The stone marten is a beautiful animal, but can cause a lot of nuisance. This beautiful mustelid can do a lot of damage and misery, especially to bird watchers and poultry keepers. But he can also bother people without pets. Even cables in cars are not safe from this rover. A few facts are listed and some tips to keep the protected stone marten out of your home.
Stone marten
The stone marten belongs to the group of mustelids, just like the polecat, otter, badger, pine marten, ermine and weasel. The stone marten can be found in much of Europe and adapts easily. As a result, he can also be regularly found near people. He makes good use of homes, sheds, garages and cars. The animal also knows what to do with the waste we dump everywhere.
Appearance
In itself the stone marten is a very beautiful animal, it is about the same size as a cat, but is slimmer and lower on its legs. It has a dark to pale brown coat with a white, “forked” band (think of a fish fork) that runs down to the front legs. Very striking is his beautiful long bushy tail that has a length of about 26 centimeters. Its body can reach a length of almost half a meter, including tail it can thus have a total length of about 75 centimeters. The weight of the animal can vary from 900 to 2500 grams, males are almost always heavier than females. The stone marten is one nocturnal animal so that one will not easily meet him.
Food
The stone marten is a real one predator and basically eat anything. He eats small animals such as: birds, mice, rats, rabbits, squirrels and frogs, but also insects and worms are not safe for him. Fruits are also on his menu such as berries, cherries, apples and other game fruits. Nests and nesting boxes are also looted by him to then eat an egg or a young chick. He also regularly manages to penetrate bird aviaries and poultry cages and then strike there. A stone marten can last up to 10 in one night chickens or kill ducks.
Habitat
The stone marten has a large territory and can travel 10 to 15 km per night. The territory of a male overlaps that of several females. The size of the territory depends on the quality of the area where it lives, the greater the food supply, the smaller a territory needs to be. Borders are marked with urine and with scent from glands in the hind legs.
A stone marten sleeps during the day and has several sleeping places for this that he visits alternately, the shelters can be anywhere such as: tree hollows, twigs, cairns, attics, attics, stables, sheds, cavity walls or space under roofs. The animal needs a passage of 5 to 9 cm to get to its hiding place.
Nuisance
The stone marten can cause annoying or even serious nuisance in various ways.
Destruction
Stone martens often gnaw cables under the hood of cars piece, this is mainly because fish oil is used for the production of the cables. Insulation material in and around houses is also regularly broken by the animals in order to create a passage for a nest or sleeping place.
Noise pollution
A stone marten in the attic makes a lot of noise, they like to run and play with each other. However, this makes so much noise that people initially think of burglars. Because they are nocturnal animals they can keep humans awake quite well. When the young, sometimes as many as four, are large enough and deemed independent, the mother chases her young with much screaming and fighting.
Odor nuisance
Stone martens can cause extreme odor nuisance. This can happen because they use a certain place in the house (attic, cavity, on ceiling parts) as a toilet. Stone martens always do their business in the same place and the animal will leave all its excrement there. If this is a place that you cannot reach, the stench of urine and faeces will become increasingly pervasive. Stone martens also drag their prey to shelters and sometimes leave behind large chunks of loot. The cadavers will eventually decompose, resulting in a terrible stench. A fly infestation can then develop in the house if maggots are given the opportunity to develop into flies.
Not dangerous
Although some people fear the mustelike, it is not dangerous to humans. Even if you see him walking around at night, he will never just attack. Unless the animal is cornered it will attack and if threatened the animal will protect the little ones by all means.
Also, a stone marten, by itself, never attacks a dog or cat.
Enemies
In the Netherlands only the fox is a natural enemy of the stone marten, every now and then a young stone marten falls prey to a dog or cat. Most victims, however, fall due to traffic and people killing them illegally. Outside the Netherlands, bears, wolves and eagles hunt for the stone marten.
Why protected?
For people who are very inconvenienced by it predator It is incomprehensible, but the stone marten is protected by law. Therefore, the animal should not be caught, killed or disturbed. The reason for protection is because things are going very badly with the stone martens in the Netherlands. For a long time they were caught and killed for his beautiful fur. By protecting them, it is hoped that the number can increase again and that nature will remain in balance in this way. If you try to catch or kill the stone marten, you are committing a criminal offense and you risk a hefty fine. Disrupting nesting and sleeping places is also a serious crime and will be fined. Catching or killing does not make much sense, their place is quickly taken back by a congener. The only thing that helps is to prevent them from entering a home.
Do not let the stone marten come in
Especially in the case of a stone marten, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, make sure that the animal cannot come into your home. You do this by blocking any access roads.
Pay attention: You must be sure that the stone marten no has a nest with young in your house, otherwise they will die with all the consequences that entails. The stone marten will eventually drag its young on its own, but will need an exit route.
Close with a cloth cloth
If you are sure that you have found the hiding place, it is possible to cover it loosely during the day with a cloth. The marten must then remove the cloth before it can leave your home. Usually they don’t come back after that. To check whether the marten is still actually gone, you can put the cloth back again, if it is still in place after one or two days, the stone marten has not returned and has really left your house. At that moment you can then completely close the opening with gauze and polyurethane foam. If they have a nest, they will come back to move the young to a safer place, so you can close the opening at a later time.
Through a tree
If the marten can climb on the roof via a tree, it is advisable to place some kind of “collar” around the tree trunk. A marten cannot climb over this and will then not get further than the “collar” and will have to turn. There are special companies that sell this. A “collar” looks a bit like a lampshade. Overhanging branches can possibly be pruned, but keep in mind that a stone marten can jump very far.
Animal shelters
If you have rabbits, chickens or other small animals, make sure that the cages are well closed at night, also at the top. Martens only need a small passage (at least 5 centimeters) and can cause a lot of damage in an animal enclosure.
Car
Prevent damage to your car by placing it in a garage if possible. However, this is not always possible, you can also put large pieces of mesh under your car as soon as you park it. Or protecting your cables with chicken wire is also an option, success is assured! Patches of dust impregnated with ammonia can also scare the animals, unfortunately this usually only works temporarily.
Stone marten friendly garden
It may sound a bit contradictory but make your garden stone marten friendly. If the animals can find a great hiding place in the garden, then there is a chance that they will spare your home. You can do this by placing wood stacks with hay and straw on a small elevation. They also love hollow trees, fruit trees, hedges and bushes.
Noise
Noise and noise are only temporary help against a stone marten because it has several hiding places. When peace has returned, the stone marten will eventually return.
When precautions no longer work
If all precautions have been taken to keep the animals out of your home but you continue to experience Stone Martens, it is best to call in a Stone Marten expert to correct your problem.
Finally
For more information about vermin and pest control, please contact the special door here to click.