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IPM Scouting in Woody Landscape Plants

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Animal damage - meadow voles
IPM scouting in woody landscape plants > animal damage - meadow voles
Meadow voles (meadow mice) girdle plant roots and chew bark from around the base and trunks of trees and shrubs. Look for extensive runways through turfgrass leading from their burrows to woody plant material. Voles make surface runways (about 1.5 to 2 inches wide) through turfgrass, feed on the grass and leave piles of clippings and feces in the runways.
Meadow vole damage
Meadow vole damage
Vole injury Small, grooved tooth marks in wood are indicative of vole injury.
Management: Remove groundcover or mulch from around the base of trees and shrubs (3 feet away) to reduce protective cover for voles. Wrap trunks with tree wrap or hardware cloth to protect against girdling. Remove tree wrap after weather warms.

Additional information

This information was developed from A Pocket IPM Scouting Guide for Woody Landscape Plants by Diane Brown-Rytlewski. Purchase this in a pocket-sized guide for reference in the orchard from MSU Extension (publication E-2839).
The MSU IPM Program maintains this site as an access point to pest management information at MSU. The IPM Program is administered within the Department of Entomology, fueled by research from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, delivered to citizens through MSU Extension, and proud to be a part of Project GREEEN.
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Updated 7/11/07