Outbreak

Agriculture

Virology

Ecology

Geography

Vole

Microtus

Arvicolinae

Population

Environmental protection

Medicine

Biology

Environmental health

Journal of Pest Science

Common voles ( Microtus arvalis ) are widespread in the European agricultural landscape from central Spain to central Russia. During population outbreaks, significant damage to a variety of crops is caused and the risk of pathogen transmission from voles to people increases. In 2019, increasing or unusually high common vole densities have been reported from several European countries. This is highly important in terms of food production and public health. Therefore, authorities, extension services and farmers need to be aware of the rapid and widespread increase in common voles and take appropriate measures as soon as possible. Management options include chemical and non-chemical methods. However, the latter are suitable only for small and valuable crops and it is recommended to increase efforts to predict common voles outbreaks and to develop and field test new and optimized management tools.

Europe-wide outbreaks of common voles in 2019