Unlike other mice, they almost never enter houses. Since they serve as food for many predators, voles need to be prolific. With several litters per year, populations can build quickly, and are highly variable from place to place and season to season. Evidence of voles' presence is most obvious in the early spring as snow cover disappears. However, close inspection of grassy areas during the growing season also may reveal less obvious runways in the turf, sometimes including the top two to three inches of soil.
Voles eat a variety of plants, especially grasses and forbs.
Voles may injure or kill young trees and shrubs by gnawing at the bark. This most often occurs in the fall and winter, but is not obvious until the spring. The plant may partially leaf out and then suddenly wilt and die. Close inspection of the base of the plant will reveal girdling of the bark at or near the soil surface. Mowing exposes voles to predators.