Since the boards contain an air hole, they are acceptable encasings for the dirt, encouraging them to heat up more rapidly in the spring and keeping plant roots at a uniform temperature. 6x6s for support posts and plywood. 2023 The Nature Conservancy. If the water beads, then it's still too wet. Youd need to reapply this every time it rained, though. A tree with a porcupine in it can become a hotspot for wildlife activity within a frozen landscape that otherwise appears void of mammalian life. Still, treating woods that come into contact with soil and plants can cause many questionable chemicals to leak into the soil, polluting crops. Published on March 30, 2015 - Updated on October 2, 2018. Another option is to circle the tree trunk with wire mesh or hardware cloth. Drywall framing. Here is where you will find the most applications of the lumber. Aug 3, 2013. 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. 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. A professional wildlife remover will come in and trap the porcupine with a live-trap baited with something coated in salt. From there, itll be almost impossible for them to climb back up. This is to be expected for something covered in barbed quills. Simplify Gardening LTD is a registered trademark Reg No: 13119755. 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. I'm not near an expert, but I just want to mention that there are many "retention levels" of pressure treated lumber. Also, as the . He assured me that the only permanent way to treat wood is a mixture of engine oil from the sump of an old car! Like outhouses. Canada and Europe used to contain chromium copper arsenate (CCA). But the human environment is not low in sodium. I mean, what is there to love about wood? Its less expensive, but that means replacing it every 7 to 10 years. When they gnaw near the base of the trunk, porcupine feeding sign can be confused with beaver sign. Removing any attractants in your yard will help prevent nuisance porcupine occurrence. Since I learned these, I never had problems with porcupines again. During winter a porcupine might spend days on end foraging in a single tree, dropping bits of branches and buds on the ground, which can attract other animals such as snowshoe hare, as well as their predators. So, floors, decks, fence posts, stairs, and basement walls are made from pressure treated wood. For them to satisfy this need you got it they chew on wood. PORCUPINES WILL EAT ANYTHING MADE WITH WOOD ^. Great Article Matt! Its a veritable feast. This can stimulate herbaceous understory vegetation which benefits different species than those that prefer a closed-canopy forest. The Catskill Mountaineer offers this tantalizing sentence: Hikers have reported porcupines licking their skin while sleeping. Really? Related: The Dos and Donts of Deck Maintenance. Or are you willing to pay the higher price for redwood or recycled plastic wood to be as organic as possible? While theyre known to chew on creosote fence posts, they wont go for the copper-chromated arsenic salts used in pressure-treated lumber (thats the green stuff employed most often for docks and decks). And your face. 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. But now AQC is used, which is much safer for your vegetable garden. 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. And unlike most of what I learned at Scout camp, this bit of lore was actually based on truth. Sure, much of the time, the porcupine dines on trees. Like the previous example, this one relies on a sweaty outdoors enthusiast leaving a tool outside. The have no reason to gnaw into the wood. Ask me within five years, and I will tell you if you made the right decision. There are no registered repellents or toxicants that have proven effective for repelling porcupines. It is also the name of the manufacturer that makes this combination of wood fibers and recycled plastic. In North America and much of Europe, CCA-treated wood has been removed from the residential timber market but still allowed to be used in some commercial applications sometime in early 2003 the UK banned the use of CCA in early 2004 in Canada and the USA and in 2006 in Australia. Cerulli writes eloquently of cultivating a mindful relationship with wildlife. The challenge is that all the common ways to conserve wood face challenges when growing edible products. ACQ is a water-based solution that uses ammonia to penetrate the timbers. Porcupines in Utah will damage fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and some agronomic crops like alfalfa, and grain if they are present. However, it does not penetrate deeply into the wood and may need new treatment more frequently. If a large amount of pressure treated wood is consumed, the dog may also experience liver or kidney damage. This list of seven important things to know will address those questions and more. Live traps can be purchased at local hardware or farm stores. Related: How To: Choose the Right Materials for Your Outdoor Project. But anyone who spends much time poking around the woods knows they dont eat every bone in the forest. The lumber may have splits up to 1.5 times the board's width, knots no larger than 3-1/2", and one hole every 2'. Cedar is a popular choice for siding due to its appearance and longevity, and cedar siding costs $12,500 on average. The measure of copper discharged is minimal, and copper is considered non-poisonous except if it is available at extremely high and elevated levels. Ah, finally a nice article about my favorite critter. Fascinating article! Gloves should be worn when handling the trap to keep human scent to a minimum and to protect your skin when transporting the caught porcupines. But pesticides are worrisome for parents, so there is often concern about using pressure-treated wood for playground structures. For one, the wood can often warp and shrink as the moisture leaves, making it unsuitable for fine woodworking projects. Things You Should Know! To get the best results, wait for the wood to dry first. Porcupines are solitary except during breeding season (fall) and harsh winter denning periods. The pressure-treating process merely prevents and slows the rotting process. Interestingly, the quills of the North American porcupine are medicated with a topical antibiotic a strategy that evolved to protect against self-quilling. I dont recall ever having issue with our outhouse, but chairs, axe handles, vehicles, were all regularly chewed on. Porcupines do dine on bones. Shavings on the ground beneath the tree. Copper then became the main ingredient used to treat lumber, a change that drove up pressure-treated lumber prices tremendously. Lets Find Out. So, I usually go with the comprehensive method of keeping them away. Will porcupines eat treated lumber? What are the most dangerous parts of Baltimore? Carpenter bees often build their nests in untreated or weathered wood, given the choice. Pepper Spray on Plants and Trees. and treated wood piled in the woods, and a guy I know told me that porcupines destroyed his aluminum tree stands. Porcupines have strong, short legs for gathering food, and long claws on both their front and hind legs for efficient climbing. These materials attract rodents like rats, skunks, and even squirrels. While research has shown that porcupines can physiologically tolerate this imbalance at times of the year when their mobility is limited (like during heavy snowfall), most of the year they have a craving for salt. Me, I see no problems using ACQ-treated timbers in my garden. Is It Safe to Use Treated Wood For Vegetable Gardens? Ground-contact lumber is, as the name suggests, suitable for contact with the ground. These products no longer contain arsenic. It is a simple method with remarkable efficiency. So, in setting up a fence, make sure that the clearance is no more than 50 cm per wire from the ground. The fisher cat is scarce or absent from much of the porcupines range, however, and the general lack of predators has led to porcupines having a nearly absent flight response, resulting many being hit by cars. The truckour only vehicle at the timewas out of commission for three days while a replacement hose was located. Use a pressure washer if the wood has tough stains. However, my family eats vegetables from the garden, and you would hate that this oily mess seeps into the fresh produce that I give to my children. Grooved tooth marks approximately 5 mm wide are characteristic of porcupine damage. Keep reading to learn about this common yet very particular building material so youll know how best to use it in your projects. Some items on this list are cited in the literature; others seem more anecdotal. It's also highly prized as a roofing material, with a cedar shake roof priced at around $21,500. Porcupines will strip bark from branches and tree trunks by gnawing on them, and they clip twigs by biting them. They are best known for their stout, quill-covered bodies, and their lumbering gait. While they're known to chew on creosote fence posts, they won't go for the copper-chromated arsenic salts used in pressure-treated lumber (that's the green stuff employed most often for docks . Once, society regarded porcupines as a major nuisance. To get to it they have to remove the bark all the way down to the cambium layer of the tree, which is where the wood begins. Their calls even occasionally befuddle experienced ornithologists who can be forgiven for thinking they are about to discover some sort of rare European bird lost in the forests of New England, only to discover the source of call is a basketball-sized pincushion halfway up a tree. Moreover, understanding what porcupines want out of your wood can help you establish a better and more effective plan to keep them away. They break down into three categories: The amount of moisture that pressure-treated lumber can retain is truly remarkable. This idea was popularized on the regrettable Animal Planet show Finding Bigfoot. Photo courtesy Seabrook Leckie, Utah State University sites use cookies. Theyll 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. Porcupines are fond of salt, and will sometimes chew on wooden objects that have been exposed to sweat, such as canoe oars or axe handles. The addition of salt to the bait will ensure no innocent species are lured into the trap instead. Her guides and reviews are well appreciated by Industry experts. 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