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Martens – in our case predominantly stone martens – are basically found everywhere as cultural followers and yet are hardly noticeable because they are loners active at dusk and at night. Things only become difficult when a marten enters the house and takes over the attic. Or when he tampers with the car because he smells the smell of a rival there. In both cases it leaves unwanted traces.
As always, prevention is better than cure, or in this case, repair. Preferably Make your house and car marten-proofBefore the problem occurs – in the following instructions we at heimwerker.de get to the bottom of the causes and methods and give tips on how you can best scare away a marten.
1. Suspicious traces: How do I know if there is a marten in the house?
Rumbling and tripping noises in the attic, scratching and running marks and an unusual smell can be indications that a marten has colonized your attic. But other animals, such as dormouse or a neighbor’s cat, are also possible. For the scratch marks, three thin lines would be typical of a marten.
You can clearly identify it when you discover the marten’s toilet, which is often noticeable due to its unpleasant smell. The marten always uses the same spot. Marten droppings are about one to two centimeters thick and eight to ten centimeters long, although they are thinner at the end and often slightly twisted.
Also leftover food such as eggshells, carrion remains, feathers, etc. are an additional clue, although this alone is not clear, as cats sometimes leave similar remains.
Get rid of martens in the house: You can recognize the animals in the attic by their clumsy paw prints or a strange smell.
2. Get rid of a marten permanently: The best time to get rid of a marten
What does the law say?
Whether in the house or garden, getting rid of a marten is not an easy task and is also not legally harmless. According to hunting law, martens are furred game and may not be killed, caught or driven away during the closed season from the end of February to mid-October. But even outside the closed season, only the responsible hunter is allowed to catch or even kill a marten and within built-up areas only with special permission. This means that the affected person may only attempt to drive away the marten outside of the closed season.
This is only possible if the current marten has been driven away or caught by the hunter and any access for the marten is immediately blocked. If a territory becomes available, it is usually immediately occupied by another marten.
The scent traces of his predecessor practically show him the way. It is not uncommon for the released marten to return to its territory over many kilometers.
That’s why driving away the marten is always just the beginning of several necessary measures that follow if you really want to get rid of the marten sustainably.
It is not just because it is forbidden that expulsion is only possible after the closed season. Could it be a mother and do you want to take on a litter of three to four small, screaming stone martens when the mother is displaced?
So it’s best to start scaring away immediately after the closed season, from October 16th, so that the animal can find new quarters before the onset of winter. Until the marten can be driven away, it is best to cover the attic with tarpaulins and remove droppings and leftover food regularly. The insulation can be protected with plasterboard.
Tip: If you spread flour and a strip of sand around the house in the attic before getting rid of the marten, you can use the tracks to find the entry opening(s) more quickly and close them immediately as soon as the animal has been safely driven away.
3. What home remedies can you use to get rid of martens?
It’s not that easy, because not all martens are the same. While one marten can be driven away by a loud portable radio and similar disruptive maneuvers, another is not at all sensitive to noise.
Some animals are prevented from climbing into the engine compartment of a car by a rabbit wire surface and are downright afraid of the surface, others don’t mind such a base at all. There are even some that cannot even be deterred by electrical shocks. In addition, the small predators are very clever and often quickly see whether something new poses a real danger.
Their individuality means that no deterrent measure can be said to be reliable. So there’s nothing left but to try out what the local stone marten likes and what doesn’t. Or you can hire a hunter outside the closed season to catch it and release it far away while they quickly block the entrances.
There is no scheme F for distributing Mader.
3.1. What home remedies are there to get rid of martens?
With a bit of luck, you will have a tender-hearted stone marten as your guest, who can be persuaded to look for another place to stay with one of the following home remedies:
| home remedies | Application |
|---|---|
| noise | During the day, when the marten wants to sleep, a loud continuous sound system with a radio and/or a whole battery of old alarm clocks |
| Odorants | There are people who swear by human or dog hair, essential oils, toilet stones, perfume, camphor and butyric acid or even urine. You can also use vinegar to get rid of martens and make them run away |
| Disruptive activity | send the children with the dog to play in the attic, the skat group should now meet upstairs and hit the table hard and the workout should also be moved under the roof |
3.2. What does the trade offer to drive away martens?
Even if the names or short descriptions sometimes sound martial, they are for the animals completely harmless. You can get rid of martens with ultrasound or with special deterrents without harming the cute animals. Anything else would be prohibited by law when it comes to scaring away martens, according to various purchasing advice on the subject of marten defense on the Internet.
- Ultrasound with motion detector
- Sound and light indoors
- Deterrents (smells and flavors)
- Electricity + ultrasound for the car
- Deterrent (based on essential oils)
- Marten fear carpet (under the car)
4. FAQ: Frequently asked questions and our answers about getting rid of stone martens
4.1. How can you get rid of a marten in your car and make your parking space marten-proof?
Martens don’t walk over bars. Anyone who has noticed traces or even damage from a marten on their car The first thing he should do is have the engine washed so that the smell doesn’t attract another marten, which then smells a rival and angrily bites into hoses and cables. In order to get rid of the marten, the parking space should be cleaned thoroughly and, if necessary, a scent mark remover should be used – both on the car and on the parking space.
Cables and hoses in the engine compartment can be covered with corrugated protective hoses, but this leaves out the rubber sleeves and insulation, which are also at risk. A wire mesh area or a so-called marten fear carpet can also help if it is placed under the car where the marten could penetrate into the engine compartment.
According to a study by two car manufacturers, other home remedies are particularly unlikely to be successful when it comes to getting rid of martens on cars. VW has therefore developed a structural defense device for some models, which can also be retrofitted to some other models and blocks martens’ access to the engine compartment.
Protect your car from martens with special mats.
4.2. How to get rid of a marten on the roof?
Finding the entry hole and any other openings and sealing everything well are the first steps to get rid of a marten on the roof. The information about how big a gap or hole has to be for a marten varies between 5 and 10 cm in diameter. The entrances and exits can be reliably closed with a sturdy metal mesh.
The martens’ access and escape routes are usually not easy to find. It is quite possible that the marten gets onto the roof via a tree or branch. Our local stone martens are not only excellent climbers, but also impressive jumpers. In this way, the small predators can climb up to over two meters. Therefore, all branches and trees should be at an appropriate distance from the house or should be pruned accordingly. Overhanging trees and branches in particular are almost an invitation.
Secure the downspout. The marten shouldn’t even have the opportunity to get on the roof. On the one hand, as already mentioned, martens are quite capable of lifting a roof tile, but on the other hand, it is often very difficult to find out where there might be a sufficiently large gap or slit behind the insulation. So if possible, do not install or grow trellises or climbing plants so high that they can be used as a comfortable ladder for a marten.
A metal defense belt can be attached to the rainwater downpipes to prevent them from climbing up.
Once everything is secured, you can start repairing the damage. Particular attention should be paid to the insulation and the vapor barrier, as martens like to build tunnels into the insulation, often damaging the vapor barrier. This not only poses the risk of thermal bridges, but can also lead to moisture penetration and thus mold.
Last but not least, for hygienic reasons and because of odors, all contamination should be carefully searched for and removed. To get rid of the marten smell, It helps to buy an enzyme cleaning spray cheaply from the store.
Rain gutters are ideal ladders for martens to make themselves comfortable on your roof.
4.3. Is damage caused by a marten insured?
For cars, marten damage is insured in many (but not all) partial insurance policies. However, where the risk of damage from a marten is included, the insurance will cover the removal, minus the deductible not for consequential damage, which often occurs due to unnoticed damage (e.g. leaks caused by marten bites, etc.)..
A notice: It is therefore essential to report any damage to the insurance company immediately and have everything checked in the workshop immediately afterwards, even if the car does not show any immediate impairment.
For a house, residential building insurance can only be considered if the insurance policy includes the risk. Search there for “Damage caused by animal bites” or contact the insurance company directly. The home building insurance The damage must be reported before repair. The type and extent of the necessary repair and cleaning measures or an inspection by an expert, etc. will be clarified with the insurance company in advance.
Image credits: shutterstock.com/Vaclav Sebek, shutterstock.com/Rudmer Zwerver, shutterstock.com/Joop Beermann, shutterstock.com/TakeroSun, shutterstock.com/Werner Rebel (sorted chronologically or according to the order of the images used in the buying guide)
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