Mole vs. Vole: What's Destroying My Lawn?
3/1/2024 âĸ Lawn Care
You wake up to find your beautiful lawn looking like a battlefield. Is it a mole or a vole? While their names sound similar, these two pests are very different animals that require different control methods.
đą The Mole
- Diet: Carnivore (Earthworms, grubs, insects).
- Appearance: Paddle-like front feet, no visible eyes or ears, pointed snout.
- Damage: Raised ridges (tunnels) pushing up the sod; volcano-shaped dirt mounds.
- Goal: Hunting for worms underground.
đš The Vole
- Diet: Herbivore (Grass roots, bulbs, tree bark).
- Appearance: Looks like a chubby mouse with a short tail and small ears.
- Damage: Surface "runways" (paths of dead grass) about 2 inches wide; gnaw marks on tree trunks.
- Goal: Eating your plants.
The "M" vs "V" Rule
An easy way to remember:
- M is for Mole, which makes Mounds (and eats Meat/worms).
- V is for Vole, which makes Veins (surface runways) and is a Vegetarian.
Why It Matters
Moles don't eat plants, but their tunneling can disturb roots. They are actually aerating your soil and eating pests, but the cosmetic damage to the lawn is severe.
Voles actively eat your landscaping. They can kill a young tree by girdling it (eating the bark all the way around) or wipe out a flower bed by eating the bulbs from below.
Need Help Identifying?
We offer specialized removal services for both pests.