Vole Trenches in Lawn (Photos)

My neighbor's grass is so long and dead, it's the perfect place for voles to romp around all winter long. Then people like me with healthy lawns are targets for voles to come through and eat a trench through the roots of the delicious grass. They're called vole runs or vole damage, and it's a clear sign they've been busy this winter. Apparently they don't hibernate.

Vole tunnels through the grass, about 2 inches deep and 1-2 inches wide

It looks kinda like a river or ant colony from above, little ditches that spread out through long pathways about 2 inches deep. I thought for a second maybe it was just cracks from the freezing and thawing of the lawn, but now I think it's definitely voles.

Filled in the trenches with topsoil, it took an entire 40 pound bag

Not much I can do right now, I added topsoil to the trenches. My dad says I might have them year round but in the summer you just don't notice because the grass grows so fast, but in the winter you can really tell. He's going to give me an underground ultrasonic wave thing that is supposed to scare them away for a 60 foot radius.

It's not a huge deal. I'm sure the grass will fill in with the new topsoil I added. And if this is the damage they can do over an entire winter, I doubt it gets much worse in the next few weeks while I'm waiting for the grass to start growing again.

Filing this post under #critters for sure!