The dirty underworld lives of Voles
“Voles are unique and best described as being a little bit like all the other rodents they are so commonly thought to be” stated by some wise guy. Voles are active day and night throughout the year, similar to squirrel behavior. Voles eat seeds, nuts, fruit, bark, bulbs, plants, insects and they will eat dead animals. They live for about a couple months to a year and a half. Female voles are tremendously prolific, having upwards of 72 babies per year. Females may become pregnant at three weeks old and breed almost year round. Male voles are either highly monogamous or very promiscuously. Voles construct numerous surface runways and underground tunnels with many burrow entrances. The entrances are usually always blocked by the vole from below so it looks like there is no tunnel. Voles use old abandoned mole tunnels confusing the best pest control flunky into thinking that moles are active. The damage caused by these dirt dogs is called girdling, gnawing the bark off all the way around and patches of irregular gnaw marks about 1.5cm to 3cm wide. Gnawed stems have a pointed tip.
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