Do you remember the first time you felt a soft give under your heel when you walked across your lawn or saw a small hole where your favorite Hosta used to grow?
These acts of garden violence are the work of small, powerful, burrowing animals: moles and voles. Like most gardeners, you’ve probably never seen these mostly subterranean creatures, so how do you know which is doing what damage, and how do you stop the crimes?
In general, snake-like ridges in your lawn, paths, or flower beds are the work of a protein-loving mole tunneling after earthworms and larvae in the ground. In my experience, their damage is due to tunneling, when they disturb the ground, creating molehills (shown in header pic) and tunnels (shown in lawn below); in the process dislocating plants due to heaving the ground underneath them.
When a plant disappears (cartoonishly) and there’s a joke of a small hole where it used to be, that is the work of a vegetarian vole. If you’re brave like me (or stupid) and feel around in the hole with your fingers, you’ll feel it going off to the side. That’s their tunnel or burrow. In my garden, voles are more damaging than moles, even though their molehills aren’t as visible, because they devour entire plants, leaving nothing behind but the laughable hole, as if to say, "I dare you to replant right here!"
Moles and voles are often confused but differ in appearance, behavior, and diet.
Moles are not rodents; they’re more closely related to shrews and hedgehogs. They have pointed snouts, tiny wee eyes and ears that you must part the fur to see (if you ever get a chance), and disproportionately large, webbed front paws designed for digging. Moles are insectivores, feeding primarily on earthworms, insect larvae (grubs), and soil-dwelling adult insects.
On the other hand, Voles are rodents resembling mice with short tails. They are primarily herbivores, and their damage is usually to entire herbaceous perennial plants when they quickly devour shoots and roots (including bulbs and rhizomes) like a magician staging a disappearing act. I read that voles also eat seeds and bark, and aren’t strict vegetarians because they’ll sometimes eat insects or animal remains.
Dare I say, they are both adorable nuisances. I was taught this trick that helped me remember the difference between these rascals:
M is for Moles that eat Meat
V is for Voles that eat Vegetation
Moles & voles have similar small-body-sized holes where they enter the ground. This one was confirmed to be caused by a mole.
Repellents: There are many mole and vole repellents on the market. I don't have personal experience with repellents, but many of our customers swear by them. Some of our stores sell repellents, so stop by your local Super-Sod to see what they might have, and we're also planning on offering them online in the near future.
Insecticide: Moles can be outsmarted by eliminating some of the protein food supply that draws them to your lawn. Use Acelepryn, Talstar, or milky spore insecticides to kill insect larvae (grubs) and adult insects in your yard.
Deterrents: Moles and voles can be outsmarted through deterrence.
In my garden, voles seem to strike only herbaceous perennials, not so much trees and shrubs or my Zoysia lawn, but I read that they are all vulnerable, so if you’ve got a high population of voles, you may likewise want to protect the root balls of new trees and shrubs.
I know four methods to prevent moles and voles from devouring plants:
Hostas, Heucheras, and other treasures in containers to protect them from voles.
Traps: According to a wildlife expert Marne Titchenell (on Joe Lamp'l's podcast episode 368 on Controlling Wildlife), specialized mole traps placed in underground mole tunnels are more effective than poison baits, and you don't have to worry about poisoning non-target animals.
She also describes how common snap traps positioned above ground are best to kill voles, but cautions to place something over it, to protect other animals (including family members).
I have not tried traps, but if it comes to that, I will report back. Both types of traps are available at most lawn and garden and hardware stores.
Cats: A “working cat” or “barn cat” is not to be overlooked as part of a three-pronged approach (repellents, deterrents, murder). You can adopt a working cat or wait for one to show up and adopt you. Cats are renowned for reducing rats, mice, moles, voles, chipmunks, and other cats from barns, sheds, garages, outbuildings, basements, commercial sites, and everywhere really. Cats are hard on bird populations, so consider that as you weigh your options.
Henry, the unlikely apex predator, killed three moles in my mom's garden last November.
Recovering from mole damage is usually possible because they don’t eat the plants. They disturb and dislocate them, but the plants remain generally sound. In my garden, moles tend to strike once a year and move on. When they make molehills and tunnels in flower beds, the extensive tunnels usually sink in again due to gravity, and even a little quicker after big rains. If a new plant is moved off-kilter, I righten it, water it, and keep my eyes on it for a few days in case it needs more water.
Warm Season Lawns (Bermuda, Centipede, St. Augustine, Zoysia): The first time moles made tunnels in my Zeon Zoysia lawn, it was a shocker due to the high visibility of the meandering molehills. There were a couple of tunneling episodes; after each, I walked along the molehill ridges to fill them in and get the Zoysia roots back in contact with the soil. Due to the disturbance, the grass over the tunnels turned slightly brownish. Still, after extra water and a fertilizer application, the lawn repaired itself due to the network integrity of the spreading stolons and rhizomes.
Cool Season Lawns (Tall Fescue): A lawn like Tall Fescue doesn’t have stolons and rhizomes, but repair is possible by walking along the molehill ridges to fill them in and get the roots back in contact with the soil. Water extra and fertilize in the cool months only (don’t fertilize with high nitrogen in the warm months). If Tall Fescue clumps die off, repair is easy by overseeding in September or October.
Zoysia lawn recovering after extensive mole tunneling. I walked on top of the tunnels to flatten them and get the roots back in contact with the soil.
Recovering from vole damage is harder, if not impossible, since voles devour most of the plant, including the roots, crown, and leaves. One leaf left behind doesn’t allow for regrowth!
The best recovery tactic is to replant, but smarter, by planting new plants in containers or wrapping all new root balls in Vole King mesh. That way, if many of the roots are eaten, at least the root crown is protected, and the plant can survive and regrow.
I have not experienced lawn damage due to voles, but I've seen pictures and it looks harsh because voles tunnel through the grass eating it, rather than tunneling under it looking for protein like moles. The best tactic seems to be to try to eradicate with snap traps, possibly repellents, robots . . . OR to replant with a more resilient lawn, such as TifTuf Bermuda that will grow back from the interconnecting network of stolons and rhizomes.
Vole King bags protect the root crown, while allowing secondary roots to freely grow through the mesh (good growth 3 weeks after planting; I dug it up to show you).
Let’s wrap up the article with an AI summary: Managing moles and voles requires patience, persistence, and a combination of strategies tailored to the damage you’re seeing. While moles tunnel in pursuit of insects and generally spare your plants, voles target the plants themselves—often with devastating results. Understanding the differences between these pests allows you to take informed action, whether through deterrents like containers and mesh, interventions like traps and cats, or lawn recovery techniques to repair the damage. With the right tools and a bit of vigilance, you can reclaim your lawn and garden from these underground invaders.
Now, back to us, if you have tips and techniques to share, please post them below. I’d love to hear from you with your comments and questions and I'm sure our other readers would too!