Can you recommend any methods to remove bank voles? We are plagued by them. They burrow just under the surface of my lawn, leaving it full of varicose vein-like brown trails.

BC, by e-mail

There are two common species of vole in this country: the short-tailed field vole and the bank vole. Both can be found in gardens. A third species, the water vole, is endangered and protected under law.

Your description of the damage to your lawn does not quite fit my experience of either common species – field voles can leave trails through grass, but they are generally on, rather than under, the surface.

If voles of either species are the culprit, the problem is likely to resolve itself, as vole populations tend to boom and bust. At the peak of a cycle, many voles are pushed out, in this instance straying onto your lawn. By next year, the population should fall markedly and your lawn can return to normal.

Eradicating a population of voles is not without consequence: they form an important part of the diet of predatory birds such as barn owls and kestrels. The use of rodenticide has wider consequences and is a danger not just to voles, but to a wide range of wildlife. In addition, the carcasses of the dead and dying animals will be eaten by predators, which may then suffer secondary poisoning.

Richard Strand runs Pest Information Consultancy; www.pestfreehome.co.uk

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