Moles vs. Voles

October 2025

Moles vs. Voles

In Central Ohio, there are several animals to look out for when planning or maintaining your garden. Two of these are frequently confused with each other: moles and voles. They both live primarily underground, are not easily spotted, and are common in our backyards. It’s important to identify which creature may be in your yard so that you can figure out a plan. Here are the key differences:

Moles (Scalopus aquaticus)

·         Appearance

o   Larger than voles (about 6-8” long), with soft, gray fur.

o   They have very small eyes and ears (since they live underground!).

·         Diet.

o   Insectivores. They eat primarily earthworms and grubs. (Moles=Meat eaters)

o   They do not eat plants or roots of plants.

·         Damage.

o   Create large holes to burrow underneath the ground to look for worms and grubs.

o   May disrupt or knock over plants but do not directly damage them.

o   Mole holes may interfere with lawn mowing.

·         Management.

o   Trapping although this is difficult and takes patience or know-how.

o   Poison baited “worms” although this can be poisonous to other mammals (including dogs) so extreme care is needed.

o   Read more: https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/420/420-201/420-201.html

·         Fun facts.

o   Moles spend the majority of their lives alone underground.

o   In the wild, they benefit their habitat by aerating areas with their tunnels.

o   They can dig 18 feet of tunnel in one hour.

Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

·         Appearance.

o   Slightly smaller than moles (4-6” long).

o   Mouse-like in appearance.

·         Diet.

o   Herbivores. They are known to eat roots, leaves, and seeds of plants. (Voles=Vegetarian)

o   They chew grass roots to make their surface burrows.

·         Damage.

o   Create surface burrows which look like long tunnels right below the surface of grass or garden beds.

o   They can girdle (eat a strip of bark all the way around) young trees which will kill the tree.

·         Management.

o   Reduce thick brush, which is attractive to voles.

o   Snap traps at burrow entrances.

o   Read more: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/voles/pest-notes/#gsc.tab=0

·         Fun facts.

o   Voles are a key food source of several larger animals in our ecosystem including owls, hawks, and foxes.

o   They live in colonies and reproduce very quickly.

o   Fossils have shown that voles have been around since the Ice Age.