Marten repellent products

When you hear the tapping of small feet and scratching sounds in the attic, it will often be a marten which has made itself comfortable in your home. This also means, apart from the disturbance, dirt, feces, leftovers of food and damages to the house. The renovation and repair costs can then become quite high. It is always advisable to get rid of the marten as soon as possible and convince him to set up its territory home somewhere else.

If you have a marten as a guest under the bonnet of your car, your power lines, insulation and rubber parts will always be subject of a marten bite attack. If the marten has found its home in your attic, he will burrow his tunnels into the installation and leave in the vicinity feces, urine and the remains of his prey. It is advisable to get rid of the marten as fast as possible by making his new hideout extremely uncomfortable and unattractive for him.

Keep a lookout for martens.

Check your home, your car, your attic your barn, your shed or conservatory regularly for the paw marks of a marten. Martens usually have more than one hiding place so they will not stay in one place all the time. Sometimes they will only stay for one night and then move on, sometimes they will breed in the location. If you let the marten stay on for a longer time, the smell of urine, feces and the leftovers of food will begin to develop in the whole area. If the smells and the urine get into the wood of the building, the damage and smell will stay over a long period of time and cannot be removed by normal cleaning. The damage caused is quite costly since the affected areas must be fully renovated.

Another indication of visiting martens, even if they are not using the house as a nest, are holes in the roof or tunnels in the wall insulation. Usually one tunnel or hole will not be sufficient to the marten as he is a very shy animal and prefers to have more than one escape route. It is therefore recommended to regularly check the walls and insulation for marten tunnels. Especially on cold and windy days they are easy to detect as there will always be a slight draft.

The marten will not burrow into stone or concrete walls, but he will bite its way through wood, seals or insulation or even move roof tiles. Martens prefer to live in elevated areas such as attics or upper floors of the house. To find out how the marten gets into the house look for scratches on drainpipes or trees standing near the house. If there is a small hole, the marten might have lost some fur when squeezing through, clearly indicating its presence.

Martens are also very attracted to the engine area of your car. Victims of these visits know how costly such a visit can be. Eaten cables, gnawed pipes, feces and the occasional leftover dead bird or mouse are usually a sure sign that a marten has been enjoying the comfort and warmth of your car engine. But then it is already too late. The damage is done and repairs are usually very costly. Many insurance companies do not pay for the damage caused by martens. It is highly recommended to regularly check under the bonnet for fur scraps, food scraps, droppings or gnawed at insulation. If any of this is found, it is quite probable that you have marten as a regular lodger. Then it is only a matter of time that serious damage will be done. If the marten decides to gnaw at brake lines or hydraulic lines, the damage can be life-threatening.

What problems can marten cause?

Martens living in the car or in the attic can make life very uncomfortable. Apart from the familiar problems such as smell, noise they can also cause serious damage to the house resulting in high repair and restoration costs. A dead animal will quickly attract maggots and flies and it is also known that martens can transmit diseases such as rabies.

What can I do?

Anyone who has had visits and damages by a marten will often wonder: how do I get rid of the marten? Should I poison it or put out a trap? Martens are allowed to be hunted, but may only be killed by trained people or caught in special traps. This is not an easy task as the marten is a very shy, fast and clever animal. There are however more elegant and peaceful ways of getting rid of or keeping away a marten from your house or car. The more traditional methods are water bottles, raw eggs, dog hair, pepper or urinal cakes but they are questionable and if they work at all, they will only work temporarily in keeping away the marten. Experts say that only the real long-term success can be achieved if all holes and tunnels are blocked making the area and attractive for the marten. The marten will then see no benefit or no chance in entering your house to find a cozy shelter.

Electronic devices such as ultrasonic marten repellent items from Gardigo can be a great help in making an area unattractive to the marten. The high-frequency sound emitted by these devices makes the marten feel restless and uncomfortable and after a while, usually within 14 days, he will start avoiding these areas with the “unbearable” sound pollution and will start looking for a more attractive place. In our shop you will find several devices, which will have this effect of repelling the marten:

We have devices which can especially be used in cars such as Gardigo Marten Repellant and Gardigo Marten Repellant Professional which are directly connected to the car battery. Gardigo Marten Shock has apart from the ultrasonic sound, 6 high voltage plaques, giving the marten and electric shock which will only frighten him, persuading him to keep away from the area. Gardigo Marten Mobile is a battery operated device and can be placed in the engine compartment, carport or any other place where a permanent power supply is not available. For the use in the house, in the attic, in the shed or in the barn we recommend using the Gardigo Marten Repellents for indoor use such as Gardigo Vario 3 in 1. These are powered by the mains and repel the marten with ultrasonic sound. If you have a sunny location, you can also use Gardigo Vario 3 in 1 Solar as the power is supplied by the solar panel.

Life-cycle.

The family of martens can be found worldwide and is divided into many species. Ermine, stoat, otter and badger also belong to the family of martens, but are not frequently seen in the vicinity of human habitation. The most common martens in central Europe and responsible for most of the damages are the beech marten and the pine marten. They have no specific habitat and can live nearly everywhere. They can adapt very quickly to their surroundings, moving into an old burrow, digging a new one or even living in a tree. Most Martens are active throughout the whole year and do not hibernate. The animal is considered to live alone and usually has a territory of up to 500 m² with a number of burrows which he regularly uses for hiding during the day.  Territories can overlap, especially at times when mating takes place. The marten is basically a predator and will hunt for birds and small mammals, but when given the chance and the source it will eat everything. Martens are night active animals and will avoid light, noise and humans. This is the main reason why car and house owners will usually not see the marten, but only the results of its activities. These can be gnawed at cables, insulations or hoses or moved roof tiles.

Mating.

Martens are usually prepared to mate between 30 and 60 days per year. Pregnancy can be a few months and there will only be one person per year. The newly born are blind at birth and stay in the nest for approximately 2 month. They become mature after six months and have a life expectancy of 10 to 20 years.