Voles, also known as mice, live in field, forest, and shrub habitats. Voles can cause extensive damage when they move into our turf and landscaped gardens in search of food and shelter. Voles do not hibernate and are active throughout the year. They can reproduce year round having many litters per year. Voles usually do not invade homes and should not be confused with the common house mouse.
There are seven North American mole species: the eastern mole, hairy-tailed mole, star-nosed mole, broad-footed mole, Townsend's mole, coast mole, and shrew mole. The most wide-ranging is the eastern mole, which is found from eastern Texas, north to southern South Dakota and eastward to the Atlantic Ocean.
Pocket gophers are medium sized burrowing rodents ranging from 5 to nearly 10 inches long and live underground almost all the time. They are called pocket gophers because of their fur-lined cheek pouches outside of the mouth, one on each side of the face. These pouches or "pockets" are used for carrying food. They are active year round. They are powerful diggers and have front paws with large claws.
How Can I Tell the Difference?
It is possible that you may have voles, moles and gophers all on the same property! Sometimes there is confusion figuring out what type of pest(s) you have because all three of these pests live the majority of their lives underground and are seldom seen