After first having problems with voles in my vegetable garden this year and now that a mole seems to have moved in (yes, I can tell the difference... frustratingly, that’s more or less the only result search engines turn up for my initial question), I’ve been wondering whether voles and moles tolerate each other, or whether the mole’s presence prevents the voles from attacking my vegetables again? I couldn’t find an answer right away, what do you think?

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[–] GardenGeek [S] 3 points 1 day ago (1 child)

That's a very interesting read indeed! Thank you very much.

Unfortunately (or luckily) moles are under protection where I live and I personally also wouldn't want to eradicate them. But the paper recommends destroying the tunnels... maybe that way I can get both moles and voles to move elsewhere.

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[–] BCOVertigo@piefed.world 2 points 1 day ago

It's a good idea, and I think if you fail to herd them it will be related to where they placed their larder.

In Earthworm Ecology, edited by renowned entomologist Clive Edwards, researcher James P. Curry notes, “Large quantities of mutilated earthworms are stored in caches within a mole fortress as future food.” One study found 470 live earthworms in a single chamber. This amounted to nearly 2 pounds, of worms. A study of moles in Britain found a single mole consumes approximately 39 to 70 pounds of earthworms annually.

I wonder if voles are thieves, and a population boom in a mole tunnel system results in the mole starving?

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