Martens are domestic animals that live in the forest or near people, depending on the species. Since they like to eat chickens, sleep in insulating wool and sometimes bite into a cable with anger, they are not particularly popular around houses. Find out below all the methods how you can drive away martens.

Getting rid of martens is not easy

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Home remedies for martens
  3. block entrances
  4. hunt marten
  5. What really helps?
  6. marten damage
  7. marten offspring
  8. Marten in the roof
  9. Marten in the car
  10. Marten in the garden
  11. Marten in the wall
  12. frequently asked Questions

    13. the essentials in brief

    • Martens can be kept away with home remedies such as scents, noises, ultrasound and light; Combinations work better.
    • Electric shocks and metal mats have proven their worth for engine compartments.
    • If there is a marten in the house, all entrances should be closed as soon as it is outside.
    • Martens may not be hunted or killed by non-hunters; however, you can catch them with a live trap.

    Home remedies to drive away martens

    Martens have very sharp 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 martens away.

    Smells against martens

    Martens don't like the smell of citrus fruits or dog hair at all

    Martens don't like strong smells. These include smells of enemies on the one hand and pungent aromas such as those of citrus fruits, cloves, petroleum, diesel or even mothballs or toilet blocks on the other.

    Martens enemies include dogs, cats, foxes and bears. In order to keep martens away with their scents, you should get a few decent hands full of hair and/or urine. Dog or cat droppings can also be used.

    Keep martens away with scents

    It is best to use a mix of different scents that martens hate and proceed as follows:

    • Distribute hair, feces, urine and/or scented pots of cloves, mothballs or sliced citrus fruit in several places in the compartment or engine compartment where you suspect a marten.
    • Equip it particularly well at the entry points.
    • Renew your scent bombs once a week.

    tips

    Be persistent. Martens have several hiding places and keep coming back, even if they haven't visited their hiding place for weeks. You should therefore continue with the procedure for several weeks, preferably one to two months, and also block all entrances, as we explain below.

    Drive away martens with noises

    Martens have 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 that is not within your earshot, you can use loud music or noise to drive the marten away. To do this, set up a radio and simply sonicate the marten permanently. This method is safer if you combine it with other means.

    Ultrasound against martens

    Special ultrasonic devices are available on the market to keep martens away. These devices emit sounds at a high frequency that we cannot hear. 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 rated poorly.

    tips

    Attention: Ultrasound is also extremely unpleasant for bats and other animals that need to be protected. If you have bats living with you, you should definitely refrain from using ultrasonic devices.

    Light against martens

    You will find numerous marten insects with light in specialist shops and online. These are equipped with a motion detector and emit a flash of light when they detect movement. The theory is that the marten is startled and runs away. In practice, however, experience has shown that such devices bring different results: while some buyers are satisfied, others report that the marten is still up to mischief. Even in combination with ultrasound, the success rates are different.

    Drive away martens with electric shock

    Radical but definitely effective: These high-voltage devices are installed in the car and give the marten an electric shock if they enter. If the devices are of high quality and work properly, the success rate here 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 "deter martens". But beware! You should know a few things about this:
    • Dog or cat should be big enough to take on the marten.
    • Martens are territorial animals. If they are already established, they will violently defend their home.
    • Like all mothers, mustelids will defend their young to the death. In no case should you try to drive away a female marten with cubs with a pet.

    So not such a good idea after all? Yes and no. Cats and dogs are great if you want to prevent a marten from settling in your home. If a pet is already present, martens will avoid the already "occupied territory". Repelling martens with a pet is a tricky business 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 and co

    The most helpful way to repel a marten is not to let it in at all. Of course, this is only possible if it is a closed room. To do this, all entrances must be blocked, gutters blocked and slits 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 one-way closures that let the marten out but not in.
    There are many products on the market for this purpose, some of which you can also make yourself:

    • Special marten defense belts for gutters and trees where birds nest
    • Marten protection grid as a floor mat that is placed under the car (the marten does not 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

    Laypersons may only catch martens with live traps

    Martens are subject to hunting law. What does that mean for you? That you must neither hunt nor 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 visits frequently and fill them with treats such as cat food or sweets such as dates or plums coated in honey. 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 marten capture.
    Martens should be released at least 25km away from the point of origin.

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    Attention: closed season!

    In May/June, young martens explore their surroundings for the first time - accompanied by their mother

    Martens may not be caught all year round. An important exception is the closed season. This is the time when mustelid females raise their young. Since young martens 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 expect fines of up to €5000.

    What really helps against martens?

    As with humans, so with martens: no two animals are alike. Whether and with what a marten can be driven away depends not only on his personal preferences and how sensitive he is, but also on how comfortable he lives in the place of retreat and how long he has lived there. Young people also play a major role. There is no way a mother will be separated from her young. In order to drive the marten away permanently, it is therefore advisable to combine different means and carry out the marten defense over a long period of time. If possible, it is particularly effective to close the entrances.

    The perfect recipe to drive away martens

    This combination should keep the marten away forever:

    • Place poo bags, cat urine in the litter and/or dog and cat hair at possible exits. Renew the fragrances every week.
    • In corners that look snuggly for sleeping, place scented bowls with citrus scents, mothballs, toilet blocks and/or petroleum (caution: flammable!)
    • Set up a high-quality ultrasound device with a motion detector if no bats live with you.
    • Seal entrances and holes with fine wire mesh (€14.99) and attach marten belts to the gutter.
    • Maintain your marten defenses for at least six weeks.

    What damage do martens cause?

    Martens use insulating material to build their nests

    Martens like to nibble on anything they can find, especially if they can use it, such as insulation material. Martens can therefore cause damage to the insulation in the wall or ceiling. Other marten damage to house and car are:

    • Deep scratch marks on gutters, walls and manholes
    • marten excrement
    • Leftover food, especially dead animals
    • Eaten power cables, ignition cables, hoses for cooling water, insulating mats and other things in the engine compartment

    background

    Why does the marten bite cables?

    Experts disagree as to 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 rather, what to bite. Another theory, which necessarily rules out the first, is that martens get angry when they smell the smell of a rival in the engine compartment and bite the cables in their anger. This theory is supported by the fact that damage occurs more frequently during the mating season.

    Is marten droppings harmful to health?

    Marten excrement is of course unhygienic, it attracts flies and stinks. However, diseases are probably not transmitted by the legacies of martens. 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're allowed to have a marten female with her young in your home, brace yourself for a whopping 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 noisy from the sixth or seventh week onwards. The marten cubs play and frolic and their mother takes turns hunting with one to show them around and teach them how to hunt. The spectacle continues until the cubs are finally independent at the age of six months and leave their mother's care.

    tips

    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.

    Drive martens off the roof

    Martens often get onto the roof via rain gutters

    A roof offers the ideal shelter for martens: It is warm, dry, dark and there are many places to hide. However, it is not too difficult to evict a marten from an attic:

    • Set up "scent bombs" in several places, especially at entrances and sleeping quarters, as explained above.
    • Seal entrances such as skylights, cracks and others.
    • Block access points such as gutters with special marten wire.
    • If you want to be on the safe side, get yourself an additional ultrasound device.
    • A motion detector with a light can also make the marten flee.

    tips

    It is not always clear where the marten gets on. They have a lot of strength and can even lift roof tiles or bend sheet metal. They also fit through very small holes. Carefully inspect your roof for scratches to identify and block entrances.

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    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 they take turns visiting them.

    Drive martens off the car

    Marten damage in the car is particularly annoying and expensive. Even if most insurance companies pay for the damage, you should take precautions and protect your car from sharp marten teeth. A combination of different methods is also useful here: scented bags, ultrasonic devices, rabbit mats under the car and marten repellent devices that administer electric shocks to the animals are effective ways of keeping a marten away from the engine compartment. More about this in the video:

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    Drive martens out of the garden

    It is difficult to drive a marten out of the garden, because scents are ineffective here and ultrasonic devices would also disturb other, useful animals and make them flee. Closing access points in the garden is also almost impossible. Getting a big dog or cat is one way to get rid of the marten.
    However, it makes more sense to tolerate the presence of a marten in the garden. Martens do not eat vegetables, so they do not pose a threat to vegetable gardens. Protect buildings and stables sufficiently from access and also attach a marten protection to trees in which birds nest. If the marten does not find a dry, warm shelter in your garden, it will just pass through and keep looking.

    digression

    marten species

    There are two main types of “real marten” (Martes) that can be observed here: the house marten, also known as the stone marten (Martes foina) and the pine marten, also known as the noble marten (Martes martes) because of its beautiful fur. 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 in the wall

    Martens are particularly fond of insulating material because it is so nice and warm. Either they nest directly in the wall or they 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 ultrasonic devices.

    frequently asked Questions

    Which (home) remedies work against martens?

    Odors that are unpleasant for the marten, such as hair or urine from enemies or citrus scents, have proven to be good home remedies against martens. Flashlights with motion detectors, ultrasonic devices, electric shocks and wire mesh also help to keep the marten away.

    Which smell deters martens?

    Fox urine, dog hair or cat faeces have proven to be helpful in repelling martens, especially in combination. Furthermore, martens cannot stand strong odors such as the aroma of citrus fruits, petroleum or even mothballs or toilet blocks.

    How do you drive a marten out of 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 will avoid cats, as long as the cat was there before them and is big enough to pose a threat to them. Young or weak cats can certainly be killed by martens.

    Can you drive away martens with light?

    You will find numerous devices on the market that promise to scare off a marten with a flashing light. In practice, the success of such devices with motion detectors is quite variable. It makes sense to combine the marten deterrent with light and home remedies.

Category:

Animals in the garden