At our hunting camp in Perry Co.PA the porkies have been chewing our outhouse and a small shed, both sided with T1-11 plywood, after trying several supposed repellents we are sheeting with steel siding. The cabin is Red Wood siding over 50 years old and so far they haven't messed with it. Will they? We didn't have them here until the last few years.
I have heard that about T1-11 too. Those critters can not have any taste buds and how they can survive on that is beyond me.
Never saw the damage from them. First one I ever saw was a road kill up in Maine on a trip to Bar Harbor 1.5 years ago. Surprised me how big he was. I imagined them as the size of a raccoon but this one looked more like a beaver. Don't know what it did to the tires of the guy who ran over it.
Both buildings had holes chewed completely through 5/8 T1-11 plus quite a few other areas close to through. The cabin was built in the 50s and I have been going there since the 60s and never saw a porcupine until about 6-7 years ago, we have killed 9 right at the cabin and last week while driving in the gravel road we saw 3 of them.
They're all over around here..seen 3 dead on the road this past weekend. Buckshot seems to work as a repellant
Thankfully that is one pest that we are not "blessed" with. Anybody want some armadillos or fire ants?? ???
Quote from: Magicman on April 03, 2016, 09:58:43 PM
Thankfully that is one pest that we are not "blessed" with. Anybody want some armadillos or fire ants?? ???
Know both of them very will from my time in southern Georgia. :rifle: arg-smiley smiley_furious
T1-11 plywood is a favorite with porcupines. A few porky's will devour it over night. They find the glue in it to be very tasty.
Greetings fellow Perry Co. PA member. We have a lot of porcupines in western Perry. My friend harvested one in season last year and barbecued it, not like chicken, very chewy and gamey. They can do a good bit of damage to things. They chewed on the bowels of some big 30+ in dbh beech trees last year and also hit my t1-11 on a shed front. They are getting to be a nuisance. I will say the predator of them, fishers, are on an upswing. I have seen several on our ridges over the last few years.
Quote from: Magicman on April 03, 2016, 09:58:43 PM
Thankfully that is one pest that we are not "blessed" with. Anybody want some armadillos or fire ants?? ???
Lynn,
Ever try mixing up fire ant beds? If close to each other use a long handled shovel and scoop out a big shovel of one bed and throw on the other and vise versa (Do this quick as for some reason this seems to annoy the ants). They get to fighting and kill each other. Come back a few days later and you'll find both beds are deserted. Environmentally safe.
Quote from: JBlain on April 03, 2016, 10:57:35 PM
Greetings fellow Perry Co. PA member. We have a lot of porcupines in western Perry. My friend harvested one in season last year and barbecued it, not like chicken, very chewy and gamey. They can do a good bit of damage to things. They chewed on the bowels of some big 30+ in dbh beech trees last year and also hit my t1-11 on a shed front. They are getting to be a nuisance. I will say the predator of them, fishers, are on an upswing. I have seen several on our ridges over the last few years.
Josh, our camp is on Laurel Run Rd, about 8 or 9 miles in from the tavern. Are you anywhere near?
they say there the only animal you can eat raw and not get any disease from they are much better raw than cooked not as tuff that's what happens when you loose a bet :)
You can cook em just how they are too, and just pull off a quill and you've got a porkeypine ka bob
thought you were going to say I would have enough porkey picks to get it out of my teeth :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Our property is just north of you as the crow flies. We border state forest on Bowers Mountain and our land consists of a few toe slope ridges that border Robinson Road south of Blain PA. Small world. We hike at times over the mountain down to Laurel Run. Cheers
:D
I give you credit for eating one of them tree huggers
4x4American anything is good with enough alcohol :-X :-X :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
In this area, a porcupine is a target!
Porcupines are very destructive, as already mentioned. They like the "salts" in T-111. They also like to chew on wood with urine splash. A couple years ago, I had my tractor on a logging tract to load unwanted blocks and logs onto my dump trailer for firewood. One night, a pokie chewed my steering wheel. Thankfully, they left my hydraulic hoses alone. Anything you touch with your hands or sweat is at risk. Loggers hate porkies. They also love to chew on aluminum signs, such as used to identify forest service roads and the like.
I don't believe they will bother the redwood siding on the cabin. Redwood seems to resist insects and other bothersome pests
A few years ago we had a porcupine chewing on one of the tractor tires.
Only happened one time, no serious damage, but if we'd have seen him, things would have been a little different!
While we were at the cabin for our work detail we went to a local tavern to eat and talked to several locals about the porkies, they said we are now getting Fishers in the area and they eat the porkies, I hope their right.
Yes, the Fisher is a good tool for controlling the Porcupine population.
I believe they are the only animal that can successfully take out and devour a porcupine!
Quote from: Chuck White on April 11, 2016, 07:14:57 AM
Yes, the Fisher is a good tool for controlling the Porcupine population.
I believe they are the only animal that can successfully take out and devour a porcupine!
i have never seen a fisher or porcupine ??? are fishers bullet proof or have some kind of armor ??? :o :D :D :D
Most that I have caught have a face full of Porcupine quills.
Just reading this makes me not like the porky's, damage sounds horrible,, our only really bad pain to deal with are armadillos, they root up were rooting up is not needed, heard they eat good,(tenderloins) but pretty sure I won't go there, oh yea, these critters have targets on them too,,
Quote from: sandsawmill14 on April 11, 2016, 07:21:41 AM
Quote from: Chuck White on April 11, 2016, 07:14:57 AM
Yes, the Fisher is a good tool for controlling the Porcupine population.
I believe they are the only animal that can successfully take out and devour a porcupine!
i have never seen a fisher or porcupine ??? are fishers bullet proof or have some kind of armor ??? :o :D :D :D
A
Fisher is sort of like a smaller version of the
Wolverine!
My poor trees !!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11412/SBhemlockchewed.jpg)
I would be less upset if they didn't used to supply shade .
Kind of hard to see but there are many chewed off branches.
Quote from: Chuck White on April 11, 2016, 07:14:57 AM
Yes, the Fisher is a good tool for controlling the Porcupine population.
I believe they are the only animal that can successfully take out and devour a porcupine!
Fisher cats were introduced in Franklin County VT to control the porcupine population and what I heard is that they will but it is the last thing they go for. So other critters are in peril.
Gerald
How high do you think a porky can reach ???
I have 3 foot lengths of ductwork bungy corded to the trees and unless these things can grab onto metal they must be able to jump ::) :D
Tomorrow, I'm cutting some 5 foot lengths of metal roofing to wrap around the trees.
I'm also amazed that only 12 days after the demise of one porky, another has started attacking the trees. Several examples I can see from my porch have been nibbled naked. Lots of dead hemlock from last year.
Sometimes I wonder how any trees survive considering the onslaught of mice and moose and porkupines.
Sprucebunny,
There's a fair chance that the porkies will chew the aluminum. Here in the ANF, they love to chew on the forest service road marker signs.
One morning while turkey hunting, I was walking into my spot in the dark. As I approached a gate, I began to hear scratching sounds. The closer to the gate I got, the louder the noise. When I was pretty close, I turned a small flashlight on. There were two porkies nibbling away at the sign
The ductwork and roofing are all galvanized steel.
I don't care if they chew it as long as they leave the poor trees alone !!!!!!
Quote from: drobertson on April 11, 2016, 10:01:01 AM
Just reading this makes me not like the porky's, damage sounds horrible,, our only really bad pain to deal with are armadillos, they root up were rooting up is not needed, heard they eat good,(tenderloins) but pretty sure I won't go there, oh yea, these critters have targets on them too,,
I ate some armadillo at a wildlife supper when I was a student at Auburn an eternity ago. It was very good. Reminded me of good lean roast pork. I think the cook par boiled it then cooked it on the BBQ grill. (Now they warn that those hard shelled possums carry leprosy and to avoid or take care when cleaning them.) I'd bet porcupine is even better - I know he is bigger and more meat there.
Last Friday after work, I decided to do a little fishing. My home Creek had just been stocked and I was looking forward to wetting a line. I let my dogs out and began to get ready. I had just put my long John bottoms on and was about to go to the porch for my waders when my 10 month old German Shorthair burst through the door with a porcupine quill mustache.
He didn't get it real bad though. He only had15-20 quills in his snout, with two inside his mouth. Unfortunately, two quills broke off at the skin surface and are still there. They don't bother him and are not infected.
I was back to the cabin this week and the porkies haven't chewed through the new steel siding ;D we had set a few small scraps of T1-11 out and they had worked on them. The scrap T1-11 is now in the fire pit and we are going up Thursday, the scraps will get burnt and I hope we are done with the porkies.
Quote from: gspren on May 07, 2016, 09:44:06 PM
I was back to the cabin this week and the porkies haven't chewed through the new steel siding ;D we had set a few small scraps of T1-11 out and they had worked on them. The scrap T1-11 is now in the fire pit and we are going up Thursday, the scraps will get burnt and I hope we are done with the porkies.
:D :D not a chance they will be back
In this area, lots of us will go out in the woods and look for porcupine trails in the snow and track them to their den, then get rid of them. ;)
Not as common in the ADKs as when I was a boy.
No damage at my camp there and havent seen one in quite a few years.
Once saw a picture I think in the NY Conservationist of an old vehicle with a Ford flathead with aluinum heads that were pretty well chewed up.
My last pooch had to be put down after his second encounter with one.
Quote from: rooster 58 on April 10, 2016, 08:33:01 AM
Porcupines are very destructive, as already mentioned. They like the "salts" in T-111. They also like to chew on wood with urine splash. A couple years ago, I had my tractor on a logging tract to load unwanted blocks and logs onto my dump trailer for firewood. One night, a pokie chewed my steering wheel. Thankfully, they left my hydraulic hoses alone. Anything you touch with your hands or sweat is at risk. Loggers hate porkies. They also love to chew on aluminum signs, such as used to identify forest service roads and the like.
I don't believe they will bother the redwood siding on the cabin. Redwood seems to resist insects and other bothersome pests
The Rooster has it! The Urea Formaldehyde glue is salty/mineral so they are after that. I wonder if the new plywood glues without formaldehyde are still an attraction?
Went back to the cabin this weekend and while the two sheds we put the steel siding on were fine we had a section of the redwood siding broke by a bear >:(. The critters didn't mess with the cabin for 50+ years but now they want us gone.
On the prowl. The late night marauder.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/MDGC0002~0.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1464310552)
Raiding the Apple Tree. Caught in the act.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/MFDC0384.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1567988935)
In this area, it's not uncommon for people to shoot porcupines, racoons & coyotes on site, throughout the year, season or not!
Mostly just because of the damage they can cause!
Just sayin'! ::)
I would never shoot a porcupine out of season. Now use a pitch fork to kill one,I just did that a few days ago,I would. :)
As I was looking for the wife's dog to come running to me as I was stabbing it. :o
You think the porcupines are hard on trees you should see what I can do to a bunch of trees.