In contrast to small rodents such as wood mice and voles, and perhaps surprisingly, larger rodents such as rats have been relatively neglected by helminthologists.
However, the infectivity of voles was much higher than that of mice.
It is therefore extremely unlikely that there was any systematic difference between the voles in our treatment groups.
Quantitative associations were confined to the 2 vole species in the study.
In total, 109 (19 %) bank voles and 12 (8 %) wood mice were infected.
Since infected voles survive for several months, some of the voles trapped were probably infected before or shortly after the beginning of baiting.
All voles were culled and weighed, and blood smears prepared from blood taken from the heart.
Also, the massive infection can disturb the locomotion and escape ability of the voles making them more susceptible to predation by arctic foxes.
