Winter has arrived and you are wondering if you can remove the marten belts and other marten defenses? The annoying pest is surely hibernating now, isn't it? Unfortunately we have bad news for you.
Neither pine martens nor stone martens hibernate in winter
Martens don't hibernate
Both pine and stone martens are active throughout the winter and do not hibernate. In winter they can become even more of a nuisance: martens - like many others - are cold in winter, which is why they look for warm places to retreat. These include attics, thermal insulation in walls and car engines.
digression
Marten in the car
The widespread rumor that martens eat car inner tubes is consistently wrong. A single marten does not even cause damage in the engine compartment. Martens retreat into the engine - especially in winter - because it is warm here. At some point, however, the marten will leave its retreat again. If a new marten comes into the warm retreat, its territorial behavior awakens and becomes aggressive, because it smells the marten that was previously quiet here. In the course of his anger he bites into hoses and cables. This behavior can be observed particularly frequently during the mating season in March/April.Marten hunt in winter
Martens are particularly popular in winter. On the one hand, at least for stone martens, winter is definitely outside the closed season, and on the other hand, the tracks are clearly visible in the white snow. In addition, martens have a particularly beautiful, soft, dense fur in winter, which can be used to make bags or rugs.
No marten hunt without a hunting license!
But beware! Hunting martens without a marten license is prohibited in most federal states and can result in severe penalties of up to €5,000. This often includes catching in live traps at home. If in doubt, check with your local hunter.