The feces may be brown or green in color, are shaped like wheat grains, and are frequently left in small piles. Damage above the ground indicates meadow vole activity. Typically, meadow voles girdle trees and saplings at the ground line. Close inspection of the damage will reveal paired grooves left by their chisel- like teeth. Girdling completely around the tree trunk will kill the tree, so any indication of above- ground damage is cause for instituting a control program.
Rabbits also chew on young trees, but the girdling begins several inches above the soil line.
Rabbits have much larger incisor teeth than voles, which will be reflected in the size of grooves on the girdled tree. Rabbit damage can be controlled with a plastic tree guard, but these devices will not prevent meadow vole damage. Homeowners and managers of grounds with shrub and flower plantings can use the apple sign test to determine if voles are present. Control measures can then be resticted to those locations. Developed in Virginia, the apple sign test has been verified at the Mountain Horticulture Crops Research and Extension Center at Fletcher, North Carolina.