Kitchen Garden Forum

Living as we do in an agricultural area, beside a river, I might have expected us to see more rats. In fact I had seen no evidence of them for a few years until I started noticing tunnels into and under poultry houses and runs. Sure sign I thought. Then I read a letter in the Observer a few weeks back quoting surveys that suggested that (excluding rats in sewers) the rat population of the UK was probably a lot less than was thought, and that there are probably about 10 times as many voles. I did a little observation at dusk and finally spotted a couple of these fellows (not my picture - courtesy of Wikipedia) - bank voles. Body about 4 inches long, plus tail, and fast movers.



My question is this: has anyone got experience of voles, damage etc (apart from the tunnels which I keep putting my foot in!)?

And my comment is this: maybe many of the sightings of rats in gardens are actually of voles. Any ideas?

Dear Alan, thats very reassuring to know, but i don't think they could have done the survey in Bedforshire. The Rattus norvegicus is quite prolific, and they are at least 9 inches plus tail.

I'm sorry but i have little experience of Voles.

Alan, we have bank voles living in the dry stone walls which run along our garden and allotment. I think it is they, rather than field mice, which occasionally dig up and eat the flower bulbs in the greenhouse and I have certainly watched them climbing up a pea plant and eating the peas out of a pod. But bank voles are quite tiny animal and almost round with a very blunt nose, much smaller than rats and not as long and thin, when running.

This year many of the petals of a clump of snowdrops next to one of the walls were all eaten, I would think by bank voles again.

We have loads of bank voles in our garden. Any brick, old carpet or covering of any sort is always riddled underneath with their holes, which are smaller than rat holes. How do I know it is voles? They've leapt out almost underneath my spade and my elderly cat has caught them. We also have rats from time to time in our barns. They seem to inhabit different territories.