Pest Control

Vole vs Mole: Spot the Difference and Stop the Damage

Updated August 24, 20268 min readBy the LawnStarter team

Moles and voles leave very different clues,and fixing the problem depends on knowing which is which. Here’s how to tell, what to do, and what to skip.

On this page▾

• Quick ID: Mole or Vole? (And Why It Matters)
• What Each Pest Looks Like (If You Ever See Them)
• Damage: What to Look For in Your Lawn and Garden
• Mole Damage
• Vole Damage
• Vole vs Mole: Common Mistakes Homeowners Make
• How to Control Moles (If That’s Your Culprit)
• How to Control Voles (If That’s the Problem)
• Repairing the Damage
• For Mole Damage
• For Vole Damage
• Identification vs Lookalikes: Table
• Treatment Options: What Works and What’s a Waste
• When to Call a Pro
• Honest Skip-It Scenario
• Where People Mess Up
• Related Reading
• Summary Table: Which Pest, Which Fix?

You’re staring at torn-up grass, weird tunnels, or dying plants. Is it a mole or a vole? Here’s the blunt truth: If you guess wrong, you’ll waste time and money,because the fixes are totally different. Let’s sort it out fast so you can get your yard back.

Quick ID: Mole or Vole? (And Why It Matters) (opens in a new tab)

If you see raised, squishy tunnels in your lawn or volcano-shaped piles of dirt, that’s a mole. If you spot narrow, brown runways in the grass, little holes, or chewed bark at the base of shrubs, that’s a vole. Sometimes you get both,especially if you see tunnels and plants dying.

Why care? Moles rarely kill plants. Voles can wipe out young trees, shrubs, and bulbs. Treating for the wrong pest does nothing but empty your wallet.

Feature	Moles	Voles
Animal type	Insect-eating mammal	Plant-eating rodent
Looks like	Gray, pointed nose, big feet	Chubby mouse, short tail
Tunnel type	Raised, soft, winding	Surface runways, shallow holes
Soil mounds	Yes, volcano-shaped	No
Plant damage	Rare	Common, can kill plants
Bark gnawing	No	Yes, base of trees/shrubs
Main food	Earthworms, grubs	Roots, bulbs, grass, bark

What Each Pest Looks Like (If You Ever See Them) (opens in a new tab)

Mole: About 5-7 inches long, slate gray, paddle-shaped front feet, tiny eyes, no visible ears, long pointed snout. You’ll almost never see one above ground.

Vole: 4-6 inches long (including tail), looks like a chunky mouse with a blunt nose, short furry tail, small but visible eyes and ears. You might spot one scurrying along a runway.

Damage: What to Look For in Your Lawn and Garden (opens in a new tab)

Mole Damage (opens in a new tab)

• Raised, spongy tunnels just under the lawn surface
• Volcano-shaped mounds of loose dirt (especially in spring and fall)
• Grass flattened or yellowed along tunnels
• No chewed plants or bark

Vole Damage (opens in a new tab)

• Narrow (1-2 inch wide) surface runways, often with clipped grass
• Small holes (about golf ball size), no dirt mounds
• Bark chewed at the base of shrubs or young trees (sometimes all the way around)
• Plants or bulbs disappearing overnight
• Grass dying in streaks along runways

Damage Sign	Moles	Voles	Both Possible?
Raised tunnels in lawn	Yes	No	No
Volcano-shaped soil mounds	Yes	No	No
Surface runways in grass	No	Yes	No
Small holes (no mound)	Rare	Yes	Sometimes
Chewed bark at base	No	Yes	No
Dead or missing bulbs	No	Yes	No
Dying plants	Rare	Yes	Sometimes

Vole vs Mole: Common Mistakes Homeowners Make (opens in a new tab)

Mistake #1: Treating for moles when you really have voles (or vice versa). Mole traps and repellents do nothing for voles. Vole baits won’t touch moles.

Mistake #2: Ignoring the problem until spring. Voles do most of their damage under snow cover. If you wait, you might lose young trees or all your tulips.

Mistake #3: Using home remedies like chewing gum, mothballs, or ultrasonic spikes. I’ve seen folks spend hundreds on gadgets that don’t work. Don’t do that.

How to Control Moles (If That’s Your Culprit) (opens in a new tab)

Trapping is the only method that consistently works. Repellents and baits are hit-or-miss at best.

1. Find an active tunnel

   Flatten a section of tunnel with your foot. If it’s raised again within 24 hours, it’s active. Only set traps on active runs.

2. Set a trap correctly

   Use a scissor, harpoon, or choker-loop trap. Follow the instructions. Collapse the tunnel roof slightly so the mole triggers the trap while fixing it.

3. Check traps daily

   Remove dead moles promptly. If nothing after 3 days, move the trap to a new spot.

4. Be patient

   One mole can make a mess over a big area. Once it’s gone, new moles may move in eventually, but not right away.

Skip-It Scenario: If the only problem is a few raised tunnels and your plants are fine, you can skip trapping. Just flatten the tunnels and mow as usual. Grass usually recovers.

How to Control Voles (If That’s the Problem) (opens in a new tab)

Voles are rodents, so you use rodent control tactics:

• Remove cover: Keep grass mowed short around trees and shrubs. Pull mulch back from trunks. Clear dense groundcover. Voles hate open spaces.
• Trunk guards: Wrap young tree trunks with 1/4-inch hardware cloth cylinders. Bury the bottom 2-3 inches, and make sure it extends above the snow line (usually 18-24 inches).
• Snap traps: Ordinary mouse traps baited with peanut butter, set perpendicular to runways. Place them under cover (a board or flowerpot) to avoid birds and pets.
• Predators: Encourage owls, hawks, and snakes. An owl box or a perch helps. Don’t use poison if you want to keep these helpers around.
• Protect bulbs: Plant bulbs in wire cages or choose daffodils (voles won’t eat them). Tulips and crocus are vole favorites,they’ll vanish if you don’t protect them.

Worked Example: You have 5 young apple trees, each with a trunk about 1 inch thick. Buy a 10-foot roll of 1/4-inch hardware cloth, 24 inches high. Cut it into 5 pieces, each 2 feet long. Form each into a cylinder, overlap the ends, and secure with wire. Bury the bottom 2 inches. Total cost: about $15-$20 for all 5 trees.

Repairing the Damage (opens in a new tab)

For Mole Damage (opens in a new tab)

• Flatten tunnels with your foot or a lawn roller when soil is moist
• Rake out soil mounds and spread the dirt evenly
• Reseed any bare spots
• Water the area to help grass recover

See also: How to repair mole damage in your yard

For Vole Damage (opens in a new tab)

• Rake and level surface runways
• Reseed if grass is dead
• For girdled trees or shrubs (bark chewed all the way around): There’s no reliable fix. If less than half the bark is gone, wrap with tree wrap and water well, but survival isn’t guaranteed.

Identification vs Lookalikes: Table (opens in a new tab)