Family vole and rat
Neither the term “rat” nor the term “vole” describes a single animal, but an animal family. If you see a "rat" in the garden, it is usually a brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) and if a vole nibbles on its vegetables, it is probably an Eastern water vole (Arvicola terrestris) behind. Therefore, in the following, these two animals will be compared.
also read
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Optical differences between vole and rat
One fact makes it easy to distinguish voles from rats: rats are a good double that big as Eastern water voles. Also, their tails are usually almost as long as their bodies, while the tail of voles is only about half as long as the rest of their body.
| Vole (eastern water vole) | Brown rat | |
|---|---|---|
| Head to torso length | 13-16.5 cm | 18-26 cm |
| Tail length | 1/2 of the body length | roughly equal to the length of the body |
| Ears | small, round, 12–15 mm | small, round, 17–23 mm |
| Coat color | Upper side light to dark brown, abdomen and tail clearly lighter | gray-brown, reddish or dark brown, the underside mostly of the same color |
Differences in the behavior of the vole and the rat
Based on the damage, voles and rats can be reliably differentiated: While voles dig passages in the lawn and eat roots from below, Rats build deeper tunnels under road slabs or near the house and feast on just about anything: Compost is especially important to them popular. Rats tend to ignore fresh roots and vegetables. Holes in the wall are definitely from rats, damage to garden plants from voles
Further differences in behavior are:
| Vole (eastern water vole) | Brown rat | |
|---|---|---|
| activity | crepuscular and nocturnal | crepuscular and nocturnal |
| Corridors | mole-like hills, many entrances | underground earthworks with storerooms |
| Fecal behavior | Excrement at the entrance, vole excrement small, shiny, plump | Feces everywhere, Rat droppings sausage-shaped, matt |
| Social behavior | loner | Living in large groups |
| nourishment | Roots and vegetables | Omnivores |
Rat hole versus vole hole
Because of the difference in size, it's clear that a rat hole is slightly wider than a vole hole. Voles build mole-like mounds at the entrance, while rats can only see the rat hole. In addition, voles like to build numerous entrances, while rats usually only create two entry holes.
Tips
It doesn't matter if you are a vole or Rats in the garden there is always a need for action. As Drive away voles, you can find out here.
