During the pretreatment survey, 164 rat-damaged nuts were counted on
the ground within the reference plot and 76 within the test plot
(Table 3). Rat activity, determined by tracking tiles, averaged 82.7
percent in the reference plot and 76.0 percent in the test area. R.
r. mindanensis, R. exulans, R. argentiventer, and Suncus murinus were
collected in both areas. In the treated plot, rat activity had
dropped to a negligible level by the seventh month after initial
treatment and remained low thereafter. Similarly, rat-damaged nuts
were found in the test plot after 5 months of treatment. Both rat
activity and numbers of damaged nuts were much greater in the refer-
ence plot than in the test area (53.1 percent vs. 12.1 percent, and
349 vs. 33, respectively). Production in the test plot averaged 3.2
nuts/tree/month, which was 2.2 times greater than production in the
reference plot and indicates that the wax-block treatment provided
effective rodent control.