You observe narrow, paired grooves that girdle a young tree at the ground line. Which pest is most likely responsible?

• A. Voles
• B. Deer
• C. Beavers
• D. Mice

Answer: (A)

Girdling the trunk at ground level with narrow, paired grooves is a telltale sign of vole feeding. Voles gnaw around the base of young trees, often on opposite sides, which leaves two close, parallel grooves that encircle the stem. This interrupts the flow of nutrients between leaves and roots and can kill young trees if the damage is severe. Other animals create different patterns: deer typically strip larger areas of bark in patches or on higher parts of the trunk, beavers chew through trunks or cut down trees with broad, rough gnawing marks, and mice zwar at the base but do not usually produce the neat, paired ground-line grooves that voles leave.