Important predators include mountain lions and fishers. Lavender is a perennial herb that gives off a strong scent. Weve all heard about the amazing mosquito repellent called citronella. It also depends on where the porcupine lives. Remember to read all product labels and follow the application instructions on these labels. Properly dispose of and store your garbage. The easiest way to avoid the heartache caused by the sight of a groundhog-devoured garden is to grow plants that groundhogs ( Marmota monax) don't eat. Porcupines have also been known to enter homes through the dog or cat door in search of food. Misidentification may lead to using the wrong treatment products which could be a waste of time nand money. Unlike beavers (the regular aquatic kind), which leave very deep marks in trees they have gnawed on, porcupines just chew down to the cambium and leave behind very shallow marks or grooves where their incisors scrape against the wood. 4. Pulling the quills often traumatizes the flesh more than the initial stab. Search in your yard, near your beneficial trees, gardens, crops, fields, and in your lawn. Typically two by three-inch fencing, galvanized or plastic-coated for resistance to the weather, will exclude woodchucks, raccoons and opossums, but not small rodents. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. Isthere any difference? Coyotes and wolves do occasionally kill a porcupine by seizing it by the nose and flipping it over and attacking its unprotected belly. There are many repellent products out there, but these are not guaranteed to work. Don't leave standing water in the yard or garden. To get rid of a porcupine in your tree, place a steel cage trap at the base of the tree, baited with some salted meat. Think of it similar to your pup barking at themselves in the window. The first is to spray PEST RID over the area where you see the marks. Porcupines arent as problematic as some other wild animals, and in most cases provide a natural tree pruning service that keeps a forest stand healthier. Porcupines have poor eyesight, so often times they cannot determine where a threat is coming from. Cayenne peppers and other hot peppers developed a capsaicin defense against herbivores. Porcupines won't shoot them at you but if you do come into contact with them, they can be quite painful.". Yummy! Heres How To Fix, wood as the answer to the nutrition and diet, How To Identify Vintage Wicker Furniture? You'd need to reapply this every time it rained, though. All Current Publications, 2053. If this doesn't work, live trap them or install some Yard Gards. This solution has been the product of deep research and experiments done by various homeowners from all over the country. A tree with a porcupine in it can become a hotspot for wildlife activity within a frozen landscape that otherwise appears void of mammalian life. Only Northeast state nuisance wildlife control operators are permitted to sign up on WildlifeHelp.org at this time. Chances are that these pests may knock over the trap to reach the food inside. If you didnt know these creatures were rodents, you probably didnt know they have over thirty thousand needles that cover their bodies, that their quills can be used for fishing, or that they are considered an edible animal. The second reason is that hot sauce has a very pungent and strong odor. Copyright 2020 by Wildlife Animal Control. The addition of salt to the bait will ensure no innocent species are lured into the trap instead. And it works! Spray around the yard in areas where you want to repel porcupines. Porcupine fences should be at least 18 inches high and buried 6 inches in the ground. Scare tactics are a great way to repel porcupines and make them think twice about setting a foot (or paw!) An animal that takes up residence under or near a home poses a threat to all of the occupants in the dwelling, be they human or animal. Don't feed or interact with the raccoons. Its an antimicrobial, a bug repellent, and a flavoring agent for candy and chewing gum. ft. I will admit to having been almost as equally confused by the first porcupine I ever saw; the prickly beast was standing on the top of a talus slope reaching upward with one arm above its head towards some basswood branches. Create a cayenne pepper spray. Best Methods! Be on your guard! Theyve become household items for their many different uses and scents. Mountain lions and fishers have different stratgies for attacking porcupines. Porcupines are the second largest rodent in Massachusetts after beavers. Complete Guide, How To Whiten Acrylic Bathtub? Luckily for me, Vito isnt the biggest pest in my life. Porcupines can be easily identified by the thick layer of brown/black fur and thousands of long spiky quills (or spines) all over their body. Right Way to Wash! Pull the trigger arm forward to lift the door plate. Lavande Sur Terres 24 Packs French Lavender Sachets, Mighty Mints 16oz Peppermint Oil Rodent Repellent Spray, Dimex EasyFlex Plastic Tree Trunk Protectors. This causes porcupines to search elsewhere for food and leave your yard alone. This material is sprayed or painted on the plants sub-ject to damage. Cottagelife.com is part of the Blue Ant Media Canada network 2023 Blue Ant Media. This site is owned and operated by Pest Pointers LLC | pestpointers.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Another way is to use rubber or . Step 2 Encourage trees to grow leafy closed canopies by cutting back on tree trimming and by watering and fertilizing the trees in your yard. Alaska Wildlife News is an online magazine published by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Email us at info@wildlifeanimalcontrol.com - Animal Education - Wildlife Control in Over 600 Locations, Dead Animal Control Education and Services, Click here to hire us in your town and check prices. Using gloves, lightly sprinkle granules directly from the container or using a spreader at a rate of 1 lb. Spearmint is an herb in the mint family. Porcupines remain common throughout most of their range, but conservationists know by now that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Most notably, Porcupines like to destroy trees by eating bark and branches. Bait the trap with a salted material, cloth sponge, or any other salted material. The top of the fence may be bent outwards at an angle of about 65 degrees so that the porcupines cannot clamber over. The addition of salt to the bait will ensure no innocent species are lured into the trap instead. The porcupines role and value in the ecosystem is less than obvious, but they are an important part of the food web as an herbivore and a prey species, and their foraging behavior transports food and nutrients from tree canopies to the forest floor by way of dropped branches and large volumes of scat. To keep porcupines away for good, youll need to eliminate or protect whatever is attracting them to your yard in the first place. Fencing trees and gardens is the most effective way to prevent porcupine damage. Previous How can we keep Canada geese away from our pond? Porcupines are excellent climbers, but an overhang will discourage them. Spearmint oil isawesome. - Top Remedies! - I have a new homemade wood deer stand and i have a porcupine eating the wood. Porcupine hunting is something I do every year. When Im not out roaming around 50+ acres of pastures, woods, and a freshwater bass pond, Im at my computer writing on Pest Pointers. They also look at wood as the answer to the nutrition and diet they need. Porcupines love salt and will be inclined to enter the trap as long as it is on a flat surface and doesn't wobble. These nocturnal animals tend to keep to themselves, but can become a nuisance in certain situations. To use lavender to repel porcupines, you have a couple of different options: Using the lavender plant is a great choice if youre looking for an overallpassiveway to deter porcupines. A professional wildlife remover will come in and trap the porcupine with a live-trap baited with something coated in salt. However, in certain regions, porcupines can be a serious menace. Like spearmint and citronella, it masks food items scent. are highly recommended. These materials attract rodents like rats, skunks, and even squirrels. But citronellas repellent effect isnt limited to annoying buzzing insects. They are omnivorous, focused mainly on milkweed, but will also eat eggs and small caterpillars. These spines provide protection from predators, but they also make the porcupine a unique animal to study. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. Both contain menthol. What animal would strip the bark off a tree? Must-Know! How To Put Up Led Lights Without Ruining The Paint? If you leave porcupines alone, they will continue on their way and leave you alone. change state, New Hampshire > Animal is gnawing bark and clipping twigs from trees and shrubs > Porcupine. Once inside the house, they often are not able to find their way back out and end up hunkered down in the corner of a dark room. I grew up in an area of Upstate, NY where dealing with wildlife pests is a common occurrence. Place a bait near the repellent and turn it on. Need porcupine removal in your hometown? They will target wooden tool handles, siding, plywood, and anything else made of wood. Its unreasonable to cut down all your trees, remove gardens, and put a fence around your entire house just for the sake of these trundling rodents. Just steer clear. Multiple trees or an entire area can be enclosed in a single fence. They'll especially target your wood in winter or early spring, when natural food sources are in short supply. Even at a concentration of just 0.06% hot sauce, porcupines were deterred. Their diet high in potassium has led them to gnaw on the wood of outhouses in camping grounds because (as . Here are a few proven, and most effective ways of keeping porcupines off your property. Enclose the area with an 18- to 24-inch poultry wire fence, making certain the bottom of the wire mesh is at or below ground level. Step 3 Use wood preservatives on your deck and wooden outdoor structures. The first reason is that capsaicin activates pain receptors in the mouth. Working Days/Hours:Mon - Fri / 8:00AM - 6:00PMSat / 9:00AM - 5:00PM, Address:2739 Pasadena Blvd, Pasadena, TX 77502. Now, porcupines are small critters, and they are skilled enough to force their bodies even though small, tight holes. Interestingly, porcupines subsist almost entirely on bark and twigs throughout the winter, a diet offering about as much nutritional value as plywood, which I find fascinating because almost every northern woodland resident knows porcupines LOVE eating plywood! Porcupines also have rather poor eyes sight, but their sense of smell and hearing ability more than make up for it. Trick the porcupine by placing the bait at the edge, and then at the bottom of the pit. In addition to that, you can also use raw, untreated wood. Completely enclose small trees with wire baskets or wrap the trunks of valuable larger trees with 30-inch bands of aluminum flashing at the base. Dropping twigs and fruit to the forest floor benefits other wildlife down below. It can be applied to lawns, garden paths, and flowerbeds. Otherwise, hanging them around the garden or yard is a great way to keep porcupines out before they cause Damage. 3. The most effective form of prevention is achieved with electric fences. per 40 sq. Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and give your rose bushes a good soaking. you wish to attempt to solve the problem yourself. Make sure that your trash is picked up regularly. This website primarily references personal learning experiences. Apparently porcupines are attracted to anything salty (road salt after the winter) and also, for some reason automotive rubber including brake hoses and tires, half-shaft boots, etc. Letti & Co is user supported. . ft. You can either use repellent alongside a live trap, or use repellent as an alternative to trapping. Each 1.25 lbs will protect approximately 50 sq. They eat just about any plant matter they can find, including bark, and are particularly fond of eating hemlock buds and branches. Rotten eggs work to repel porcupines because the odor is so strong that it overwhelms a porcupines sense of smell. Unlike putrescent eggs, spearmint smells good to us humans! Most porcupine species eat foods that can be easily found on the ground or across low-lying branches. Information about how to catch a porcupine - remove one stuck in the house. Essential oils have exploded in popularity over the years. Click here to hire us in your town and check prices - updated for year 2020. Fencing is a basic way to protect your property. During winter a porcupine might spend days on end foraging in a single tree, dropping bits of branches and buds on the ground, which can attract other animals such as snowshoe hare, as well as their predators. cases of porcupine removal, please go to the home page and click the USA map, where I have wildlife removal experts How do you keep porcupines from eating wood? The have no reason to gnaw into the wood. Captured porcupines are easily relocated into state forest. A proper face mask, eye protection, gloves, etc. For Porcupines, we suggest using a piece of wood (preferably a branch from willow, cottonwood, or aspen), or a piece of cloth that has been soaked in a water-salt solution. Porcupines love salt, and unfortunately, the glue in plywood (and a lot of wood preservatives) contains it. You can get traps at most hardware or garden stores and some animal control officers will either let you rent one or will come out and set the traps themselves. Step 4 However, few predators have figured out how to get around their quills to attack this weak spot. This site is intended to provide education and information about how to keep porcupines away from your house, yard, garbage cans, shed, so that you can make an informed decision Porcupines from surrounding areas will usually A piece of wood is also an excellent bait for trapping. These mammals typically live in other parts of the world in Asia, Europe and in Africa. Even if they penetrate the fence I made, I had the guarantee that they would not look at my wooden pieces like a buffet! Despite being solitary and docile, there are a few reasons why you need to repel porcupines. One of the worlds largest rodents, porcupines are a far cry from the gerbils we have running nowhere fast in little plastic wheels inside our childrens bedrooms. This will ensure the scent stays strong and those pesky porcupines stay out of your yard for good! 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Easily found on the ground or across low-lying branches are omnivorous, focused mainly on milkweed but... About its close proximity its unprotected belly the plants sub-ject to damage an area of Upstate, NY dealing! The glue in plywood ( and a flavoring agent for candy and chewing gum d need to reapply this time! Overwhelms a porcupines sense of smell can either use repellent as an alternative to trapping alarm be! And trap the porcupine by seizing it by the nose and flipping it over and attacking its unprotected belly in.