CritterChatter™ Blog
January 2012 - The Vole
Fun Trivia Question:
Do Voles Hibernate During Winter Months?
a) Yes
b) No
Correct Trivia Answer: b) No
During the winter months voles do not hibernate, but instead make tunnels beneath the snow, in which they gnaw on shrubs and tree bark for nutrition. Voles are an important part of the ecosystem.
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This is invariably the familiar 'mouse' that you see scurrying about in grassy meadows or stubble fields. Commonly referred to as meadow or field mice, they belong to the rodent family. The Vole is also the staple food of a very wide range of creatures – predators such as snakes, coyotes, skunks, fox, hawks and owls all use voles as an essential component of their diet. The vole's diet consists of seeds, tubers, tree needles, bark, various green vegetation such as grass and clover, and insects. Voles prefer not to feed in the open. Voles require dense grass cover and prefer to live outside in fields. Accumulated vole damage is apparent when populations are high. Vole damage includes girdling and gnawing of trees, vegetable gardens destroyed by eating of highly nutritious roots, damage to lawns by extensive tunnel and runway systems, along with tearing up mulch in flowerbeds. There are some health concerns with voles. Voles are occasional carriers of tularemia, bubonic plague, and are hosts to numerous internal and external parasites, yet voles pose no major threat because of their infrequent contact with humans.
If you think you have a vole problem please contact your local Critter Control Vole removal specialist. Critter Control vole removal experts are trained to identify voles, get rid of voles and provide vole control to prevent future vole damage. Our certified wildlife specialists can get rid of vole problems for good.
Specific diseases transmitted by wildlife can also be researched from our website. Critter Control is on Facebook! Click here to become a fan! Critter Control is on Facebook! Click here to become a fan! For animal removal, animal exclusion and animal damage repair services, call the professionals at CRITTER CONTROL anywhere in the U.S., by dialing 1-800-CRITTER (274-8837). Need Help Critter-Proofing Your Home? Call the professionals at Critter Control today for a FREE Estimate. Toll-Free:
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