Biocontrol of Common Vole Populations by Avian Predators <i>Versus</i> Rodenticide Application

Machar, Ivo; Harmáček, Jaromír; Vrublova, Katerina; Filippovová, Jarmila; Brus, Jan

doi:10.3161/15052249pje2017.65.3.010

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Due to these limitations, some view falconry as impractical for use in large scale agriculture (Kenward 1978). Others, however, cite positive outcomes associated with falconry in agriculture, including increasing predation pressure, decreasing the cost of biological controls applied to agricultural land (Machar et al 2017), and minimizing the use of fields by nuisance birds during peak activity (Navarro-Gonzalez and Jay-Russell 2016).…”

Section: Overview Of Bird Deterrentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Bird Deterrents Used in Agriculture

Rivadeneira¹,

Kross²,

Navarro-González³

et al. 2018

vertebrate_pest_conference

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Animal intrusion causes significant agricultural losses each year. Wild and domestic animals destroy crops by eating and trampling them, and can pose food safety risks due to the deposition of feces on or near the crops. Birds are one of the most challenging animals to keep out of agricultural fields. Growers try countless methods to deter them, including visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory means. While some of these methods work some of the time, none provide stand-alone protection all the time. Recently there has been interest in developing technology-based solutions to deter nuisance birds in agricultural settings, while others are exploring more natural methods, including falconry. We provide a general overview of bird deterrent methods that are currently in use in agricultural settings, and explore options for novel methods. We found that very few independent scientific studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of most bird deterrent methods. Ultimately, a multi-tiered approach using integrated pest management techniques will likely be most useful as it can be tailored to meet the needs of individual farmers. KEY WORDS: animal intrusion, birds, bird deterrent, falconry, integrated pest management, nuisance bird Proc. 28 th Vertebr. Pest Conf. (D. M. Woods, Ed.) Published at Univ. of Calif., Davis. 2018. Pp. 218-223. Table 1. Bird deterrents commonly used to protect fresh produce fields from nuisance birds.

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Section: Overview Of Bird Deterrentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Bird Deterrents Used in Agriculture

Rivadeneira¹,

Kross²,

Navarro-González³

et al. 2018

vertebrate_pest_conference

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“…Finding greater damage near perch sites was unexpected, as enhancement of raptor predation with perches has proven effective at rodent management in other studies (Kay et al, 1994;Machar et al, 2017). However, reduction in rodent populations may not translate to reduction in crop depredation if prey populations are low.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to evaluating ways to predict vole damage, our second objective (2) was to assess possible strategies to mitigate risk. One approach to limit rodent populations in agricultural systems is to encourage raptor hunting by installing artificial perches within fields (Hall, Howard, & Marsh, 2006;Kay, Twigg, Korn, & Nicol, 1994;Machar, Harmacek, Vrublova, Filippovova, & Brus, 2017;Sheffield, Crait, Edge, & Wang, 2001). Predators can reduce damage directly by killing voles and indirectly by inhibiting vole movements (Desy, Batzli, & Liu, 1990), which may limit their access to crop plants.…”

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confidence: 99%

Vole activity surveys predict damage to cover‐cropped soybean plants

Prieur

2020

Annals of Applied Biology

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Across the Midwestern United States, farmers have increasingly used winter cover crops in corn-soybean rotations to improve soil health. Although this practice has many benefits, it also can provide habitat for potential pest species, such as voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus and M. ochrogaster). Voles have been reported by farmers to damage soybean plants in fields which had recently been cover cropped, but little has been done to quantify levels of damage related to their abundance. We evaluated the relationship between vole sign and soybean plant damage to help farmers manage this unintended consequence of using cover crops. We counted the frequency of vole sign along transects in cover-cropped fields. In addition to vole sign, we considered influence of cover-crop density, distance to field edge, and presence of artificial raptor perches when fitting negative binomial generalised linear mixed models to predict amount of soybean plant damage. An additive model including all explanatory variables and factors best explained variation in vole damage. Number of burrow entrances, presence of raptor perches, and cover-crop density were positively associated with soybean plant damage. Burrow entrances were most strongly associated with damage. Farmers can use frequency of burrow entrances to predict relative amounts of damage likely to be incurred; conditions in a field should be considered when deciding to manage for reduced vole populations before planting soybeans.

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“…A significant level of crop protection is achieved by stimulating the presence of predators in the field [32]. Although acceptable protection is possible by applying other nonchemical measures [33][34][35], rodenticide treatments are still the most widespread and most frequent measure for controlling common voles in alfalfa crops, particularly in situations of great urgency to reduce vole numbers, i.e., in periods of their high abundance or seasons of overpopulation. Different anticoagulant active ingredients are used in plant protection products or biocides in total amounts not exceeding 50 ppm.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) in Alfalfa Crops Using Reduced Content of Anticoagulants

Jokić

Blažić

2021

Agronomy

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The common vole, Microtus arvalis, which is prone to cyclic overpopulation, poses a significant threat to sustainable alfalfa production by either chewing shoots periodically or gnawing and damaging roots permanently. In areas with established vole colonies, the density of alfalfa plants was shown to decrease 55.3–63.4%. Simultaneously, the number of alfalfa shoots decreased by 60.9–71.7%. These experiments were conducted in compliance with an EPPO standard method in alfalfa fields at three geographically remote sites. The experiment tested the efficacy of the most widely used acute rodenticide zinc phosphide (2%), and anticoagulants applied at significantly reduced doses of active ingredients, i.e., bromadiolone (25 ppm) and brodifacoum (25 ppm), as well as a combination of these active ingredients at a low concentration (10 + 10 ppm). Three weeks after treatment, zinc phosphide and brodifacoum achieved the highest average efficacy, at 98.5% and 92.05%, respectively, while the average efficacy of the anticoagulant combination and bromadiolone was 87.2% and 75.5%, respectively. The achieved efficacy of baits based on brodifacoum and the combination of brodifacoum and bromadiolone in controlling common voles indicates their possible utilization in the field. Baits with 25 ppm of brodifacoum and the combination of bromadiolone and brodifacoum (10 + 10 ppm) showed satisfactory results and their introduction could significantly improve pest management programs for rodent control. At the same time, the use of anticoagulant rodenticides with reduced contents of active ingredients would significantly reduce their exposure to non-target animals, especially predators and vultures. By further improving the palatability of tested baits for target rodent species, their efficacy and safety of application would be significantly improved.

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Biocontrol of Common Vole Populations by Avian Predators Versus Rodenticide Application

Cited by 14 publications

References 35 publications

A Review of Bird Deterrents Used in Agriculture

A Review of Bird Deterrents Used in Agriculture

Vole activity surveys predict damage to cover‐cropped soybean plants

Control of Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) in Alfalfa Crops Using Reduced Content of Anticoagulants

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