Porcupine Problem

[earlyrizer]

Hi all.I'm new to this forum.
This seems like a good place to post my question.

I have a house in the hills of n/central Pennsylvania (Potter County). I'm not presently living there full time,but will probably make the move within a year or two.

I deal with the usual critter problems associated with living in the woods;mice,squirrels,bears knocking over the burn barrel etc.
None of it causes any major problems for me.
Except for the porcupine!
Specificaly,the chewing.
I had parked my van up there to use around the property.
About a month ago,I popped the hood one morning to discover a porc. had gotten in there & basicly destroyed the engine.
He had chewed every wire down to the terminal,chewed every hose down to the connection.
He got to the brake hoses & there were even teeth marks on the underside of the hood.
Last year he/she/they chewed a hole through my garage door.

Now,I have no problem taking care of this situation when I'm there.
It's when I'm gone that this porc party seems to be happening.

So,my question is; Does anyone know of an effective porcupine deterrent?
Maybe something they don't like the smell/taste of?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,Earlyrizer

[CarolAnn]

There are products that contain the dried urine of predators that are supposed to help, like this one:
http://www.critter-repellent.com/porcupine/porcupine-repellent.php

But I haven't used it, so I can't say how good it is.

If you want to try live trapping, I've read that they adore salt and will be attracted to anything salty.

My guess is that there are more than a few folks here that would recommend the application of an unsalted 22 round, though! (Don't know what the laws are concerning shooting this kind of varmint, but after the kind of losses you've had from the little critter, it might be worth looking in to!)

[earlyrizer]

Thanks for the link CarolAnn.
That repellant's not very expensive,so I may give it a try.
Looks like it may be the solution for an unattended property.
As I'd mentioned,I've got no problem solving this situation when I catch one of the little critters in the act.
;)

[DaNgEr_KiTtY]

if you catch one of them in the act make sure you get it with one shot. i have heard that if you fire twice you could give your position away to the other porcupines:)

on a serious note you may even consider perimeter type alarms or motion detectors. remember that you dont need a siren to scare off a little critter, a recording of a rosie o'donnel rave out will prolly do.