They are difficult to spot, as they seem to always be on the run. Voles are active both day and night. They are vegetarians, eating a wide array of green plants such as grass, clover, buttercups, false dandelion, and horsetail. Since some of these are lawn weeds, the voles may be helping to eradicate unwanted weeds. But if voles are turning your lawn into a rodent freeway interchange, you may want to do something about them.
Vegetation management is the key to keeping vole populations in control.
If you keep your lawn short and dethatch it yearly, voles will find less habitat on your property. Avoid using a lot of mulch, as voles use that for habitat also. Fallen fruit and food from bird feeders also encourages voles. There are no rodenticides registered for homeowner use against voles in Oregon or Washington, according to the 1999 Oregon and Washington Master Gardener handbook, published by OSU and Washington State University Extension. You might want to encourage predators of voles, such as hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, weasels and shrews.