Voles
Voles are small rodents with short legs, stocky bodies, small eyes and ears, and short tails. Two species, the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and the pine vole (Microtus pinetorum), might damage fruit trees and become serious pests in orchards. The meadow vole is approximately 5.5 to 7.5 inches long. It has brown fur mixed with black, and its tail is approximately twice the length of its hind foot. The meadow vole is also called the meadow mouse. The pine vole is Pennsylvania's smallest vole. It is 4 to 5 inches long and has chestnut or auburn fur and a short tail approximately as long as the hind foot.
Voles are vegetarians, feeding on grasses, tubers, and seeds. They also consume the bark of young trees. Unlike many other small mammals, voles do not hibernate. Instead, they are active throughout the year, both day and night, with peak activity at dawn and dusk.
Meadow voles create surface runways in the grass; in winter, they are active in these runways beneath the snow. Pine voles build underground tunnels in loose, crumbly soil. As they build the tunnels, they push out dirt, producing small conical piles of soil on the ground surface. Both types of voles build large globular nests of dry grasses and leaves. The nests are located close to tree trunks, in tussocks of grass, and at the end of burrows.
Voles are extremely prolific. Their peak breeding activity occurs between March and October, but when winters are mild, voles may breed all year long. A female meadow vole could potentially produce over 70 young in a year, and the young voles become sexually mature at the age of 1 month. As a result, under ideal conditions vole populations can reach densities as high as 270 voles per acre. Scientists have found that voles exhibit regular population fluctuations at approximately 4-year intervals. Populations apparently crash to levels as low as 10 voles per acre after peak years and then begin to build up again. Voles can cause extensive damage to orchards, particularly during peak population years.
Damage
Voles can cause extensive damage to fruit trees and orchards by girdling seedlings and trees and damaging roots. Damage occurs primarily during winter when other types of food are scarce. The most common form of tree injury caused by meadow voles is trunk girdling at or near the ground surface. Since voles burrow in the snow, they might damage tree trunks as high as the accumulated snow. Young trees are especially susceptible to attack. Occasionally, meadow voles will burrow in the soil and damage roots, resulting in weak, unhealthy trees.
Damage from pine voles is harder to detect because it occurs underground as voles consume small roots, girdle large roots, and eat bark from the base of trees. By the time growers note weak, unhealthy trees, the damage already is extensive.
Signs of Voles
The most easily identified sign of meadow vole presence is a system of surface runways in the grass. Meadow voles create these runways by their feeding activities and keep them free of vegetation. The runways are generally about 1.5 inches wide. Bits of freshly cut vegetation and accumulations of vole droppings (brown or green in color and shaped like rice grains) in the runway are positive evidence they are being used. Vegetation, small roots, or mold in the runways indicate that the voles are no longer using them. Pine voles do not use surface runways, so their presence is much harder to detect. In apple orchards, tiny, elongated tooth marks on apples on the ground are signs of both meadow voles and pine voles.
Legal Status
Voles are classified as nongame mammals and can be controlled when causing damage.
