Signs of Voles
The most easily identified sign of meadow vole presence is a system of surface runways in the grass. Meadow voles create these runways by their feeding activities and keep them free of vegetation. The runways are generally about 1.5 inches wide. Bits of freshly cut vegetation and accumulations of vole droppings (brown or green in color and shaped like rice grains) in the runway are positive evidence they are being used. Vegetation, small roots, or mold in the runways indicate that the voles are no longer using them. Pine voles do not use surface runways, so their presence is much harder to detect. In apple orchards, tiny, elongated tooth marks on apples on the ground are signs of both meadow voles and pine voles.
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