What animal would strip the bark off a tree? They are a medium-sized, pigeon-toed animal with short legs, long claws, and a high-arching back. The list includes lynx, bobcats, coyotes, wolves, wolverines, and great horned owls. 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. You may not be able to remove all the things in your yard that attract porcupines. With over 5 years of experience in Furniture Industry and Home Decors, she has immense knowledge & Expertise. Any gardens or vegetation are at risk of being destroyed as well. That's my buddy, Vito. Visit our Terms and Conditions for more information. If that wasnt enough, the quills have an oily substance on them that can cause burning and itching as well as disease. Porcupines love salt and fruit, so apples with salt on them will be a perfect porcupine attractant. The main ingredient in hot sauce? - Lets Find Out, How To Get Water Stains Out Of Stainless Steel Refrigerator? This could usually be either a drought, food shortage or other conditions which put porcupines in a compromising position. 2. Can You Dry Colors And Darks Together? If your plan of keeping them off your lawn isnt successful, what do you do? To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. The following day, stir it again, then use a funnel to decant it . There are plenty of repellents on the market for deer, squirrels, insects, and mice, but what about porcupines? It comes in a ready-to-use spray bottle that can be sprayed in areas you want to protect. . I am in Make sure to apply 2 times per week for 2 weeks. This includes areas around trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, walkways, docks, roof tiles, pool decks, or any place where control is desired. Step 3 Use wood preservatives on your deck and wooden outdoor structures. 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. Letti & Co is user supported. Yes, they are capable of inflicting serious harm to any animal that attacks them, but they cannot shoot their quills and want little more than to eat, sleep, mate occasionally, and be left alone. To prevent them from eating human made structures, wooden . Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006),28(1), 76-83. Even a small mesh bag of moth flakes/balls (napthalene) placed near damage may help. Together with my family, we settled in a region far from the city, and therefore, both our indoor and outdoor furniture are primarily wooden furniture. Porcupines remain common throughout most of their range, but conservationists know by now that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Once you have confirmed Porcupine activity, it is time to begin treatment. What are the most dangerous parts of Baltimore? Complete Guide. If unable to chew, the animals teeth would grow too long to be able to consume food and the porcupine would eventually starve to death. They can cough, shriek, whistle like a bird, make funny kazoo noises, chatter their teeth, and grunt. Porcupines are notorious garden pests that damage fruits, small grains, and ground vegetation leading to sizable losses. Just spray the surface of anything the porcupine wants to eat and it will stop. Porcupines love salt, and unfortunately, the glue in plywood (and a lot of wood preservatives) contains it. How can you use citronella to repel porcupines? Porcupines are strictly herbivores, preferring a diet of fruits, foliage, leaves, and twigs. We also provide professional service in over 600 locations. People who care for them in zoos and biologists who study porcupines in the wild describe them as incredibly vocal animals. Peppermint oil and Pine-Sol provide strong scents that deter rodents from entering your car, won't make your vehicle smell bad, don't taste good, and won't damage any wires. Will deer eat raspberry plants? Unlike beaver or rabbits, porcupines can ascend tree trunks and nibble on branches. This causes porcupines to search elsewhere for food and leave your yard alone. "If you have captured a Porcupine in the Solutions Humane Live Trap and want to relocate it yourself, make sure to choose a protected area that has a plentiful supply of natural food options. Specifically, it is the ingredientcapsaicin. Use sealable containers that keep rodents out. Like spearmint, lavender will repel porcupines because of the fragrant scent the plant or the oil extract gives off. are highly recommended. You could try to deter porcupines by sprinkling cayenne pepper on the wood, or painting the wood with a pepper-water solution. Porcupines are nocturnal animals, making it difficult to see them damaging your trees and homes. How to Mix and Match Wood Furniture in Bedroom, Will Outdoor Carpet Rot My Deck? Almost finished We need to confirm your email address. Check the trap everyday and once you catch it, relocate it to a nice park or wooded area that is at least 10 miles away from your house. While many predators are capable of eating them, porcupines are a fairly risky food item and most predators leave them alone except in times of desperation. Multiple trees or an entire area can be enclosed in a single fence. Porcupine hunting is something I do every year. If you want to try to solve the problem yourself, you can look up a . Fencing is a great way to protect vulnerable trees and gardens. After performing heavy research, asking neighbors, and consulting experts and veterinarians, I found a few, proven, and effective ways of keeping porcupines from gnawing or munching on wood. Porcupines love to chew wood! The six scents that porcupines hate include: Some of these scents work by beingtaste repellents, such as hot sauce, while others are so fragrant that they mask the scent of potential food, encouraging porcupines to look for food elsewhere. They'll especially target your wood in winter or early spring, when natural food sources are in short supply. Porcupines are rodents that need to sharpen their teeth, so they may chew on wood in your backyard. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Youd need to reapply this every time it rained, though. Scare tactics are a great way to repel porcupines and make them think twice about setting a foot (or paw!) Soak them in saltwater to smell and look tastier to porcupines. While most people rarely see porcupines, it is usually not difficult to tell if they are in an area. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. Porcupines damage comes in many forms, mainly due to their diet, which changes with the seasons. Their appearance can also attract predators like mountain lions and bears. Start by building a fence around trees, gardens, and where damage has been most prevalent. You can try predator scent like coyote or fox but you constantly have to reapply it to keep it fresh and the porcupine will probably figure it out that its not real. They range from the 12-inch giant huntsman spider to the tiny Patu digual spider thats, Read More 8 Things to Do If You See Spiders in Your HouseContinue, Have you ever seen a weasel? Porcupines are also attracted to the glue used to bond plywood on wooden structures. Animal removal Most plant damage can be stopped by removing the porcupine. If you leave porcupines alone, they will continue on their way and leave you alone. You will know as soon as the trigger arm gets hooked to the door. Scent deterrents must be reapplied to the problem area weekly and anytime after heavy rainfall. Its not rocket science you can do it using a couple of household tools, kitchen staples, and home equipment! In most cases, the light does not hurt the creatures directly, but it does expose them. Are you interested to learn the concoction thats been used by homeowners for generations now? 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! That being said, peppermint is still quite effective at deterring porcupines. Beavers on the other hand, cannot climb, and must bring the tree to the ground to access twigs and branches for both food and building material. Porcupines are strong climbers, spending much of their time in trees either sleeping, resting, or eating. Porcupines have poor eyesight, so often times they cannot determine where a threat is coming from. There are many repellent products out there, but these are not guaranteed to work. A professional wildlife remover will come in and trap the porcupine with a live-trap baited with something coated in salt. You may withdraw your consent at any time. It is my goal to educate the public about porcupines and other wildlife, and Copyright 2020 by Wildlife Animal Control. Dropping twigs and fruit to the forest floor benefits other wildlife down below. How to protect my trees and shrubs from porcupines. Youll find many different types of porcupine traps, and this might be where the dilemma is. You will need to survey the area to see where they are active and what may be attracting them to the area. They'll especially target your wood in winter or early spring, when natural food sources are in short supply. Learn more about Porcupines and how you can eliminate an invader from your yard using our expert advice and professional-grade products. Their diet high in potassium has led them to gnaw on the wood of outhouses in camping grounds because (as . If the Porcupine becomes caught, relocate the animal at least 25 miles away from your property or call animal control. Porcupines are not overtly aggressive, but they still have teeth if their quills dont get your first. When you're using dried, or ground, cayenne pepper, you'll need about 2 tablespoons for every gallon of water. Wood preservatives may repel porcupines. 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. Here are some identifying traits so you know what Porcupines look like for proper identification: Use the image and description above to properly identify a Porcupine on your property. Porcupines are solitary animals, so they typically dont rank high on anyones list of pest animals. Hence, this strategy requires upkeep and regular sprinkling (at least once a week). where regulations may be more restrictive, especially as it applies to discharge of firearms, transport of animals or use of trapping equipment.