest control professionals at HomeShield Pest Control.

Not only do all our services come with a complete satisfaction guarantee, but we also use treatments that are eco, pet, and child-friendly. If you need the professionals that are going to be tough on voles, there’s nobody better to call. Contact us today at HomeShield Pest Control to learn more about how our rodent control services can help you get rid of voles in Orange County.