Porcupines can be best recognized by the distinctive coat of quills they wear on their backs. Porcupines are part of the rodent family. They live primarily in both deciduous and coniferous forests and woodlands in the western United States, as well as in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Porcupines are curious creatures. All of the porcupines in the United States are New World porcupines that migrated up from South America. They are mostly solitary creatures that move slowly but are agile climbers. As herbivores, they spend much of their time up high in trees foraging on leaves, pine needles, and bark. Porcupines set aside their solitary ways during their mating time which runs from September through December. About seven months later, the female gives birth to a porcupette. Porcupettes are born with a full set of quills that are soft but harden within hours of birth. By two weeks of age, porcupettes are feeding on green plants, fully weaned by three months, and begin to live independently at six months.
It is commonly believed that porcupines can fling their quills when confronted, but this is a misconception. Porcupine quills are built for easy release, so when a porcupine is in defensive mode, it turns its back toward its aggressor, allowing the quills to release upon contact.
Porcupines venture into residential areas for a surprising reason—they crave salt that they cannot get from their diet of leaves and bark, and there is plenty of it near humans. Some of their favorite sources of salt include car tires that have driven through salted streets, tool handles and boat oars found in sheds, horse saddles, and plywood that is glued with a sodium-based material.
Porcupines are an uncommon home intruder. If one is a regular in your yard, it is likely because of unusual circumstances such as a drought or food shortage.
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Porcupines chewing on wood trim or trees? Porcupines, sometimes called “porkies” or “quill pigs,” are heavy-bodied, short-legged, slow, and awkward rodents, with a waddling gait. They rely on their sharp, barbed quills (up to 30,000 per individual) for defense. Call your local Critter Control office today at 1 (800) 274-8837Click to call for effective porcupine removal and exclusion services.
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Adult porcupines grow between 25 and 30 inches (64 and 76 cm) in length and can weigh up to 30 pounds (13.5 kg).Their slow, awkward waddle is attributable to their heavy bodies and short legs. Porcupine bodies typically appear dark brown to black, and their quills may look yellowish and be fringed with white. This particular coloration ensures that even color-blind predators recognize porcupines as dangerous.
More information about what porcupines look like.
Native to the Nearctic region, the North American porcupine is found throughout Canada and lives as far north as Alaska. They are also found as far south as Mexico. Various species of porcupines are found in Africa, Europe, and Asia, as well.
Porcupines occupy many different climates and elevations, and their habitats differ accordingly. Some porcupines spend the majority of their lives in trees, while others live primarily on the ground. Most often, these rodents seek cover in open tundra, deciduous forests, or desert brush land and show preference for trees like hemlocks, oaks, ponderosa pines, and other hardwood species. During the winter, porcupines set up dens in rock crevices and caves.
Are porcupines known to enter homes or yards?
As herbivores, porcupines do not wander onto residential properties for the same reasons as most animal pests. The rodents eat a variety of herbaceous plants, tree barks, twigs, and leaves, and the most important nutritional element they derive from this diet, which is essential to porcupine health and survival, is nitrogen. To get enough nitrogen, porcupines are known to chew on things like the wooden handles of tools, manmade wooden structures, and accumulated roadside salt runoffs.
If they are getting enough sustenance in nature, porcupines remain innocuous. However, if food sources are limited, as they are during the spring and summer, porcupines will absolutely invade yards, though they rarely wander inside homes.
Do porcupines harm people or property?
Though they play an important role in the ecosystem, porcupines makes pests of themselves more often than their presence is beneficial. Their consumption of tree bark directly affects the lumber industry as many trees are rendered unusable by porcupines. As their stripping of tree bark leaves sapwood exposed, porcupines actually open trees up to beetle infestations and disease.
Additionally, porcupines are occasionally responsible for significant losses in the agricultural industry when they feed on fruits, sweet corn, alfalfa, or small grains. They may destroy automobiles and the siding on cabins and other structures while gnawing in search of sources of nitrogen. Porcupines and their quills are also a danger to pets, especially dogs who haven’t yet learned to avoid the prickly rodents.
For the most part, porcupines wander onto lawns for the trees. To help reduce the chances of an infestation, property owners may enclose the tree trunks with wire baskets or bands of aluminum. For orchards, gardens, and other large groups of trees, fences are a much more suitable option. Porcupines are excellent climbers by nature, so effective fences should include overhangs around the top that sit at a 65° angle. Additionally, certain wood preservatives may be applied to exterior plywood to discourage porcupine gnawing.
Porcupines are dangerous wild animals and should not be handled by untrained individuals. If the pests infest your yard, the best method of porcupine removal is to call the wildlife specialists at Critter Control. We have the knowledge, resources, and tools to safely and properly handle porcupine infestations.