PINE VOLE CONTROL WITH HERBICIDES

The pine vole, M. pinetorum, has become the number one problem in many West Virginia orchards. It\u27s deep subterranean tunnel system makes it more difficult to control than other voles. A decade ago the vole population was limited almost entirely to the apple orchard. This undoubtedly correlates to the abundance of vegetative ground cover found in the apple orchard as contrasted to the more cleanly cultivated peach orchard. The cultural methods used in the peach orchard have changed toward a sod culture similar to that of the apple orchard and at the same time the vole problem in the peach orchard has increased