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A lot of you may read the title of this article and ask yourself what the heck is a vole? That's a really interesting question, because there is no doubt that a good portion of this country has no idea what this little rodent even is.
A vole is a small rodent -like creature, that is related directly to the mouse, yet has a little shorter body that is much stock ear, has a furry tail to it, smaller sized ears then you would find on a mouse, and different shapes in its teeth, especially in the molars. Amazingly, even though you rarely hear about these creatures, there are actually 150 different species of voles. This tells you that they are a pretty substantial creature out there that you just don't hear a lot about.
The primary reason that you probably don't hear about this animal is because of how similar it looks to the mouse. The likelihood is that the vast majority of people would confuse these two animals, and so they may think they have a mouse when they actually have a vole.
Regardless of which one of these creatures you have, you likely don't want voles around your house for the same reason that you wouldn't want my mice there. They pose a similar health risk to you and your family that mice do, plus you have the issue of the destruction they can cause in the waste that they leave behind. These are plenty enough reasons to try to take the kind of steps to keep these rodents away. The question is how do you keep away voles?
Because of the similarity between these rodents and mice, this is a good place to begin. What is meant here is that the same measures that you would take to keep mice away is what you should use to keep away voles.
Where to begin is by ensuring that you remove away any potential sources of food that a vole could get into. You should ensure that you clean your counters thoroughly each day, sweep and mop the floor, stick all food items in a container that you conceal, and pick up your dog or cat dish each night so that these little rodents do not have a source of food. The best thing you can do to keep them away is to give them no reason to come around. These steps will help you to do that.
You also want to make sure that you have done all that you can to keep these animals from being able to gain access into your home. This means that you need to check to ensure that there are no holes, cracks, or loose boards that allow the animal to be able to get into your home. Check around the foundation and in any areas where there can be a potential location for the vole to get into your home. If you block these things and don't allow it access, you can help to keep it away.
For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How To Guide: Who should I hire? - What questions to ask, to look for, who NOT to hire.
How To Guide: do it yourself! - Advice on saving money by doing wildlife removal yourself.
Guide: How much does wildlife removal cost? - Analysis of wildlife control prices.
Animals in the attic - read about the common species.
Noises in the attic - how to identify critters by their sounds.