Receiving Helpdesk

how do you keep porcupines from eating wood

by Henry Simonis DVM Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

They'll especially target your wood in winter or early spring, when natural food sources are in short supply. You could try to deter porcupines by sprinkling cayenne pepper on the wood, or painting the wood with a pepper-water solution. You'd need to reapply this every time it rained, though.Mar 14, 2012

Full Answer

How do you protect a porcupine from a tree?

For porcupines, there are two places you can apply it for fast protection. First, use it on any tree you want to keep from being eaten. Simply treat the trunk from the ground up to at least 6 feet high. Be sure to go all the way around the tree.

Are porcupines chewing on my log home?

Log home maintenance: Porcupines are chewing on my log home… Log home maintenance problems can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but here is one that we hear about at least once every summer – porcupines chewing on the logs. In fact, three times over the last two months we have fielded calls from log home owners that have had this issue.

How do I get rid of porcupines on my wood fence?

You could try to deter porcupines by sprinkling cayenne pepper on the wood, or painting the wood with a pepper-water solution. You’d need to reapply this every time it rained, though. Other options may work—distracting the porcupines with a salt lick, or startling them with random,...

What are the different Porcupine remedies?

Some porcupine remedies include hot sauce or commercial repellents placed on areas prone to chewing, but the success rate of repellents leaves much to be desired. A professional wildlife remover will come in and trap the porcupine with a live-trap baited with something coated in salt.

How do you stop a porcupine from chewing on wood?

The sides of buildings, sheds, large wooden furniture and other large objects not easy to move can be treated with PEST RID SPRAY. This liquid repellent has very little odor to people but to animals, its repulsive. Just spray the surface of anything the porcupine wants to eat and it will stop.

What will keep porcupines away?

Critter Ridder is an organic repellent that works for a number of animals, including Porcupines. Each 1.25 lbs will protect approximately 50 sq. ft. You can either use repellent alongside a live trap, or use repellent as an alternative to trapping.

Why is a porcupine eating my deck?

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. Siding is usually attacked because of the bonding glue in plywood.

How do I keep porcupines off my trees?

Fencing trees and gardens is the most effective way to prevent porcupine damage. 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.

What time do porcupines come out?

Habits. Porcupines are nocturnal, which means they are active during the night and sleep during the day. During the night, they forage for food. New World porcupines spend their time in the trees, while Old World porcupines stay on the ground.

How do you deal with porcupines?

Just steer clear. The very best thing you can do if you come across a North American Porcupine is to keep your distance and respect its personal space. The rumor that porcupines can shoot or throw their quills at aggressors is only a legend, but there's no need to test that out for yourself.

Why do porcupines chew plywood?

Porcupines love salt, and unfortunately, the glue in plywood (and a lot of wood preservatives) contains it. Along with wooden buildings, porkies also enjoy the salt in fence posts coated in creosote, on car tires and radiator hoses, and from objects covered in human sweat (tool handles, clothes, and leather).

Do porcupines eat plywood?

Porcupines really do frequent backwoods outhouses. Because they eat them. A porcupine finds a salty snack = urine + plywood. Photo by Education Specialist/Flickr through a Creative Commons license.

Do porcupines like salt?

The porcupine can inflict occasional damage to various objects around a lean-to, campsite or cabin during the summer because of its craving for salt.

Do porcupines chew tree branches?

Porcupines primarily feed in the tree canopy throughout the winter by chewing evergreen needles, bark, twigs, and buds off trees.

What are porcupines favorite food?

In the spring and summer, porcupines shift to eating berries, seeds, grasses, leaves, roots and stems. At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the porcupines eat herbivore pellets and a variety of fruits, vegetables and greens. Their favorite food item is corn on the cob.

Are porcupines bad to have around?

By ordinary human standards, porcupines have many bad habits. Besides extricating their quills from the noses of pet dogs and livestock, humans must throw out axe handles and leather harnesses chewed beyond use.

Porcupines Will Eat Anything Made With Wood

Porcupine damage to homes, structures and garden areas is on the rise. Porcupines have a taste for salt, succulent plants, fruits, vegetables, wood...

How to Control Porcupine Damage

Porcupine control is done in one of two ways. Once you find activity, it is important to stop it early. Porcupines will travel several miles for a...

How to Stop Porcupines from Eating Wood

The sides of buildings, sheds, large wooden furniture and other large objects not easy to move can be treated with PEST RID SPRAY. This liquid repe...

Longest Lasting Repellent For Porcupine

Another liquid repellent which works great at keeping them away is LIQUID BIRD REPELLENT. This is a material which was created for keeping flocks o...

Sound Repeller For Porcupines

Lastly, one of the easiest ways to prevent porcupines from coming around is to install SOUND REPELLERS aimed at the wood or trees they target. Our...

How to keep porcupines from eating trees?

For porcupines, there are two places you can apply it for fast protection. First, use it on any tree you want to keep from being eaten. Simply treat the trunk from the ground up to at least 6 feet high.

What kind of trees do porcupines live on?

Although porcupines are great tree climbers and can live on several species of trees, they seem to prefer, white, birch, ponderosa, pinion, hemlock, spruce, elm and poplar. When living in the woods and feeding on wild trees, porcupines go unnoticed.

What to do if a porcupine chews on your tires?

If you have a nuisance porcupine chewing up your tires, trees, outside furniture or yard tools, try Pest Rid spray to stop them.

How long does a porcupine repellent last?

Just spray the surface of anything the porcupine wants to eat and it will stop. Pest Rid treatments will last 2-4 weeks per application and can withstand normal rainfall.

What repellent keeps birds away?

Another liquid repellent which works great at keeping them away is LIQUID BIRD REPELLENT. This is a material which was created for keeping flocks of nuisance birds like pigeons or starlings from roosting in trees. It can be painted or sprayed on trees creating a surface which is both very sticky and irritating.

What do porcupines like?

Porcupines love rose bushes, pansies, lily pads, all types of berries, corn, and several other garden favorites. Rabbits and deer are often blamed for this damage when many times it is being done by porcupines.

How many litters do porcupines have?

Porcupines have one litter in the spring. They almost always have one young and twins are very rare. Their gestation is long for a rodent (about seven months). Young porcupines can walk almost immediately and will climb trees within two days. At ten days, most are on their own.

What do you need to keep a porcupine?

Things You'll Need. Fencing or wire. Wood preservatives . Pellet repellent. Spray repellent. Porcupines gnaw on wood and plants. Porcupines are the world's largest rodents. They have around 30,000 sharp quills along their back to defend themselves from predators, and they weigh between 10 and 20 pounds. Porcupines have poor eyesight but keen senses ...

How to discourage porcupines from entering my yard?

Encourage trees to grow leafy closed canopies by cutting back on tree trimming and by watering and fertilizing the trees in your yard. Closed canopies discourage porcupines from entering the area.

How to keep porcupines from crawling under deck?

If you have a deck, make sure that porcupines cannot crawl beneath it by fencing it off or using wire to block its entry.

Why do porcupines gnaw?

Because their teeth are always growing, porcupines are always gnawing, and they can harm plants and vegetation, including trees. Porcupines can also gnaw on plywood and leather goods and damage the beams and support structures of outdoor sheds. Advertisement.

Why do porcupines chew on siding?

Siding is usually attacked because of the bonding glue in plywood.

What to do if porkie gnaws on logs?

If a porkie is gnawing off the finish on the logs, it is a good idea to take some measures to prevent it from continuing. At that point you will re-apply a good finish on your logs home . To do this you will need to sand down the logs and reapply the stain.

How to keep porcupines out of my yard?

Pepper Spray on Plants and Trees. Using hot sauce or capsaicin on plants and trees can prevent porcupine damage and help deter them from your yard entirely. Be careful when mixing up a spray like this and when you are applying it. A proper face mask, eye protection, gloves, etc. are highly recommended.

How to get rid of porcupines?

Live Trap. A live trap is considered a very humane method of getting rid of porcupines. A trap is inexpensive and can be purchased at any Tractor Supply, on Amazon, or a local hardware or farmer’s supply store. When setting a trap always wear gloves to prevent your scent from getting on the trap.

Why are porcupines attracted to wood?

Since porcupines feed on tree bark, they are attracted to any building made of wood. Gnawing on structures can result in a lot of damage that can be difficult to fix. Tool handles, boat oars, and other wooden objects are all at risk as well.

How to tell if a porcupine is in a hole?

One of the major signs that a porcupine is living in a hole is a pile of feces at the entrance.

Why do porcupines see me during the day?

Seeing a porcupine during the day is odd and sometimes means they are sick or have run out of their den for some reason. If the weather is particularly unpleasant a porcupine may not venture forth for several days unless necessary. Since porcupines do not hibernate, they can be a nuisance year round.

What happens when you put a porcupine in a trap?

Usually, a piece of something tasty is put into the trap to offer the porcupine. When the porcupine goes into the trap the door drops, and it is caught. Usually, if you call your local animal control department they will either get the porcupine and relocate it or they will tell you where you can drop it off at.

Can porcupine quills be removed?

Removing quills often require an animal to be sedated during the procedure. Do not try to remove quills yourself.

What to use to get rid of porcupine chewing?

Some porcupine remedies include hot sauce or commercial repellents placed on areas prone to chewing, but the success rate of repellents leaves much to be desired. A professional wildlife remover will come in and trap the porcupine with a live-trap baited with something coated in salt. (Porcupines love salt!)

Why do porcupines chew?

Because they are rodents, porcupines have a need to chew. If unable to chew, the animal’s teeth would grow too long to be able to consume food and the porcupine would eventually starve to death.

Do porcupines have teeth?

Porcupines are not overtly aggressive, but they still have teeth if their quills don’t get your first. A porcupine’s quill will expand upon entering the skin, which is why it is so hard to remove the needles once they have caused an injury. Pulling the quills often traumatizes the flesh more than the initial stab.

Do porcupines die from chewing trees?

Trees that have been girdled by chewing will die, often ruining thousands of dollars’ worth of landscaping. Sometimes the porcupine doesn’t have to be actively destroying property for alarm to be raised about its close proximity.

Can you handle a tree-chewing rodent without gloves?

Do not handle the animal without heavy gloves. If possible, do not handle the animal at all. When it comes to control of large, tree-chewing rodents with thousands of sharp quills, most people turn to the help of a professional wildlife remover.

Can you use a porcupine quill in a trap?

Pulling the quills often traumatizes the flesh more than the initial stab. For this reason, if you trap a porcupine, be sure to cover the trap in a tarp while transporting the animal. If you have used a lethal trap, porcupine quills are still a threat to you. Do not handle the animal without heavy gloves.

image
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9