Martens are native animals that, depending on the species, live in the forest or near people. Since they like to eat chickens, sleep in insulation wool and sometimes bite a cable out of anger, they are not particularly popular near houses. Find out all the methods below to get rid of martens.
Home remedies to get rid of martens
Martens have very keen senses. Both their nose and their ears are many times more sensitive than our sense of hearing and smell. We can take advantage of this when it comes to driving away martens.
Smells against martens
Martens can't stand the smells of citrus fruits or dog hair
Martens cannot stand strong smells. These include, on the one hand, smells of enemies and, on the other hand, pungent aromas such as those of citrus fruits, cloves, petroleum, diesel or even mothballs or toilet stones.
The enemies of martens include dogs, cats, foxes and bears. To keep martens away with their scents, you should get a few good handfuls of hair and/or urine. Dog or cat feces can also be used.
Keep martens away with scents
It's best to use a mix of different fragrances that martens don't like and proceed as follows:
- Spread hair, feces, urine and/or scented bowls with cloves, mothballs or cut citrus fruits in several places in the room or engine compartment where you suspect a marten.
- Especially equip the entry points with them.
- Renew your scent bombs once a week.
Tip
Be persistent. Martens have several hiding places and keep coming back, even if they haven't visited their hiding place for weeks. Therefore, you should continue with the procedure for several weeks, but ideally one to two months, and also block all entrances, as we explain below.
Repel martens with noises
Martens have a very sensitive hearing
Martens have very good hearing and like it quiet in their hiding places. If you suspect a marten in a barn or somewhere out of your earshot, you can scare the marten away with loud music or noise. To do this, set up a radio and simply provide the marten with constant sound. This method is safer if you combine it with other means.
Ultrasound against martens
Special ultrasound devices are available in stores that are intended to keep martens away. These devices emit noise at a high frequency that is imperceptible to us. These marten scarers can be used anywhere and are usually equipped with a battery. Some devices are solar powered. Buyers report good experiences with high-quality products. Cheaper devices are often poorly rated.
Tip
Attention: Ultrasound is also extremely unpleasant for bats and other animals that need to be protected. If you have bats in your home, you should definitely avoid using ultrasound devices.
Light against martens
You can find numerous marten deterrents with lights in specialist and online stores. These are equipped with a motion detector and emit light in a flash when they detect movement. The theory is that the marten gets scared and runs away. In practice, however, experience shows that such devices produce different results: While some buyers are satisfied, others report that the marten continues to cause mischief. Even in combination with ultrasound, the success rates are different.
Repel martens with electric shock
Radical but definitely effective: These high-voltage devices are installed in the car and give the marten an electric shock when they enter. As long as the devices are of high quality and work perfectly, the success rate is very high. After all, no marten likes to be electrocuted.
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Pets against martens
As already mentioned, martens and dogs or cats do not get along. This means that a dog or cat can also be used to “defend martens”. But beware! There are a few things you should know about this:
- Dog or cat should be of sufficient size to be able to take on the marten.
- Martens are territorial animals. If they have already settled in, they will defend their home violently.
- Like all mothers, martens defend their young to the death. Under no circumstances should you try to drive away a female marten with young with a pet.
So it's not such a good idea? Yes and no. Cats and dogs are great if you want to prevent a marten from settling in your home. If there is already a pet, martens will avoid the already “occupied territory”. Repelling martens with a pet is a difficult matter as your pet runs the risk of being injured or even killed.
Cats prevent martens from settling in their territory
Keep martens away with wire etc
The most helpful way to get rid of a marten is to not let it in at all. Of course, this only works if it is a closed room. To do this, all entrances must be blocked, gutters blocked and slots closed. Martens can also fit through very small openings and are great climbers. If you are not sure whether the marten is inside the room or not, you can attach special disposable closures that will let the marten out but not let them in. There are many products on the market that will help you Some of them can also be made by yourself:
- Special marten repellent belts for gutters and trees where birds nest
- Marten protection grille as a floor mat that is placed under the car (the marten doesn't like the feeling under the paws)
- Fine mesh wire mesh to close entrances and protect insulation material + for coops to protect chickens
Catch, hunt or kill martens
Martens may only be caught by laypeople using live traps
Martens are subject to hunting law. What does that mean for you? That you are not allowed to hunt or kill the marten, unless of course you are a hunter. However, you can catch the marten with a live trap. It is best to place these in a place that the marten often visits and fill them with treats such as cat food or sweets such as honey-coated dates or plums. It is important that you do not leave any human smell on the trap. Be sure to wear gloves and no perfume when preparing! You can find out more about how to successfully catch a marten in our detailed article on catching martens.
Martens should be released at least 25km away from the starting point.
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Attention: closed season
In May/June, marten cubs explore their surroundings for the first time - accompanied by their mother
Martens cannot be caught all year round. An important exception is the closed season. This is the time when martens raise their young. Since marten cubs are dependent on their mother for several months, this closed season usually lasts from the beginning of March to mid-October, depending on the federal state. Anyone who dares to catch a marten during the closed season can face fines of up to €5,000.
What really helps against martens?
As with humans, so with martens: no two animals are alike. Whether and with what means a marten can be driven away depends not only on his personal preferences and how sensitive he is, but also on how comfortable he is in the retreat and how long he has lived there. Young talent also plays a big role. There is no way a mother will allow herself to be separated from her young. In order to really drive away the marten permanently, it is advisable to combine different means and to carry out the marten defense over a long period of time. It is particularly effective, if possible, to close the entrances.
The perfect recipe to get rid of martens
This combination should keep the marten away forever:
- Put out poop bags, cat urine in the litter and/or dog and cat hair at possible exits. Renew the fragrances every week.
- In corners that look cozy for sleeping, distribute scented bowls with citrus scents, mothballs, toilet stones and/or petroleum (be careful, flammable!)
- Set up a high-quality ultrasound device with a motion detector if you don't have bats in your home.
- Close entrances and holes with fine wire mesh and attach marten belts to the gutter.
- Maintain your marten defense for at least six weeks.
What damage do martens cause?
Martens use insulation material to build their nests
Martens like to nibble on everything they find, especially if they can use it, such as insulation material. Martens can therefore cause damage to the insulation in the wall or ceiling. Further marten damage to house and car is:
- Deep scratch marks on gutters, walls and entry holes
- Marten droppings
- Left food, especially dead animals
- Eaten power cables, ignition cables, hoses for cooling water, insulation mats and other things in the engine compartment
Background
Why does the marten bite cable?
Experts do not agree on why martens nibble on cables in the engine compartment. One theory is that they use their teeth to explore what there is to see or, more accurately, to bite. Another theory, which necessarily excludes the first, is that martens become angry when they detect the smell of a rival in the engine compartment and, in their anger, bite the cables. This theory is supported by the fact that damage occurs more frequently during mating season.
Is marten droppings harmful to he alth?
Marten droppings are of course unhygienic, they attract flies and stink. However, diseases are probably not transmitted through marten droppings. There is also no evidence for the transmission of toxoplasmosis; the main carriers of this disease are cats, not martens.
Female marten with young in the house
If you are allowed to house a marten with her young in your house, be prepared for a loud four months. While the first two months are rather quiet as the mother breastfeeds her helpless little ones in the nest, things can get extremely loud from the sixth or seventh week onwards. The marten cubs play and frolic and their mother takes turns taking one of them hunting to show it the area and teach it how to hunt. The spectacle continues until the cubs are finally independent at the age of six months and leave their mother's care.
Tip
It is forbidden to catch martens during the closed season, otherwise the little ones would starve miserably. However, if the spectacle becomes unbearable, you can hire a professional to remove the nest.
Repelling martens from the roof
Martens often get onto the roof via gutters
A roof offers the ideal shelter for martens: it is warm, dry, dark and there are many hiding places. However, it is not too difficult to get rid of a marten from an attic:
- Place “scent bombs” in several places, especially at entrances and sleeping areas, as explained above.
- Close entrances such as skylights, cracks and more.
- Block access points such as gutters with special marten wire.
- If you want to be on the safe side, also purchase an ultrasound machine.
- A motion detector with light can also scare the marten away.
Tip
It is not always clear where the marten gets in. They have a lot of power and can even lift roof tiles or bend sheet metal. They also fit through very small holes. Examine your roof carefully for scratch marks to identify and block entrances.
Background
What are martens doing in the attic?
Martens use the space to sleep or to build nests to raise young. Martens are very territorial, have several hiding places in their territory, which can be several kilometers in size, and visit them alternately.
Repelling martens from the car
Marten damage in the car is particularly annoying and expensive. Even if most insurance companies cover the damage, you should take precautions and protect your car from sharp marten teeth. A combination of different methods is also useful here: scent sacks, ultrasound devices, rabbit mats under the car and marten repellent devices that give the animals electric shocks are effective ways to keep martens away from the engine compartment. More about this in the video:
Repel martens from the garden
Getting a marten out of the garden is difficult because scents are ineffective here and ultrasound devices would also disturb other, useful animals and cause them to flee. Closing entrances in the garden is also almost impossible. Getting a large dog or cat is one way to scare the marten away. However, it makes more sense to tolerate the presence of a marten in the garden. Martens do not eat vegetables, so they pose no threat to vegetable gardens. Protect buildings and stables adequately from access and also install marten protection on trees where birds nest. If the marten cannot find dry, warm shelter in your garden, it will just travel through and continue searching.
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Marten species
There are mainly two types of “real martens” (Martes) to observe here: the domestic marten, also called the stone marten (Martes foina) and the pine marten, also called the noble marten because of its beautiful fur (Martes martes). Both species are very shy and look very similar: brown fur with a white spot on the neck, rounded-pointed ears and a pointed face. On average, the pine marten is slightly smaller than the stone marten. The big difference between the two species, however, is their habitat: While pine martens stay in the forest and avoid people, stone martens live close to people. If you have a marten in your house, it is definitely a stone marten.
Marten in the ceiling or wall
Martens particularly like insulation material because it is so warm. They either nest directly in the wall or tear it up and take it with them to build their nest. Here too, it is essential to identify and block the entrances. Since not all entrances are always discovered, you should also distribute unpleasant scents and/or work with ultrasound devices.
Frequently asked questions
Which (home) remedies work against martens?
Smells that are unpleasant for the marten, such as hair or urine from enemies or even citrus scents, have proven to be good home remedies against martens. Flash lights with motion detectors, ultrasound devices, electric shocks and wire mesh also help to keep the martens away.
Which smell deters martens?
Fox urine, dog hair or cat feces have proven to be helpful in repelling martens, especially when combined. Furthermore, martens cannot tolerate intense smells such as the aroma of citrus fruits, petroleum or even mothballs or toilet stones.
How do you get rid of a marten from the attic?
First, you should locate the entrances and block them with fine-mesh wire. Then scent bombs should be distributed in the attic and possibly combined with commercially available devices that emit light or ultrasound.
Can a cat drive away martens?
Yes, martens avoid cats as long as the cat was there before them and is big enough to pose a danger to them. Young or weak cats can definitely be killed by martens.
Can you drive away martens with light?
You can find numerous devices in stores that promise to scare a marten away with flash lights. In practice, the success of such devices with motion detectors varies considerably. It makes sense to combine the marten deterrent with light with home remedies.
