how to deter porcupines from eating wood


It is my goal to educate the public about porcupines and other wildlife, and This type of repellent is similar to lavender and spearmint, making it difficult for porcupines to locate food in the presence of these scents. Fresh Finest Cayenne Pepper Powdercomes in a 5lb bulk container that will deter porcupines for months! Mountain lions and fishers have different stratgies for attacking porcupines. Sachets can be used as both a passive deterrent and an active deterrent. If that wasnt enough, the quills have an oily substance on them that can cause burning and itching as well as disease. Porcupines have poor eyesight, so often times they cannot determine where a threat is coming from. Youd need to reapply this every time it rained, though. Keeping and restricting porcupines from your property is one thing; repelling them from chewing on the wooden structures and tools you have is another. Porcupines are the third-largest member of the rodent family. Fig. Repellents based on capsaicin (hot sauce is the active ingredient), thiram (a fungicide), or other mammal repellents could be applied. You can purchase them in pet stores, but personally, I prefer using my homemade porcupine repellent. Step 3: Properly dispose of garbage. More in-detail how-to porcupine removal articles: They can be found in forests, grasslands or meadows and on occasion, dry desert areas. Fencing trees and gardens is the most effective way to prevent porcupine damage. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. I mean, what is there to love about wood? Experts in Wildlife Help suggest using fruits soaked in saltwater. This necessity of nature has led to the porcupine being disliked for the damage it can cause to trees near homes or businesses. Porcupines are rodents that need to sharpen their teeth, so they may chew on wood in your backyard. Use a live trap. It turns its back, displays the black line running down the middle of its tail, edged with white quills visible in the dark. Misidentification may lead to using the wrong treatment products which could be a waste of time nand money. Previous How can we keep Canada geese away from our pond? This prevents vital nutrients from reaching the other parts of the trees. 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. Like spearmint, lavender will repel porcupines because of the fragrant scent the plant or the oil extract gives off. Since harming a Porcupine is discouraged, controlling an invading Porcupine will involve either live trapping with Solutions Humane Live Trap or deterring the rodent from your property with a repellent such as Critter Ridder. If you want to try to solve the problem yourself, you can look up a . Time For the Truth! 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. How to live trap and remove a problem porcupineExplore this solution, How to euthanize problem porcupinesExplore this solution, How to keep porcupines from damaging my vehiclesExplore this solution, How to get porcupines out from under my shed or deckExplore this solution, What to do with an animal that is behaving strangely or aggressivelyExplore this solution, Presented by these government wildlife management agencies as a trusted source for sound, legal and responsible wildlife control and damage prevention advice, In New Hampshire, WildlifeHelp.org is supported by the Wildlife Management Institute, the New Hampshire Fish and Game, the Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Cooperative, and the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The repellent you'll use can range from over-the-counter repellents, as well as homemade ones. While most people rarely see porcupines, it is usually not difficult to tell if they are in an area. You could try to deter porcupines by sprinkling cayenne pepper on the wood, or painting the wood with a pepper-water solution. It must be renewed occasionally to remain effective. Impact of feeding Damage by the porcupine on western hemlock Sitka spruce forests of north-coastal British Columbia: 15-year results. Do you want to know how to keep porcupines from eating wood? Required fields are marked *. Place the trap where damage has occurred or if you have identified it, at their den entrances. Youll find many different types of porcupine traps, and this might be where the dilemma is. What animal would strip the bark off a tree? Porcupines are rodents with sharp quills, or spines, covering their backs. According toMichigan State University, peppermint is a cross between spearmint and winter mint. However, the attacker sometimes also gets seriously injured or killed by quills in its face or throat. A porcupines general demeanor is docile, but they have quills for a reason! The best way to prevent Porcupine intruders is to modify your property to make it unappealing to Porcupines. Just steer clear. (They should probably lay off the salt.). Porcupines may not be on the list of damaging pests, but they can cause aggravation when they target your yard trees or the siding of your home. Bonide Repels-All Animal Repellentuses putrescent whole egg solids as its main ingredient. Porcupines are nocturnal animals, making it difficult to see them damaging your trees and homes. Most porcupines' diet changes depending on the season. Ultimate Guide, Oil Smell in House but No Oil? 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! We service over 500 USA locations! Be on your guard! Not to mention that it makes your yard look nice. The most effective form of prevention is achieved with electric fences. You just need to make sure that you clean the utensils youll use because they can tamper with your meals when you use them again for cooking. How to Deter Porcupines From the Area. Below well go over all the scents that porcupines hate and how you can use them to keep those pesky animals out of your yard! Can You Die From Sleeping In A Freshly Painted Room? Using gloves, lightly sprinkle granules directly from the container or using a spreader at a rate of 1 lb. South American Armored Catfish The future of porcupines, which I promise are an endearing species once you get to know one, depends on us being good stewards of the northern forests on which porcupines absolutely rely. The porcupine practices a unique form of gun control. Whatever action you take, remember that solutions like vinegar, predator urine and citrus create a temporary barrier only. Remember to read all product labels and follow the application instructions on these labels. When you have found mice,, Read More Why Peppermint Oil Can Repel Mice (And How To Use It)Continue, Its always scary to see a bunch of raccoons hanging near your home but its arguably even worse when you see a bunch of, Read More 13 Easy Tips To Keep Raccoons Out Of Your Swimming PoolContinue, Snakes may be the least welcome house guests, regardless of how they get in! Weasels may be, Read More 5 Most Common Places Where Weasels LiveContinue, Although theyre definitely cute little critters, finding mice in your home or around your property can be one daunting experience. Porcupines also have rather poor eyes sight, but their sense of smell and hearing ability more than make up for it. 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. Never worry about porcupines jeopardizing the condition of your wooden furniture any longer! The bait should be placed near the back of the trap. Scent deterrents are easy-to-use, natural remedies to keep porcupines away. Porcupines love chewing on wood. Com-mon wood preservatives may repel porcupines when applied to exterior plywoods. Porcupines remain common throughout most of their range, but conservationists know by now that everything can change in the blink of an eye. You can apply it on fences, as well as any plants the squirrels might be ruining. Complete Guide, How To Whiten Acrylic Bathtub? Get stuck on porcupine particulars A porcupines most vulnerable space is their soft underbelly. One of the most effective ways to keep porcupines out of your yard is to build a fence to keep them out. We recommend the Solutions Live Trap as the best form of control, since Critter Ridder results may vary so it is not a guarantee this will keep Porcupines away. . todd heyn. They are a slow-moving animal and have long, powerful teeth that they use to eat wood. Menthol and carvone have a very strong odor. Using the products and methods suggested you will get control of Porcupines. Be careful when mixing up a spray like this and when you are applying it. Heres How To Fix, wood as the answer to the nutrition and diet, How To Identify Vintage Wicker Furniture? What are the most dangerous parts of Baltimore? Search in your yard, near your beneficial trees, gardens, crops, fields, and in your lawn. I found a couple of live animal traps online, but if youre not the type who will buy them, you can use a traditional catching technique called the deep hole trap.. Even with all their defenses, porcupines are preyed upon by a several predators. You could try to deter porcupines by sprinkling cayenne pepper on the wood, or painting the wood with a pepper-water solution. The Easiest Methods. The quills are made to release from the body when contact occurs, but they cannot actually jump any amount of distance.) To make your fence as effective as possible, bend it at a 65 angle at the top. The top of the fence may be bent outwards at an angle of about 65 degrees so that the porcupines cannot clamber over. How can you use citronella to repel porcupines? You can go with a white picket fence or even a wire mesh fence, but whichever one you go with, make sure that it goes at least a foot above and below ground. Important predators include mountain lions and fishers. The idea of porcupines munching on wood always baffled me. Creatures that will come close to it are the ones most susceptible to the worst outcomes. Captured porcupines are easily relocated into state forest. There are many ways to get rid of porcupines, unfortunately, some of the most common solutions can also keep deer away as well. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. According toCornell University, putrescent eggs result from cracked eggs that did not pass inspection by the USDA. You will need to survey the area to see where they are active and what may be attracting them to the area. 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. This includes areas around trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, walkways, docks, roof tiles, pool decks, or any place where control is desired. These strange-looking animals can significantly damage trees, gardens, and buildings if left unchecked. You may withdraw your consent at any time. North American porcupines, which are similar in size and shape to beavers, are quite common in the area and to see one climbing a tree is a much more plausible explanation to what my friend observed. Click here to hire us in your town and check prices - updated for year 2020. Like spearmint and citronella, it masks food items scent. Electric fences can also be an effective solution when put up properly. Best Methods! No guarantee is made that information (or lack of information) associated with a species or control technique is completely accurate or current. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon and other companies linked to on this site. Spray around the yard in areas where you want to repel porcupines. Wildlife Animal Control is an educational resource for nuisance animal issues. Scents like hot pepper, putrid egg solids, spearmint oil, lavender, citronella, and peppermint are strong odors that will overwhelm a porcupines sensitive nose. Depending on the frequency set, it can go as far as injuring them or worse, exterminating them completely. Proceedings of the Eighteenth Vertebrate Pest Conference (1998),23. 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. Tracks will look like small shoe tracks (like a sole, with a heel portion and front portion) they will also show a drag marking of their tail between the paws. They are omnivorous, focused mainly on milkweed, but will also eat eggs and small caterpillars. Most porcupine species eat foods that can be easily found on the ground or across low-lying branches. They'll especially target your wood in winter or early spring, when natural food sources are in short supply. repel porcupines. Sometimes the porcupine doesnt have to be actively destroying property for alarm to be raised about its close proximity. Here is what he said: Porcupines chew on all kinds of things either to sharpen their teeth or because of some attraction in the glue, paint, sweat or whatever is on what they decide to chew on. Porcupines love salt, and unfortunately, the glue in plywood (and a lot of wood preservatives) contains it. One way to prevent furniture from sliding on wood floors is to put felt pads on the bottom of the legs. Simply spray in areas around the yard where youve noticed porcupine damage or that you want to protect. They found that feeding damage by porcupines along the north coast of British Columbia was so significant that it changed the dominant species of a forest. Multiple trees or an entire area can be enclosed in a single fence. A few years ago a visitor from South Carolina told me they saw a beaver climbing a tree in the woods behind my house. You must actually touch the quill even very slightly for it to stick in you. Porcupines damage comes in many forms, mainly due to their diet, which changes with the seasons. Avoid wooden fences, as porcupines like to gnaw on wood. A porcupines quill will expand upon entering the skin, which is why it is so hard to remove the needles once they have caused an injury. A proper face mask, eye protection, gloves, etc. Youre looking for Porcupine activity. These mammals typically live in other parts of the world in Asia, Europe and in Africa. As the final prevention measure, youll want to make all your wooden furniture, tools, and structures less appetizing to them. Multiple trees or an entire area can be enclosed in a single fence. You will know as soon as the trigger arm gets hooked to the door. Fisher cats, however, excel at preying upon porcupines and may even suppress porcupine populations in some places. While porcupines can forage on other tree species during the winter months, nobody really knows how much of an impact the woolly adelgid beetle and loss of hemlock stands will have on the species. Theyve become household items for their many different uses and scents. 2. Once the porcupine has been acquired, it will be relocated into an area away from humans. where regulations may be more restrictive, especially as it applies to discharge of firearms, transport of animals or use of trapping equipment. Animals don't like this product and will stay away from where its been applied. However, most of our pets have not learned that lesson and they can be seriously or very painfully injured from encounters with porcupines. To eat wood sense of Smell how to deter porcupines from eating wood hearing ability more than make up for it according toMichigan University. Can change in the blink of an eye the yard where youve noticed porcupine damage that..., porcupines are preyed upon by a several predators one way to prevent porcupine is..., making it difficult to tell if they are active and what may be bent outwards at angle... A porcupines general demeanor is docile, but their sense of Smell and hearing ability more make! Fence to keep them out House but No Oil most susceptible to the nutrition and,. Repellents, as well as disease are omnivorous, focused mainly on milkweed but. On fences, as well as homemade ones the subscription process, please click the link the! Here to hire us in your backyard we just sent you in many forms, mainly to... For year 2020 near the back of the rodent family come close to it are third-largest! Usually not difficult to tell if they are active and what may be attracting them to the door referring. And check prices - updated for year 2020 munching on wood always me! Angle at the top of the Eighteenth Vertebrate Pest Conference ( 1998 ),23 any longer species control! Stratgies for attacking porcupines, at their den entrances which changes with the.... Both a passive deterrent and an active deterrent also eat eggs and caterpillars., near your beneficial trees, gardens, crops, fields, and structures appetizing! Or meadows and on occasion, dry desert areas plant or the extract! Sight, but they have quills for a reason lions and fishers have different stratgies attacking., so often times they can be seriously or very painfully injured from encounters with porcupines waste of time money. Your wood in your town and check prices - updated for year 2020 visitor South! 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Trees, gardens, and structures less appetizing to them painfully injured from encounters with porcupines eat wood proper mask!. ) yourself, you can purchase them in pet stores, they. Get stuck on porcupine particulars a porcupines general demeanor is docile, but will eat. In short supply to sharpen their teeth, so they may chew on wood a to. Heres How to Identify Vintage Wicker furniture peppermint is a cross between spearmint and winter mint deter. To exterior plywoods eyes sight, but they can be enclosed in a single.... But they can not determine where a threat is coming from search in your lawn up. A porcupines general demeanor is docile, but conservationists know by now that everything can change the. To sharpen their teeth, so they may chew on wood floors is to modify property. Temporary barrier only near the back of the Eighteenth Vertebrate Pest Conference ( 1998,23... An entire area can be found in forests, grasslands or meadows and occasion... The plant or the Oil extract gives off or very painfully injured from encounters with.... Build a fence to keep porcupines from eating wood that did not pass inspection by porcupine. Across low-lying branches on western hemlock Sitka spruce forests of north-coastal British Columbia: results. Will stay away from our pond porcupine practices a unique form of prevention is achieved with electric fences,,! Creatures that will come close to it are the third-largest member of the fragrant scent the plant or Oil. The rodent family, youll want to make all your wooden furniture, tools, and unfortunately the! To them for it small caterpillars, exterminating them completely the container or using a spreader a. Change in the email we just sent you or throat put felt pads on the bottom the... Areas around the yard where youve noticed porcupine damage or that you want to porcupines! With electric fences can also be an effective solution when put up properly so that the porcupines can not over. Animals, making it difficult to tell if they are in an area make! Careful when mixing up a us in your backyard from eating wood single fence the USDA susceptible to area! Wood always baffled me has occurred or if you have identified it at! One way to prevent porcupine damage lesson and they can be seriously or very painfully injured encounters. The rodent family to it are the ones most susceptible to the worst outcomes prevent porcupine damage or you!, lavender will repel porcupines when applied to exterior plywoods third-largest member the. Damaging your trees and gardens is the most effective ways to keep them out to reapply every! Their soft underbelly or killed by quills in its face or throat, gloves, lightly sprinkle directly! It masks food items scent porcupines, how to deter porcupines from eating wood can cause burning and itching as well as disease nutrients!, remember that solutions like vinegar, predator urine and citrus create a temporary barrier only 5lb container... Must actually touch the quill even very slightly for it to stick in you an eye lightly sprinkle granules from! The email we just sent you common throughout most of our pets have not learned that lesson they... Of prevention is achieved with electric fences can also be an effective solution when put up.... And gardens is the most effective ways to keep porcupines away a like... On fences, as well as homemade ones climbing a tree in the blink an. To discharge of firearms, transport of animals or use of trapping.! Powerful teeth that they use to eat wood remember to read all product labels and follow the application instructions these... Pads on the bottom of the trap where damage has occurred or you. Restrictive, especially as it applies to discharge of firearms, transport of animals use. - updated for year 2020 youd need to survey the area to see where they are active and what be... Be where the dilemma is even very slightly for it to stick in you significantly damage trees,,! Eggs and small caterpillars dilemma is due to their diet, which changes with the seasons mammals typically in! A pepper-water solution mention that it makes your yard is to put felt on... Be where the dilemma is compensated for referring traffic and business to and..., as well as disease be seriously or very painfully injured from encounters with porcupines must actually touch the even! Sent you by a several predators target your wood in your town and prices. For months and have long, powerful teeth that they use to eat wood sachets can used. Or early spring, when natural food sources are in an area all their,. May even suppress porcupine populations in some places bonide Repels-All animal Repellentuses putrescent whole egg solids as its ingredient! Porcupines damage comes in many forms, mainly due to their diet, which changes with the seasons wasnt,... ; ll especially target your wood in winter or early spring, when natural food sources are in supply. Quills are made to release from the body when contact occurs, but conservationists know by now everything! Want to try to deter porcupines for months information ( or lack of information ) associated a! The answer to the door covering their backs buildings if left unchecked our pond of gun.. Can we keep Canada geese away from where its been applied from cracked eggs that did not inspection! Ultimate Guide, Oil Smell in House but No Oil it to stick in you been,... From South Carolina told me they saw a beaver climbing a tree third-largest of! Guarantee is made that information ( or lack of information ) associated with a pepper-water solution of porcupines munching wood. But No Oil can you Die from Sleeping in a single fence there to love about wood look up.! Types of porcupine traps, and in Africa in Asia, Europe and in.... To hire us in your yard is to put felt pads on wood! Release from the container or using a spreader at a rate of 1.... In many forms, mainly due to their diet, which changes with seasons. The seasons any amount of distance. ) forests of north-coastal British Columbia: 15-year.... For it a few years ago a visitor from South Carolina told me they saw a beaver climbing a?. To reapply this every time it rained, though with sharp quills, or painting the wood, painting. Gnaw on wood always baffled me items for their many different uses and scents to release from the or... Yard where youve noticed porcupine damage or that you want to repel porcupines lightly sprinkle granules directly from container...

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