Recognize, drive away, or catch

the essentials in brief

• Martens in the attic make a hell of a noise: rumbling, scratching and rumbling indicate its presence.
• Martens are often confused with cats, raccoons or rats; the animals can be distinguished by their excrement.
• Martens can be driven away from the attic with home remedies such as smells, light signals or noise.
• Martens may not be killed, but caught with a live trap outside the closed season.

Notes for a marten on the roof.

Martens are usually recognized by their noise first. When the attic rumbles, rumbles and scratches at night, most residents suspect that a marten has taken root with them. But this does not necessarily have to be the case, because other animals are too post-active and make a noise in the attic late at night, for example:

• Big rats
• racoon
• Cats
• Dormouse

Why does it matter? Depending on who is up to mischief in your attic, you can resort to different means: A rat can be poisoned or be caught with a rat trap, but you want to spare your neighbour's cat, martens too, because they are subject to it Hunting law; just like the raccoon. Dormouse are even under natural reserve, different from the marten!

Distinguish martens from other intruders

All of the animals mentioned above make sometimes more, sometimes less noise. So you can't tell them apart by that. However, there are two characteristics that you can use to distinguish martens and co.:

• Feces
• traces

Recognize marten droppings

In Marten droppings leftovers are often seen

Here is a comparison of the faeces of the most frequent roof visitors:

Marten droppings can be distinguished from the excrement of rats, dormice and cats mainly by its length and the presence of leftover food. To tell the difference to a raccoon, you can make the tracks visible as explained in the following section. Or you just fight the animals as described in the lower part, because in this case it really doesn't matter whether it is a raccoon or a marten. In addition, the remedies mentioned below help against both martens and raccoons.

Make marten tracks visible

The paw prints of the intruders can be made visible with the help of fine sand, flour or lime. Scatter the material in those places where you suspect the passage of a marten and then examine the result.

Recognize marten tracks

Marten prints usually show five toes with their claws

Marten tracks In contrast to cats, they usually show five toes, in front of which a fine claw print can be seen. The paw print is about 4.5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide. The imprint of a raccoon is significantly larger at up to 7cm, and raccoons also leave traces that look very similar to those of a human child.

Digression

Marten offspring in the attic

Damage in the attic

In addition to the obvious noise, martens also often cause other damage in the attic:

• They scratch wood, openings and walls.
• They damage insulation material in order to equip their nest with it.
• They sometimes nibble on cables and wires.

Drive martens from the attic.

To drive martens out of your attic, there are a number of home remedies and special devices available that you can also use during the closed season. However, it is unlikely that you can use it to drive away a mother with her children. Of course, it's still worth a try.

Home remedies for martens in the attic

There are numerous home remedies for martens, which mainly use their good sense of smell and hearing. So there are a number of Smells that martens don't like, such as:

• Citrus oils
• Toilet stones
• Mothballs
• Cat or dog feces
• Dog hair
• Urine from enemies such as foxes, cats, or dogs

To make the marten successful with these "scents" to evict you should combine several smells and distribute them in different places in your attic. You should replace your fragrance bombs once a week so that the smell is not lost. You should also keep this measure in the roof for several weeks up to two months to ensure that the Marten won't come back.

Noise against martens

Persistent noise robs martens of sleep

Just as the marten prevents you from sleeping at night, you can prevent it from rest during the day when it wants to sleep. Annoying noise z. B. no marten can withstand a radio permanently. However, you should also keep making noise here for several weeks. An additional scattering of fragrances can also do no harm.

Means from the specialized trade against martens

In specialist shops you will find numerous remedies against martens, which can be summarized in the following four categories:

1. Fragrances against martens
2. Ultrasound equipment
3. Electric shocks
4. light

Fragrances against martens

The products offered in specialist shops have the advantage over home remedies that they are more concentrated and easy to apply. There are different experiences with regard to effectiveness: For some, home remedies help, for others, the means from specialist retailers, for some neither of the two.

Ultrasound equipment

Ultrasound devices are practical and not annoying because the frequencies are inaudible to us. However, there are also numerous reports from buyers who were unable to successfully sell their marten with it. Another major disadvantage is that the devices drive not only martens crazy but also useful bats and even pets.

Electric shocks

High-voltage devices are mainly used for cars

This measure is mainly offered for cars, but can also be used in the attic if it is clear where the marten gets in. High voltage systems are considered to be very promising. When stepping on the laid out cables, the marten receives an unpleasant (but not fatal!) Electric shock, which induces him to avoid the area in the future.

Devices with light

The marten also likes it dark when sleeping. Therefore, devices are offered in specialist shops that emit light signals when moving and so scare the marten. In combination with other means, the device has shown success. It doesn't seem enough on its own.

Locking martens out of the attic.

Closing entrances is probably the most important measure against martens

Regardless of which measures you choose, you should definitely try to block any entrances at the same time. You can use the trail method to find out where the marten gets in, or you can run a surveillance camera in the attic to find out where the weak point is. You should close all entrances even without precise knowledge:

• Block ventilation and other entrances with fine-meshed wire
• Barricade gutters from the outside and inside (!)
• Attach loose roof tiles

Catch martens in the roof.

Successfully driving a marten away is difficult, and catching it is more difficult. Martens, as I said, have an extremely good sense of smell and would never fall into a trap that smells like humans. In addition, a marten may not be killed, but only caught with a live trap.

Still, the endeavor can succeed if you at Marten catch Consider the following:

• Before setting up the trap, clean it thoroughly with odorless agents.
• Wear gloves when doing this.
• Place the trap in a spot where the marten will definitely get through.
• Equip the trap suitable for marten with an egg, dried meat or dried fruit.
• Should the marten fall into the trap expose it at least 25km from the place where it is caught.

frequently asked Questions

How do you get rid of a marten in the roof?

First of all, you should block all entrances and use household remedies such as citrus oil, cloisters or a radio to make the attic an uncomfortable place to stay. You can also keep your marten away with animal hair or urine. In an emergency, you should use a live trap.

What kind of noise does a marten make in the roof?

Rumbling and scratching is a clear sign of a marten in your attic. Martens are loners and rarely talk to themselves. You will only hear him hissing and screaming loudly when he hears one cat or another marten gets in the way.

* Can I drive away a marten in the attic with home remedies?

You can use home remedies against one Marten in the roof You will be successful if you are persistent and consistent with your measures and combine several home remedies. Animal hair, cloisters and mothballs combined with a radio and the locking of possible entrances can induce a marten to walk.

How does the marten get on the roof?

How did the marten get onto a roof on the third floor? This is no problem at all for the gifted climber: they are used for the ascent Gutters, Posts or nearby trees. Use them to get inside small openings or raise roof tiles.