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Moles, Voles and Shrews

Jim Boxberger
Posted 3/31/23

Don’t be quick to blame deer, rabbits or the crazy winter for why your favorite shrub or tree didn’t make it through the winter. Sometimes the problem is much smaller, it could be the …

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Moles, Voles and Shrews

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Don’t be quick to blame deer, rabbits or the crazy winter for why your favorite shrub or tree didn’t make it through the winter. Sometimes the problem is much smaller, it could be the dreaded moles, voles and shrews. We just unpacked our overwintered trees and shrubs in our garden center this past Sunday and found we had a critter give us a visit over the winter. 

We had a flowering crabapple that had its bark girdled at the base. Luckily, the critter did not girdle the bark all the way around, so this tree can still be saved. As long as there is at least a half inch strip of bark the tree will be able to repair itself over time with a little help. If the bark is girdled all the way around, there is no hope, unless you know an expert graftsmen that could graft a new bark strip to the tree, which is nearly impossible. 

I would have guessed a vole or shrew did this damage, but I would have been wrong, as we saw the perpetrator running away as we moved the plants. It was none other than the largest big fat mole I have ever seen, obviously he was eating very well. 

Moles are small mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have cylindrical bodies, velvety fur, very small, inconspicuous ears and eyes, reduced hindlimbs and short powerful forelimbs with large paws adapted for digging. We know moles eat those pesky japanese beetle grubs, but they have also been known to nibble on roots and bark during the extreme cold of winter when the grubs are not active. 

A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter, hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes. Voles are commonly mistaken for other small animals like moles, gophers, mice, rats and even shrews because they have similar characteristics and behavioral tendencies. Voles will often eat succulent root systems and will burrow under plants or ground cover and eat away until the plant is dead. Bulbs in the ground are another favorite target for voles; their excellent burrowing and tunneling skills give them access to sensitive areas without warning. The presence of large numbers of voles is often only identifiable after they have destroyed a number of plants. 

Voles will readily girdle small trees and ground cover much like a porcupine. This girdling can easily kill young plants and is not healthy for trees or other shrubs. We had at the store a display out by our sign that contain some beautiful Blue Star Junipers that voles completely destroyed a few winters ago. At first it looked like they just ate the shrubs browned out from the cold or snow piled up on them, but closer inspection showed that all the bark had been eaten off all the stems. This was the work of a vole. 

Shrews are comparatively small, most no larger than a mouse. In general, shrews are terrestrial creatures that forage for seeds, insects, nuts, worms, and a variety of other foods in leaf litter and dense vegetation. They have small eyes and generally poor vision, but have excellent senses of hearing and smell. They are very active animals, with voracious appetites. 

Shrews have unusually high metabolic rates, above that expected in comparable small mammals. Shrews can eat 1/2 to 2 times their own body weight in food daily and in the winter months when seeds, insects, nuts and worms are in short supply they will supplement their diet with tender bark. 

So when inspecting your plants this spring for damage, look a little lower than usual as these small creatures can do a lot of damage in a small amount of time. 

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