This is a subject which I have been intentionally avoiding.  When giving garden club presentations, questions about these critters are about as welcome as questions to a politician at a press conference regarding their extra-marital affairs.  Often the answer is just about as clear.  One suggestion is to move to a 3rd floor condominium.  At any rate, I will attempt to shed some light of the nature of these nocturnal creatures.

    First, let me distinguish between the "mole" and the "vole".  The insectivorous "mole" is a deep burrowing animal which feeds on members of the animal kingdom such as grubs and earthworms.  The vegetarian "vole" burrows in a more shallow fashion, feeding on members of the plant kingdom such as hostas, tulips, daylillies, and the like.

    Of all of the foods, the mole's favorite is the grub.  Think of the grub as porterhouse steak and the earthworm as hamburger.  Since grubs mainly feed on the roots of grass, the mole's activity is most likely to occur in the lawn.  The mole is a very industrious excavator,  making main tunnels as deep as 12 to 18 inches.  They have branch tunnels which are more shallow and less permanent.  The more shallow tunnels are reserved for shorter lived expeditions, while the main runs continue to get them back and forth to work on a daily basis.

    One might think they have an army of moles, but they are actually territorial.  The average acre has only 6 or 8 moles.  Because of the extensive tunneling in your lawn, you may think you have an army of moles.  This is because they can dig up to 18 feet per hour.  The mole has  a voracious appetite due to the tremendous amount of energy needed to sustain this level of activity.

    The vole is a less ambitious digger, but  can use the mole tunnels as a method of transportation in route to flower beds containing tasty morsels.  Unlike the mole, the vole exists in high numbers.  They do not dig well in hard ground, but they thrive in soft, cultivated areas topped with nice, loose mulch.  The deep mulch provides them with an excellent breeding habitat.

    With regard to controlling moles, grub control is usually the best method of attack.  By applying some form of grub control, one can eliminate their favorite food source.  With any luck, the culprits will move on to a restaurant with a better menu.  Another method I used was placing a garden hose in the runs and allowing the water to run until the tunnels were full.  This method alleviated my troubles for 7 months when I used it.  My neighbor nailed his moles after implementing acute observation methods, which culminated in a 2 A.M. attack with a shovel and a flashlight.  I guess they really bothered him and I'm glad I'm not on his "list".  When I was in high school we had a 2 acre field to mow and the moles had tunneled such that my riding mower was akin to a "mechanical bull".  If only we had the foresight to market such a machine...  My brother took the '49 Willys Jeep pickup, duct tape (universal healer of all), and a vacuum cleaner hose out to the field.  Having taped the hose to the exhaust, Jimmy diligently moved the truck around the field gassing the tunnels and covering smoking holes with shovels full of dirt.  After 3 hours, he had $20 in his pocket and I encountered no more moles.  This method is an environmental "no-no".  In summary, the most effective method is grub control, which I will save for a spring column.

    Controlling voles is a struggle at best because of their numbers.  A cat with a good hunting instinct is hard to beat.  Our cat, "Mister", proudly leaves them on the front doorstep much to the chagrin of my wife.  Conventional mouse poisons are also effective, but present a danger of secondary poisoning (the ingesting of the poisoned vole) to animals such as "Mister".  The secondary poisoning factor makes mouse baits a poor choice.  A mouse trap with peanut butter placed by an active run will eventually cut back on the numbers of voles.  A pot or bucket must be placed over the trap to simulate the vole's dark environmental.  One of my employees says a sunflower seed embedded in the center of the peanut butter is the key.  I have had success by applying castor oil over the beds and watering deeply so that the permeating, unpleasant odor sends the voles elsewhere.  This process should be repeated every 4 or 5 weeks for effectiveness.  ("Whole Control" castor oil may be purchased in our Pest Control section of our shopping cart).  There are also electronic devices available which vibrate the ground, creating an unpleasant environment for the varmints.  Some folks pre-plan for mole activity by cutting the bottom out of a plastic pot or making a collar out of hardware cloth (wire netting).  These collars are planted in the ground with the endangered plant to provide a physical barrier.

    I have been working at Roxbury for 25 years.  When I started, voles were not such an issue.  Many theories regarding their proliferation have been brought forth.  A leading theory is that we have been displacing their woodland environment through development.  While this is possible, I believe the most plausible theory is that we have changed our mulching habits.  I do not recall gardeners using mulch at today's high levels when I started working here back in the Stone Ages.  Regardless of the cause, the subject of moles and voles are sure to evoke emotion in even the calmest of gardeners.  Have a good week.
 

                                                                                            Andy Lynn