How To Get Rid Of Porcupines

Are you interested in how to get rid of porcupines? This article discusses several control options that work.

There are ‘Pests’ with the capital P. Porcupines are one of such Pests, you don’t ever want them anywhere around you.

Best Ways To Get Rid Of Porcupines

Porcupines are not just one of those pests that do their thing; they are disasters. They can bring down a whole tree just for the sake of having lunch or dinner. They can bring down an entire structure made of wood- they don’t care.

Even though a porcupine is said to be an easy-going animal, it does not hesitate to attack whenever it feels threatened. And guess what? An average porcupine has about 30,000 quills on its body- you don’t want to mess with it.

However, it will not shoot its quills unless it is being attacked, and then its quill is not as deadly as we perceive it. Its quill has topical antibiotics, which are self-healing mechanisms that help whenever it mistakenly quills itself or its buddy.

What Attracts Porcupines

To get rid of porcupines, it is crucial to know the things that attract them. This will inform the kind of bait you can use against the animal.

Also, knowing what they love the most will help you understand what you need to keep away when you notice they are around your environment.

Some of the things that porcupines are attracted to are;

  • Salt

Porcupines love salt, all kinds of salt, table salt, salty snacks, sweaty salts, salty rain, salty snow, etc. their love for salt is so crazy that if you leave your sweaty shirt, outside, and they can gnaw on it.

They can even finish up your horse saddle because of the salt in the horse’s sweat, which has gotten to the saddle.

If you reside in a place where the winter snow is salty, it is a potential risk for the cars parked outside because porcupines will gnaw on your tires is covered in salty snow.

  • Wooden Structures or Building

These pests are also attracted to anything made of wood. Whether is a building, wooden boat, horse saddles, trees, etc. they will gnaw on any wood that comes their way and destroy it, and the damage they cause on wooden structures most times cannot be fixed

  • Vegetables

Another thing they love to eat is vegetables. Porcupines are herbivores, and their love for plants is exceptional. This is when they arrive in a garden; it turns into a mess- one that is difficult to fix. They will munch on berries, carrots, garden eggs, etc.

Porcupine Extermination And Control Methods

Porcupines are hazardous and destructive pests.

More so, the presence of porcupines in your yard will invite other dangerous animals that are predators to a porcupine. This is why you need to plan their eviction once you spot them anywhere in your environment.

There are several ways of getting rid of this animal, but the most effective way to eliminate them is by trapping them.

Trapping Porcupines

This is a humane method of eliminating the pest. Trapping is the simplest method of eradicating rodents. It is inexpensive and easy to purchase. You can either make a trap by yourself or can get some live traps you at your local store; otherwise, place your order online.

The porcupine can be baited with salty food or vegetables. Once the animal is caught, you must relocate to a very far away location, especially if killing the animal is against the law in your region. If you can transfer the animal, you should call the animal control department within your area.

You can make your trip by yourself, and you can buy traps at any of your local stores. However, you need to plan how to trap the porcupine in your yard. Ensure that you don’t buy traps that are too small for the animal- this is dangerous, the quills of the animal will be all out, and you know what that means.

You will also need to keep your pets and children away from a trapped porcupine.

Several traps can be used to hold down the animal, some of them are;

  • Steel Leg hold

It is essential to mention that trapping this animal is not legal everywhere, so find out if it is legal in your locality.

The steel leg hold trap needs to be placed firmly and leveled with it positioned slightly by the side of the trail.

Salt bait and be used for this trap. Also, coyote urine scent can be sprayed near the porcupine dens or ruins to make it want to escape and therefore get trapped.

When trapped, the animal can be shot dead, especially for places where killing porcupines are legal. You can order steel leg hold trap online in case you don’t find it in your local store

  • Body Gripping Trap

This trap catches and kills the animal, so you have to make sure it does not trap other animals because it will not release any animal it catches by mistake. When using this trap, ensure that you keep your pets away

Also, you have to make sure that it is legal for you to see this type of trap in your area.

You can bait the animal with a material soaked in salt or place the trap by the den of the animal. Body gripping traps can be gotten at your local store, or you can place an order online.

  • Cage Trap

You create a cage trap with a box, or you can use some large commercial wires that are just about 32 x 10 x 12 inches of about 81 x 25 x 30 or 31 cm to make a cage trap.

Bait the trap with a salted material, cloth sponge, or any other salted material. A piece of wood is also an excellent bait for trapping. Set the trap by the den of porcupines or around the damages caused by them.

Once the animal is caught, if you want to relocate it, it must be at least 40km away from your home. But the reality is, transferring the animal is not as humane as it appears to be.  The reason is that if you successfully relocate back to the forest, it has a very little chance of survival.

More so, there are states where the relocation of porcupines is illegal.

Porcupines are highly mobile, and they move very fast, which is why relocating them after trapping, may not be as effective as you expect it to be- they’ll probably come back.

There are other methods of eradicating the pest that is effective enough to ensure that porcupines don’t return to your yard. Some of these methods are;

Building Fences

Building a right fence is a sure way to ensure that the rodent stays off your property. The animal does not like to go through the stress of climbing, especially when it’s not a tree. When it sees a fence, it leaves the place and searches for a more welcoming fenceless place to carry out its menace.

To secure your fence, you can get a chicken wire on top of it, in case a stubborn porcupine insists on an adventure into your yard.

The fence does not have to be tall; after all, the rodents are not a jumper. What you should worry about is the fact that they are diggers. But once you have installed a chicken wire around the fence with a wiring board on the ground, it will stop them from getting into your yard.

Using Pepper Spray

These rodents are known for their love for salt and their hate for pepper. So spraying pepper all around the plants and the trees will repel them.

You can use a hot pepper sauce or capsaicin, mix it up with water and spray it around your yard. This is a real hot pepper, so you have to be careful when you want to use it. Avoid contact with your hands, so you must make use of hand gloves. A face mask is also necessary, so the pepper does not get to your face while spraying.

It is also important that you keep your younger children and pets away when you want to spray this hot pepper.

If you plant pepper in your garden, you can use it. But if you can’t stand the pain of having to make it into a spray, then you can get a concentrate from garden shops in your local area.

Alternatively, you could place an order online for pepper concentrate. However, you must stick to the recommended usage.

Spraying Predators Scent

The scent of some of the porcupine’s predators is beneficial. It gives porcupines the feeling that their predators are around, and then they’ll leave your yard.

The only problem with this trick is that it does not last. Porcupines are smart rodents; when they realize that it’s just a trick, they’ll come back to your yard.

However, if you plan to use it for just a short term, you can buy coyote or fox scent from any of your local stores that have a hunting supply department. If you don’t get from any local store, you can place your order online to get the spray.

But you need to know that if after you use it, it gets too windy or the rain starts, there will be a need to reapply right after the shower for effectiveness.

Killing Them On Sight

You can do this if it is legal to kill porcupine in your state. Killing porcupines with a gun ensures that those are animals are gone for good from your property, especially if you are good with a gun.

For farmers, porcupines are high rates pest because they can cause you a lot in cash when they damaged fruit or food crops.

Summary

The best method of controlling porcupines is to prevent them from entering your yard. But then, you cannot stop planting the vegetables you need just because of the rodents love vegetables. Neither should you stop planting trees for fear of porcupines

However, fencing your yard is the best preventive measure against the pest. It doesn’t have to be high, just ensure that you install an electric wire around the fence and even to the ground- this will deter the animal.

If you also need to protect your trees, you should install the electric wire around the trees.

Now, from henceforth, you’re back to being the sole owner of your property. Getting rid of porcupines does not have to be a difficult task.

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