Enjoy these adorable forest/grassland/desert denizens whenever you see them. However, fish and bugs are delicate, and copper-treated wood should never be utilized in lakes or streams. The 4 Factors! Their tails have the highest density of quills on their bodies and they can quickly flick their tails to lodge quills into the skin of whatever is threatening them. Any location where pets and kids spend time regularly should be built with non-treated wood. Termites can damage pressure-treated wood. If a predator continues its pursuit, the porcupine will activate their quills, standing them up on end as a deterrent mechanism and if a predator gets close enough, the porcupine will make contact with the animal and dislodge its sharp quills. One way to tell if a porcupine is in the area is to listen. - Lets Find Out. Please note that all comments are moderated and may take some time to appear. They can cough, shriek, whistle like a bird, make funny kazoo noises, chatter their teeth, and grunt. The foods that attract porcupines include apples, salt, evergreen needles, tree bark, nuts, berries, flowering herbs, grasses, and roots. We get paid a small commission from your purchases. Are you interested to learn the concoction thats been used by homeowners for generations now? They break all the branches when climbing to get to the fruit. But in eastern North America, by far one of the porcupines most formidable predators is the fisher, a larger cousin of the American marten. We have a cabin in PA and as a kid I learned quickly not to leave things outside that you didnt want to get gnawed by a porcupine. and may chew on it as well. Porcupine damage to homes, structures and garden areas is on the rise. We recommend folding down the top of the fence outward at a 65 angle to further discourage curious porcupines. More Affiliate Policy. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) abolished its usage for being "a human carcinogen.". I opened the door and about 18 inches from me was this glorious round ball of pure white quills! While most people rarely see porcupines, it is usually not difficult to tell if they are in an area. Acypetacs such as Cuprinol are safer than previous treatments. Porcupines prefer the young bark, leaves, and terminal twigs commonly found high up in the crown of a mature tree, but will strip bark anywhere on a trees trunk or branches. 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. They dug under a solid metal fence placed a couple of feet away-didnt know they would dig like a ground hog. Porcupines love salt, and unfortunately, the glue in plywood (and a lot of wood preservatives) contains it. Native Habitat. Pressure-treated wood is ideal for decks, posts buried in the ground, and even ground contact in finished basements, but its not always the best product for every job. Saddles. Their winter food supply is of little nutritional value, however, and while they might eat a pound of food every day all winter, porcupines lose almost a third of their weight by spring. How is it treated? How to Get Rid of Damp in Bedroom? Do you want to know how to keep porcupines from eating wood? Wooden untreated logs would last a long time too. The expense is relied upon to be higher than the wood cost, yet its worth is acceptable if its term is considered.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'simplifygardening_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_2',196,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-simplifygardening_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); After considering all of these options, the only wood treatments that fit my organic principles seemed to include natural products that would almost double the wood cost required for my raised beds! Areas where the tree appears shredded. It is also the name of the manufacturer that makes this combination of wood fibers and recycled plastic. 6x6s for support posts and plywood. But there are two drawbacks of pressure treated wood. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Hi Jon, Complete Guide! Antlers. 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. They are attracted to almost any object that has been handled by humans because of the salt found in human sweat. A few years ago a visitor from South Carolina told me they saw a beaver climbing a tree in the woods behind my house. Start by building a fence around trees, gardens, and where damage has been most prevalent. If this becomes a problem you may want to provide an alternate salt source such as a salt block to keep them from damaging structures. While porcupines may be a nuisance to homeowners with ornamental or fruit trees, their presence in the forest improves the function and diversity of these ecosystems. Rainier National Park, we noticed a deposit of quills at the edge of a platform toilet(comes with a view). Contrary to some wildlife folklore, porcupines cannot shoot quills, rather their barbed quills penetrate and stick upon contact with any animal or object that it finds threatening. The process involves the use of a vacuum cylinder and chemicals. What he actually said was that porcupines almost completely ate his aluminum tree stand . However, they can, and do, burrow into pressure treated wood. To protect specific (large) trees, place a 30 inch wide band of aluminum flashing around the trunk to prohibit porcupines from accessing the trunk at ground level. But this story is true. Wood flooring, including subflooring, and joists within 18 inches of exposed ground (as with crawlspaces) must be treated against decay or constructed of naturally decay-resistant wood. If you need it. Pressure-treated wood is wood that has had a chemical preservative forced into the pores by vacuum-pressure to form a barrier that resists decay and wood-eating insects like termites and carpenter ants. He assured me that the only permanent way to treat wood is a mixture of engine oil from the sump of an old car! As a result, many of the available flaxseed oils are not pure raw flaxseed oils but rather a mixture of solvents such as mineral spirits, often called heated flaxseed oils, to speed up the drying process, making them less natural. Depending on the season, porcupines eat a wide range of vegetation including bark, needles, leaves and the reproductive and readily eaten vegetative parts of woody plants, including nuts, seeds, fruits, and buds (these are considered mast). Will porcupines eat treated lumber? Reference 1 Reference 2 - Treated for protection from termites and rot, it is ideal for a variety of applications including decks, gazebos, docks, ramps and other outdoor projects where lumber is exposed to the . high-potassium, low-sodium diet of foliage, physiologically tolerate this imbalance at times of the year, created a harrowing situation for nature writer and ethicist Tovar Cerulli, Catskill Mountaineer offers this tantalizing sentence, Weird Nature: An Owl That Uses Dung Tools, Urban Wild: Flying Squirrels of the Beltway, An Overlooked Threat to Freshwater Fisheries? Its accepted that wearing a mask when cutting or drilling wood is a smart move. You'd need to reapply this every time it rained, though. Use Low-cost softwood and paint with a wood preserver. 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. Whether you're building a deck out of redwood, southern pine or cedar . The copper and other pesticides will leach into the water and cause issues for wildlife. 9 Best Methods! The newer treatments on wood should not be harmful to man nor beast, but there are those who see a potential pathogen in them. Letti & Co is user supported. Also, as pressure-treated wood dries, it shrinks, causing the paint to wrinkle, crack, and flake. Instead, copper is used, which helps in protecting the wood. The measure of copper discharged is minimal, and copper is considered non-poisonous except if it is available at extremely high and elevated levels. Thereafter, the air is completely drawn from it, leaving only dry timber. Stripped bark exposes trees to disease, and those affected often die. It can dissuade the rest of us from regarding cryptozoology as science. Siding is usually attacked because of the bonding glue in plywood. This created a harrowing situation for nature writer and ethicist Tovar Cerulli: [The porcupines] had nibbled through a brake hose a problem I discovered on the way to work the next morning, when my foot went to the floor without slowing my pickup at all. There was no front or back that I could tell! I had those distinctive chew marks at all around the support logs on the porch of our home in MT a couple of summers ago. Its less expensive, but that means replacing it every 7 to 10 years. You would have to eat 1.3 pounds of the lettuce in the experiment EVERY DAY to exceed the safety limit. Is It Safe to Use Treated Wood For Vegetable Gardens? Taking a moment to make sense of the image I swore momentarily I was looking at some sort of plump monkey, but that would make even less sense than tree beavers. Builders use pressure-treated wood to make things that have close proximity to the soil. More noticeably is the green or brown colors from the treating process. Trex is the name of a composite deck material. The rumor that porcupines can shoot or throw their quills at aggressors is only a legend, but theres no need to test that out for yourself. Their diet varies by species and season. However, few predators have figured out how to get around their quills to attack this weak spot. Sure, much of the time, the porcupine dines on trees. In any case, copper is considerably less poisonous than arsenic. Anything that girdles trees must harm the timber industry, or so conventional wisdom went at the time. Cars. Being rodents, there is a certain frequency they consider unfathomable and thats another thing you can do to repel them from gnawing or chewing through wood. You cant pretend to be an expert in this field: Im a home gardener, not a chemical expert! There were serious concerns about the use of arsenic (CCA) compounds and heavy metals, especially when they become contaminated or enter the food chain. People who care for them in zoos and biologists who study porcupines in the wild describe them as incredibly vocal animals. This is what I know. By continuing to use this site you accept our, Other Forestry Related USU Extension Pubs, contacting a professional wildlife control officer, Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, Porcupine Ecology and Damage Management Techniques for Rural Homeowners. Due to their heavy bodies and short legs, porcupines cannot easily navigate deep snow, therefore wintertime adds extra pressure on this strict plant eater to find accessible and nutritionally dense food. It looked like some kind of Christmas ornament. If a dog eats pressure treated wood, it is likely that the dog will experience gastrointestinal upset and may vomit or have diarrhea. Most products claim to work for years, but this is for fences or gates that can dry out and not for those exposed to moist soil. Baby porcupines are born with soft quills and teeth which enable them to begin eating vegetation within the first week of life. Mountain lions and fishers have different stratgies for attacking porcupines. These materials attract rodents like rats, skunks, and even squirrels. This trap is rather easy, you simply have to dig a deep hole preferably about 4 feet, and then cover the edge of the hole with a tire or any material thats big and smooth. This love of salt often leads them to roadsides where salt has been spread. This idea was popularized on the regrettable Animal Planet show Finding Bigfoot. By submitting your information via this form, you agree to receive electronic communications from Cottage Life Media, a division of Blue Ant Media Solutions Inc., containing news, updates and promotions regarding cottage living and Cottage Life's products. I mean, what is there to love about wood? When he added potassium, they chose pegs with the most balanced sodium to potassium ratios. 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. The porcupine is a peaceful animal that rarely attacks its enemies. The most important thing to understand about this pressure treatment is that the process . There is a patent for "porcupine proof" plywood, based on a potassium resin, but it doesn't seem to have caught on. This applies only to wood within the perimeter of the building. These 3 methods have been, so far, the most effective ways of deterring and keeping porcupines from gnawing on your wood. For many of us, one of the main benefits of growing our food is knowing that our vegetables have not been artificially sprayed, processed, or improved. Other than this, you can also use vegetable scraps like turnips, carrots, pumpkins, and tomatoes. This sturdy pressure-treated timber #2 southern yellow pine meets the highest grading standards for strength and appearance. The closer vegetables are grown to the wood, the more chemicals they absorb. Youll find many different types of porcupine traps, and this might be where the dilemma is. STEP 2: Prepare the surface you plan to paint. Also, the chemicals in treated lumber are corrosive to untreated steel, requiring more expensive galvanized fasteners. This raises concern over animal health and meat safety. It is a simple method with remarkable efficiency. If porcupines remove the bark all the way around the trunk or a branch (girdling it), then the trunk or branch will be killed from that point up or out. However, as people relocate to areas known as the wildland-urban interface or WUI, they may encounter trees that have been damaged by porcupines. Yes, the "modern" pressure treated wood is safe. 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. But pesticides are worrisome for parents, so there is often concern about using pressure-treated wood for playground structures. Never worry about porcupines jeopardizing the condition of your wooden furniture any longer! Branches being pruned of twigs. are highly recommended. Before 2003, a dangerous chemical, chromated copper arsenate (CCA), was used to treat wood. But start researching porcupine diets and youll soon land in Bigfoots lair. Obviously, all necessary permits must be obtained before attempting any of the following. Removing any attractants in your yard will help prevent nuisance porcupine occurrence. The traditional wood treatment made from natural flaxseed oil has excellent preservative and water resistance properties. How Much Is Furniture Marked Up? To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. Then one night my dog was barking and I saw a large lump of quills or furI wasnt suremoving around the deck area. They often seek out natural mineral licks for their needs. Therefore, you should know what to buy and remember that, as a natural material, it does not protect the wood from sunlight, UVA, or mildew. The Catskill Mountaineer offers this tantalizing sentence: Hikers have reported porcupines licking their skin while sleeping. Really? What To Do, What To Do When Neighbors Dog Poops In Your Yard? But the EPA banned arsenic-treated PT wood in 2004, and the products available today are completely safe. If the threat continues, the porcupine will turn its back, raise its quills and lash with its tail. For many years, the traditional treatment of wood has now been withdrawn from sale for domestic use within the European Union after advice from organizations such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer that it believes is carcinogenic. Eleanor and David. This is one of the first things you learn upon arriving at Scout camp in the Pennsylvania woods. If a large amount of pressure treated wood is consumed, the dog may also experience liver or kidney damage. In addition to that, you can also use raw, untreated wood. Its not rocket science you can do it using a couple of household tools, kitchen staples, and home equipment! If you are facing a nuisance porcupine on your property, we recommend contacting a professional wildlife control officer for assistance in mitigating conflicts. Leaves tool outside. Since I learned these, I never had problems with porcupines again. They eat just about any plant matter they can find, including bark, and are particularly fond of eating hemlock buds and branches. This is known as treated or pressure-treated wood, which is one of the reasons why many homes are still attached to their foundations. Me, I see no problems using ACQ-treated timbers in my garden. Axe handles and canoe paddles. But what is pressure-treated wood? Protection of trees through regular fencing, low strung electrical fencing, and trapping are the most efficient methods for reducing damage.. Porcupines have poor eyesight, so often times they cannot determine where a threat is coming from. But like other staples of this genre charging wolverines and the big one that got away it seems to happen more in print than in real life. General safety tips. Up until 2004, the main chemical used in pressure-treated lumber was arsenic, but the EPA banned it in the residential market because of health concerns. Especially horses on long backcountry pack trips. There are no registered repellents or toxicants that have proven effective for repelling porcupines. Things You Should Know! What to do.. Ornamental and fruit trees will often attract hungry porcupines in the winter. Porcupine den at the base of tree - easily recognizable by the latrine outside the opening. Cottagelife.com is part of the Blue Ant Media Canada network 2023 Blue Ant Media. But the human environment is not low in sodium. Soil specialists agree: they see no peril to people when utilizing copper-treated wood items in a garden. And your face. Can I Put An Altar In My Bedroom? The truckour only vehicle at the timewas out of commission for three days while a replacement hose was located. CCA. Cryptozoology fans posit that the reason no one ever finds the bones of dead sasquatches is because you guessed it porcupines eat them! Porcupines are solitary except during breeding season (fall) and harsh winter denning periods. Their summer diet consists of flowers, berries, grains, and leaves. Porcupine numbers appear to be declining just about everywhere. Lumber stamped #2 grade is commonly used for framing, lintels, rafters, trusses, joists, beams, and fencing. The Informative Answer, Can I Use my Bissell Carpet Cleaner on Tile Floors? Worse, other flax oils contain many fats, like heavy metals used in pressure-treated wood. Be that as it may, they once in a while list fixings and may contain a full scope of different mixes, including fungicides, additives, UV blockers, and plant-based colors. You see, techniques have changed over the years and it is now supposed to be very safe to build . Most fences and posts are handled in this way to extend the life of the cheapest softwoods used to make them. Instead, copper is used, which helps in protecting the wood. Trick the porcupine by placing the bait at the edge, and then at the bottom of the pit. 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