Marten Repellent, Car

The Gardigo Marten Repellent does not stop the marten from coming into the area. But it does make the animal feel most uncomfortable and after a while it will search for other areas which are quieter and more peaceful. The devices use changing ultrasonic frequencies, which martens find most disturbing. The distribution of the sound waves is dependent on the spatial conditions of the area in which the device is used. Once the animals realise that the unpleasant sound isn’t just for a short time but continuous, they will prefer being in another location. It may take a couple of days or even weeks until the animals will react.

Use

When used in the engine compartment: before using the repellent we recommend having the engine washed at an autoshop. This will remove all odours and smells that might attract the marten and/or tell it that this has been its former home.

How do I know I have been visited by a marten?

1. Scratch marks can be found on beams or gutters and paw marks on the bonnet and roof of the car.
2. Scraping and scratching sounds in the attic or ceiling during the evening and at night.
3. Unpleasant smells and signs of urination. Martens permanently mark their territory with the secretions of their anal glands.
4. Faeces, about 1 cm thick with a twisted, pointed end. Similar to cat faeces.
5. Damaged cables and knocked down flowerpots.
6. Gnaw marks on ignition cables as well as damaged break, fuel and hydraulic hoses in the engine compartment, as this is a warm and dry place.
7. Leftover food, eggshells, breadcrumbs, carcasses of birds, mice etc..

Martens are nocturnal animals and not very specific about their food. Houses and barns, garages or engine compartments - anyplace warm and comfortable - these are the preferred places where martens like to be. These are also the places where they cause considerable damage.

If you have a marten in your attic, it will quickly turn nighttime into day, as the animal will scratch and inspect every object that is not firmly anchored. The first falling flowerpot will make you sit up straight in your bed. Also small pets as well as chickens are not safe from martens.

In residential areas where one brick house is built next to the other and there are only very few places for a marten to hide, the animals will gladly move into the engine compartments of freshly parked cars, as the engine is a warm and cosy refuge. Here the marten can cause considerable damage by biting the power lines or damaging petrol, break or hydraulic pipes. The marten marks its territory, including the engine bay. If the car is moved into the territory of another marten, the new marten will attack the odour marks, in this case inside the engine compartment, and cause havoc.

The mating season begins in late June. Therefore the territory fights reach their peak in May. At this time of the year marten males are extremely aggressive.

Gebrauchsanweisung Marder-Frei Auto (PDF)