A marten in the house is not a pleasant thing: it makes noise at night, destroys insulation material and leaves behind feces and urine. Below you will find out how to track down martens in the house and how to successfully get rid of them.
How do you get rid of martens from the house?
To get rid of martens in the house, smells such as citrus scents, animal hair or vinegar, noise sources such as ultrasound devices or radio and electric shocks can be used. After successful expulsion, all entrances and climbs should be secured with marten protection measures such as wire mesh or gutter protection.
Repel martens in the house
First of all: It is not easy to drive away a marten. Martens are very territorial animals and often come back, even after they have disappeared for weeks. Martens are also very good climbers and jumpers and can also get through small holes and cracks. A hole diameter of 5cm is sufficient as an entrance for the marten.
Background
Primary residence or stopover?
Martens have several hiding places at the same time, which they use in different ways. You can recognize a “main residence” by the fact that the marten has created a toilet where it leaves its excrement and that there are leftover food, i.e. carrion or even fruits and seeds, lying around here and there. If you are lucky enough that the marten has only chosen your house as a stopover or hasn't had time to make itself comfortable, it will be much easier to persuade it to stay somewhere else.
Repel martens with smells
Probably the easiest, although not always successful, method is to drive away the marten with smells. Due to its fine nose, the marten reacts very sensitively to foreign smells that it does not like. These include, among others:
- Citrus flavors
- Mothballs and lavender scents
- Toilet stones
- Dog and cat hair
- animal urine
- Vinegar
- Diesel
To drive away the marten with scents, you should combine several different ones and hang them up in different places where the marten is. It makes particular sense to “pollute” sleeping places and entrances.
Repel martens with light or noise
In specialist stores you can find ultrasound devices (€29.00 on Amazon), which are often equipped with a motion detector and emit light when movement is detected. Experiences with such devices vary. But in combination with scents they can be successful. If you have pets or are a happy host father or mother of bats, you should avoid using ultrasound devices, as these animals also hear the “noise”.
Of course, you don't have to buy an ultrasound device to make noise for the marten. You can also make noise yourself, for example by setting up a radio or doing a really loud job.
Tip
Light alone is not enough to keep a marten away. Noise alone has also proven to be insufficient in several cases.
Repelling martens with electric shocks
Although this method is primarily used for cars, it is very promising and can also be adapted for attics, walls or false ceilings. When the marten steps on the cables, it receives a small electric shock. He doesn't like it at all and quickly learns where he isn't wanted. It is important that the cables are designed so that he cannot bypass them.
Blocking out the marten
Marten protection for the gutter is a helpful remedy against martens
Once the marten is out of the house, it's a matter of not letting it in again. To successfully exclude the marten, you should block all entrances and climbs. Various aids can be used for this:
- wire mesh
- Marten belt for gutters and trees
- Gutter Protection
- Wire mats with or without spikes
Inspect the attic or similar for any holes, cracks and loose roof tiles and glue or seal these with non-gnawable material.
Excursus
closed season
Never lock a marten out during the closed season! Marten vipers often build their nests in attics and give birth to their three to four young there. It is absolutely forbidden to let these animals starve to death. There is therefore a closed season from around the beginning of March to mid-October (depending on the federal state). Martens are not allowed to be caught at this time. However, there is nothing to stop you from using home remedies. However, you are not allowed to block the mother's access to her offspring.
Keep martens away with pets
Where a pet already lives, there is no room for the marten
Martens and cats and dogs are natural enemies. If a pet already lives in the house, it is very unlikely that a marten will nest, especially if the pet has access to the attic. Targeting a cat specifically to target a marten or purchasing a cat to drive away a marten is not advisable. The marten defends itself and its territory and can seriously injure your pet.
Catch the marten in the house
Martens may be caught with a live trap outside of the closed season. This must not smell like humans or chemicals! It should be placed in a place where the marten can definitely get through and should ideally have two entrances. To lure the marten into the trap, you should provide them with treats such as eggs, dried fruits or dried meat.
Tip
If the marten falls into the trap, drive it far, far away. You should be at least 25km away from the starting point when you release the marten.
Is there really a marten in the house?
Martens are often difficult to distinguish from other intruders such as raccoons, cats or rats because they are all nocturnal and draw attention to themselves with a lot of noise. A good indication of who has nested in the attic or elsewhere in the house is the droppings. Marten droppings are up to 10cm long and visibly contain remains of animals, seeds and other things. Only raccoon poop looks similar to this.
Raccoons leave other footprints that almost look like child tracks. Martens, on the other hand, leave tracks that show a crescent-shaped pad with five toes plus claws.
Excursus
Pine marten versus stone marten
Pine martens avoid people
We talk about martens and we almost always mean the stone marten, which is also called the house marten because it likes to stay close to people. Marten actually refers to a whole family of animals, which also includes badgers, weasels and otters. The real martens include, among others, the two species found here, the pine marten and the stone marten. Both species of martens look very similar, although the pine marten, with a total length of around 80cm and a weight of around 1.8kg, is slightly smaller than the stone marten, which is up to 85cm tall and weighs 2.3kg. The fur of pine martens is somewhat finer, which is why they are also called noble martens and were hunted for their fur for a long time. Although the population of pine martens has declined sharply, neither it nor its relative the stone marten is protected.
Where does the marten nest in the house?
Martens like to live high up. They don't like to spend time in the basement. You can most often find martens here:
- In the roof
- In the false ceiling
- In the wall
Indications of a marten include rumbling and scratching at night, scratching and gnawing marks at the entrance, eaten insulation and marten droppings.
If there is a marten with her young in your house, you will find a nest. Not only can it look like a bird's nest made of twigs, leaves and feathers - it can even be a disused bird's nest! But martens also like to use materials from the human world such as insulation material or fabric to build their nests.
Frequently asked questions
How to get rid of a marten in the house?
Martens can be driven away with various household remedies such as scents or noise; There are also a number of marten deterrents available from specialist retailers. It makes sense to combine different methods and also to exclude the marten with marten belts, gutter protection and wire mesh.
How do I know if I have a marten in the house?
Martens are loud at night, but other animals also make noise at night. A good indication of a marten is feces in which food remains can clearly be seen.
What time are martens active?
Martens are nocturnal and do not leave their hiding place until dusk at the earliest. Sometimes they make a lot of noise, making it impossible to sleep at night.
Which scents help against martens?
Martens have a very sensitive nose and cannot smell a lot of things: citrus scents, toilet stones, moth balls as well as dog and cat hair and animal urine or feces are among the smells that martens cannot stand.
