Physical Description & Traits
Known for their built-in defense mechanism, porcupines are easily recognized. The long, pointed quills that cover their backs render the animals unapproachable to predators and afford them a relatively long lifespan of five to seven years. Usually brown in color, their bodies are two to three feet long, not including the additional eight to 10 inches of their tails. Their heads are somewhat groundhog-like, with sloping snouts that descend smoothly from the forehead. Even with their distinctive appearance, porcupines can sometimes look like and be mistaken for hedgehogs.
Common Habitats
Porcupines are found in a variety of climates and terrains, including deserts, rainforests, mountain ranges, forests, and grasslands. Surprisingly, they are excellent climbers and build dens in tree branches, tangled roots, caves, old logs, or burrows. As herbivores, they eat leaves, grass, nuts, tree bark, and plant buds, though a porcupine will occasionally gnaw on bones to keep its teeth sharp.
Problems Caused by Porcupines
Most porcupines will patrol and defend their feeding grounds by night. If this includes a heavily wooded residential lot, circumstances are ripe for an unpleasant encounter between humans or pets and the spiny pests. Dogs often become overly curious and end up with quills sticking out of their noses. Removal is painful and can lead to infection. Additionally, porcupines' propensity for feeding on timber can damage tree limbs so badly that regrowth becomes twisted and disfigured. The spooky-looking trees that result are called witch trees. To keep your property free from porcupine infestations, contact the wildlife removal professionals at Critter Control.
Porcupine Pictures
Get them out.
Keep them out.®
Experience wildlife or pest issue? We can help! Complete this form and your local Critter Control® office will contact you to assist.
Best Bat Removal
Brandon was out to please and make out lives easier with out bat situation. Above and beyond of the call of duty and got the job done. Thank you!
BAT POOP CLEAN-UP AND PREVENTION! Bat guano removed from gables. No bats found in attic, so put new screens on all gable vents, as one screen was close to breaking and then bats may have gotten in! Great work in
Tulsa!
Squirrels and chipmunks were in our attic. So we called Critter Control to do an inspection. Their representative climbed all over our very steep roof and found several places where squirrels had entered our attic.
Upon inspection of the attic, evidence of bats was also found. The Critter Control team came on time to completely caulk the entire perimeter of the house and create an exit strategy for the squirrels and bats.
Because
bat droppings can cause histoplasmosis, this also required total removal and replacement of our attic insulation and sanitizing the space. Not a small job in a 1,300 sq. ft. attic! While Critter Control’s cost was high, our homeowners insurance covered most of it. Everyone representing Critter Control was professional, courteous and timely. I would highly recommend them to anyone who thinks they might have unwelcome guests living in their attic
On recommendations from a nearby pest control company, I called Critter Control for suspicious
bat droppings.
Madison came out the same day to do an inspection. She was knowledgeable, thorough, and highly professional. She examined the ‘matter’ that had been scattered on my threshold and thought it was foliage. But she then asked to go up to my attic space where the bats could be roosting. She had to walk up 3 flights of stairs with a heavy ladder. She again spent some time searching all the nooks and crannies and found nothing.
She seemed so interested in her craft, it was truly inspiring to see! She reassured me and is writing up a prevention strategy for my appraisal. She charged me NOTHING!! I am so impressed. We need more Madisons in this world!
Service:
Bat Removal
We noticed droppings on our brand new deck - we were given their number from our contractor. They came the next day. Brian looked at it and said - yeah, bats!! He then checked every area in our attic and he explained exactly what needed to be done.
He found evidence of a mice infestation, provided a referral and they are helping us as well. Great service, very informative, very professional! We are very satisfied and would recommend them to anyone who has any issues with any critters!
Quicklinks