Understanding the dietary habits of voles is essential for effective management and coexistence with these small rodents. Often confused with mice, voles are primarily ground-dwelling herbivores whose feeding patterns can significantly impact landscaping, gardens, and even agricultural yields. Their digestive systems are adapted to process high-fiber plant material, making them constant grazers that shape the vegetation around their intricate tunnel networks.
Primary Food Sources in the Wild
In their natural habitats, voles exhibit a strong preference for succulent and nutrient-rich vegetation. During the spring and summer months, their diet consists largely of grasses, clover, and the tender shoots of various herbaceous plants. They are particularly drawn to the soft, green growth found in meadows and the edges of forests, where moisture content is high and digestion is efficient. This preference for fresh growth is a direct result of their high metabolic rate, which requires frequent intake of easily digestible calories to sustain their energy levels.
Grasses and Sedges
Grasses form the cornerstone of the vole diet, especially species like Kentucky bluegrass, orchard grass, and fescue. These plants provide the bulk of their nutrition and are often harvested in large quantities, leaving behind characteristic clipped stems. Sedges, which are often found in wetter environments, are also a staple food source. Voles possess strong incisors that allow them to gnaw through these fibrous plants efficiently, accessing the nutritious cambium layer just beneath the bark of stems.
Herbaceous Plants and Bark
Beyond grasses, voles consume a wide variety of herbaceous plants, including plantain, dandelion, and chickweed. They also show a distinct preference for the bark of young trees and shrubs, particularly during the winter when other food sources are buried under snow. This behavior can be detrimental to orchards and ornamental landscapes, as girdling the trunk effectively cuts off the tree's nutrient transport system, leading to rapid decline. Their diet shifts seasonally, moving from lush greens in warmer months to bark, seeds, and stored tubers in the colder periods.
Attractants in Residential Areas
When voles venture into suburban environments, their food preferences adapt to the available resources. They are strongly attracted to well-maintained lawns, where the short grass provides easy visibility and access to tender shoots. Gardens containing root vegetables like carrots, radishes, and potatoes are particularly vulnerable, as voles will feed on both the roots and the tubers. Compost piles also act as magnets, offering a concentrated source of decaying organic matter that is easy to digest.
Impact on Landscaping
Homeowners often notice vole activity through the "runways"—narrow, trampled paths through the grass that connect their burrow entrances. These runways are created as the voles repeatedly travel to and from their food sources, such as seed-bearing plants or ground cover. They are known to strip the bark from fruit trees and ornamental shrubs, which not only damages the aesthetic value of the landscape but can kill the plant. Their preference for bulbs and tubers makes tulips and crocuses a common target in spring gardens.
Food Storage and Foraging Behavior
Unlike some rodents that hoard food in a single central location, voles often create multiple small caches of food near their nests. They gather stems and seeds, hiding them in underground chambers or beneath piles of grass clippings. This scatter-hoarding strategy ensures they have access to food even when foraging becomes dangerous due to predators. In agricultural settings, they will consume stored grains and seeds, causing significant economic damage to crops left unharvested or improperly stored.
