Moles vs Voles: How to Tell Which Is in Your Yard

Moles are insect-eating tunnelers that push up volcano-shaped mounds and raised ridges but never eat your plants; voles are mouse-like rodents that make open surface runways and 1 to 1.5-inch holes and do eat roots, bulbs, and bark. The fastest tell: mounds and no plant damage means moles, while open holes, surface trails, and chewed plants or gnawed bark mean voles.

Most likely causes

  • Moles — volcano-shaped mounds and raised, spongy tunnel ridges, but no chewed plants
  • Voles — open 1 to 1.5-inch holes with no mound, plus snaking surface runways
  • Voles — gnawed bark at the base of young trees and shrubs (girdling)
  • Voles — bulbs vanishing or plants wilting and pulling loose from the soil

Not quite what you're seeing? Answer four quick questions and the clue finder will point you to a closer match.

Compare the possible causes

Possible cause Key signs When it happens How likely
Moles Volcano-shaped soil mounds pushed up from below, with a clean plug of dirt and no open entry hole Year-round, most visible in spring and fall when soil is moist and tunneling is active Very common
Moles Raised, squishy ridges of turf that give underfoot as you walk across the lawn Spring and fall, and after rain when soft soil makes shallow feeding tunnels easy to push Common
Voles Open, clean holes about 1 to 1.5 inches across with no mound of soil around the entrance Year-round, with populations peaking in fall and damage often discovered in early spring Common
Voles Snaking surface runways of matted or bare grass, about 1.5 to 2 inches wide, weaving through the turf Built through fall and winter and revealed dramatically when snow melts in early spring Common
Voles Gnawed bark around the base of young trees and shrubs, sometimes ringing the trunk completely Late fall through winter, when other food is scarce and voles feed under snow cover Common
Voles Bulbs missing from beds, or plants that wilt and lift easily because the roots below have been eaten Fall and winter for bulbs and roots; wilting often noticed in spring Less common

Visual clues to check

  • Ask first: is there a mound? A volcano of pushed-up soil means moles; an open hole with no mound points to voles
  • Ask next: are plants being eaten? Chewed bark, missing bulbs, or wilting plants mean voles, because moles never eat plants
  • Compare the openings: moles leave closed, plugged tunnels and mounds; voles leave open holes you can look down into
  • Underground vs surface: mole ridges are raised and spongy underfoot; vole runways are flat trails worn into the grass at ground level
  • Remember the food rule: moles eat grubs and earthworms, not roots, so soil damage without plant damage is almost always moles
  • Wait for the snow to melt: vole runways stay hidden under snow all winter, then show up as brown snaking trails across the lawn in early spring

The causes in detail

Moles

A cone or volcano of loose soil roughly 6 to 24 inches wide, with the dirt shoved straight up from a tunnel underneath, is the classic mole sign. Moles are insectivores that hunt earthworms and grubs, so you will see soil damage but never chewed leaves, bark, or bulbs. The mound has no obvious open doorway because the mole plugs it from below. See all moles signs →

Moles

Surface feeding tunnels show up as raised ridges that snake across the lawn and feel spongy when you step on them. These are the mole's shallow hunting runs, pushed up as it swims through soil chasing worms and grubs. The grass over the ridge may yellow because its roots are lifted away from the soil, but the plant itself is not being eaten. See all moles signs →

Voles

Voles dig small burrow entrances a bit larger than a chipmunk's is small, roughly the width of a quarter to a golf ball, and unlike moles they leave the hole open rather than mounded over. The holes usually sit at the ends of visible surface trails. Several openings scattered through a lawn or flower bed, all without mounds, point to voles rather than moles. See all voles signs →

Voles

Voles travel in a network of shallow runways worn into the thatch at ground level, not underground like mole ridges. The trails look like tiny paths of flattened, chewed, or bare grass connecting one hole to the next. They are often hidden by snow all winter, then appear all at once as brown highways across the lawn the moment the snow melts. See all voles signs →

Voles

Voles chew the bark at or just below the soil line, leaving irregular gnaw marks and small tooth grooves near the ground. When they strip bark all the way around a trunk, called girdling, they cut off the tree's flow of water and nutrients. This is the most damaging vole behavior and something moles never do, since moles do not eat plants at all. See all voles signs →

Voles

Because voles eat roots, tubers, and bulbs, a decisive vole clue is finding that tulip or crocus bulbs have vanished, or that a plant tugs loose because its roots are gone underneath. Moles get blamed for this, but moles do not eat plants; they only tunnel past roots hunting insects. If plants are being eaten from below, you are dealing with voles. See all voles signs →

When to worry

  • Bark chewed all the way around the base of a young tree or shrub — girdling can kill it, sometimes before spring
  • Multiple girdled trunks or a sudden spread of runways and holes, signaling a large, growing vole population
  • Bulbs and roots disappearing across a bed each season, which points to voles feeding steadily below ground
  • Damage moving from the lawn into a vegetable garden or newly planted trees, where losses add up fast

What to do now

  1. Confirm which animal you have first: look for a mound versus a runway versus chewed plants before doing anything else
  2. If it is moles, ease off grub-heavy fertilizing, tolerate the low numbers if you can, and simply tamp down ridges and rake mounds flat to repair the turf
  3. If it is voles, protect trunks with hardware-cloth or plastic tree guards sunk an inch or two into the soil and standing well above the expected snow line
  4. For voles, cut back tall ground cover and pull mulch back several inches from stems and trunks to remove the cover they hide in
  5. Keep grass mowed short, especially heading into fall, so voles have fewer places to build hidden runways
  6. For a persistent or spreading problem with either animal, call a licensed wildlife control professional who can identify and manage it correctly

What not to do

  • Don't use the same fix for both — moles and voles are completely different animals, and a mole treatment will do nothing for voles
  • Don't pour gasoline, bleach, or other chemicals into holes or tunnels — it's dangerous, illegal in many areas, and ruins the soil
  • Don't scatter rodenticide bait in the open, where it can poison pets, songbirds, and animals that eat a poisoned vole
  • Don't assume plant damage means moles — if roots, bulbs, or bark are being eaten, the culprit is voles
  • Don't leave young trees unguarded through winter if you've seen runways nearby, since girdling often happens under the snow

Frequently asked questions

How do I tell moles from voles?

Look for two things: mounds and plant damage. Moles push up volcano-shaped soil mounds and raised, spongy ridges but never eat plants. Voles leave open 1 to 1.5-inch holes, snaking surface runways in the grass, and clear plant damage like chewed bark and missing bulbs. Mounds with no plant damage means moles; open trails plus chewed plants means voles.

Do moles eat plants, roots, or bulbs?

No. Moles are insectivores that eat earthworms, grubs, and other soil insects, not plants. They can disturb roots and heave up seedlings while tunneling, but they do not chew bark, eat bulbs, or feed on roots. If your plants are actually being eaten, the animal is a vole, not a mole.

Which one is damaging my plants and bark?

Voles. Because they are rodents, voles eat roots, tubers, bulbs, and bark, and they often girdle young trees and shrubs by gnawing the bark all the way around the base near the ground. Moles do not eat any plant material. So chewed bark, vanished bulbs, and roots eaten from below all point to voles.

Why did runways suddenly appear across my lawn in spring?

Those are almost certainly vole runways that were hidden under the snow all winter. Voles keep traveling and feeding beneath snow cover, wearing shallow trails into the thatch, and the paths of matted or bare grass are revealed all at once when the snow melts. The grass usually greens back in as the season goes on.

Related yard clues

Yard Holes Dirt Mounds in Lawn: Mole, Gopher, or Ant? Read the Shape The shape of a dirt mound is the fastest identification tool in the yard: moles build round volcano-shaped mounds with no visible hole, pocket gophers build fan- or crescent-shaped mounds with a plugged hole to one side, and ants, earthworms, and digger bees leave much smaller piles. Match your mound to one of those shapes and you've usually named the animal. Read the guide → Yard Holes Tunnels in Grass: Mole or Vole? How to Tell in Seconds Tunnels in a lawn come in two distinct styles: raised, spongy ridges you can feel underfoot are mole feeding tunnels just below the surface, while flat, worn trails clipped into the grass itself are vole runways. Moles hunt worms and grubs under your turf; voles eat the grass and bark on top of it — so telling them apart decides everything about what to do next. Read the guide → Yard Holes One-Inch Holes in Lawn: Identify the Digger by Size Holes about an inch wide in a lawn are most often the work of voles, young chipmunks, ground-nesting bees, or — in wet, low-lying yards — crayfish. An inch is a telling size: it's too big for most insects and too small for rats or full chipmunk burrows, so checking depth, soil, and location will usually name the digger. Read the guide → Yard Holes Animal Holes in Yard: Identify the Digger by Hole Size The fastest way to identify an animal hole in your yard is by its diameter: pencil-width openings are insects, 1–2 inch holes are voles or chipmunks, 2–3 inch smooth holes suggest rats, 3–4 inch cone-shaped pits point to skunks, and anything 10 inches or wider with a fan of dirt is a groundhog. Whether there's a mound, whether the hole tunnels down or stays shallow, and when it appeared tell you the rest. Read the guide → Yard Holes Small Holes in Yard With No Mound: What's Digging? Small holes in your yard with no dirt mound are usually caused by squirrels, chipmunks, foraging birds, earthworms, or ground-nesting insects. The size of the hole, how deep it goes, the time of year, and whether the damage appeared overnight can narrow down the cause quickly. Read the guide →

Still not sure? Compare with these clues

Lawn Problems Spongy Lawn That Lifts Up? Grubs, Thatch, or Moles Below A lawn that feels spongy underfoot or lifts up like carpet usually means one of three things: white grubs have eaten the roots, a thick thatch layer has built up under the grass, or moles are tunneling just beneath the surface. A simple tug on the turf and a look underneath will tell you which one you're dealing with. Read the guide → Yard Holes Holes Around Tree Roots: Squirrels, Voles, or Wasps? Holes at the base of a tree usually belong to squirrels burying and retrieving nuts, voles working the mulch line, or rats denning in the sheltered pocket under the root flare — and sometimes to nothing living at all, since decayed old roots leave open channels in the soil. The one to identify before you get close is a yellowjacket colony nesting in a hollow among the roots. Read the guide → Plant Damage Bark Stripped From Trees: Squirrels, Deer, Voles, or Birds? The height of the damage tells you the most: bark gnawed at ground level is usually voles or rabbits, shredded bark from 1 to 4 feet up is deer rubbing their antlers, and stripped patches on upper branches point to squirrels. Neat horizontal rows of shallow holes are a sapsucker's work — and any damage that circles the whole trunk (girdling) puts the tree at real risk. Read the guide →