The porcupine is a large rodent, heavy bodied, short legs, and is slow and awkward moving. There are totally defenseless, except for the fact that they carry up to 30,000 barbed quills. There is no truth to the belief that porcupines shoot these quills. In order for the quills to penetrate something, direct contact must be made with the body of the porcupine. More quills actually are discharged into an aggressor, by the porcupine slapping its tail against the aggressor.

Porcupines eat herbaceous plants, bark on softwood trees and the twigs of certain hardwood trees, especially birch. They also like to raid gardens where they will many varieties of fruit and vegetables.

Porcupines breed in the Autumn and have one offspring in the spring of the year. The young is capable of eating vegetation within one week after birth.

Although tree damage or raiding gardens can be a conflict with humans, the most contentious issue is when it comes to porcupines is when these shy and secretive animals defend themselves against the family dog. Vet bills are high, when the family pooch becomes a “pin cushion”.

Porcupines are a non-protected species in Nova Scotia. This means that lethal controls are permitted without the use of permits, as long as all related provincial/federal laws are followed.

At Advanced Wildlife Control, I will exhaust all non-lethal approaches in catching and relocating offending porcupines. This can be done through the use of cages. Call Mike at 497-2582 to solve your porcupine problem.

According to Department of Natural Resources record keeping, Advanced Wildlife Control does more Porcupine removals than any other company in N.S. - a testament to our professionalism and reasonable prices.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the company you hire has the necessary permit(s). Most, if not all pest control/exterminator companies do not have permits. Check first and save yourself possible headaches in the future.