Beware of voles in your lawn this time of year
Nov 10, 2023, 5:00 PM
One particular type of vole that tends to cause more damage in the fall and winter is the meadow vole. When they wander around, the tracks they leave look like a maze printed in the grass. (Canva)
(Canva)
SALT LAKE CITY – Have you spotted any voles in your lawn lately? Although garden critters are most commonly seen in the spring, some of them can still show up this time of year and cause damage.
Taun Beddes shared some tips last week on KSL Greenhouse to help prevent voles from ruining your lawn.
One particular type of vole that tends to cause more damage in the fall and winter is the meadow vole. The most common areas to find meadow voles are where water is available, such as fallow fields. The tracks they leave look like a maze printed in the grass when they wander around.
The voles cause more damage this time of the year because they lack food sources.
In the fall, the grass becomes their primary target. However, they also target trees if snow is heavy enough to cover our lawns this winter. What they will do is start eating the bark off.
“Because of the snow we had last year—especially if you’re in an area that gets more snow—I would wrap those trees three or four feet up with quarter-inch hardware cloth. I would flatten it out around the base of the tree so that it flares out around the roots a good 18 inches out from the trunk in any direction,” Taun said.
This will help prevent those voles from crawling around under the trees.
The KSL Greenhouse is on every Saturday from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. You can follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and on our website.
