# Porcupines doing major damage to park



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Porcupines doing major damage to park 

By BRIAN MULHERIN, Daily News Staff Writer, 6-15-04 

http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=23501&PHPSESSID=1d15f08b8257d2f4418b368ba0253bec

Some unwelcome visitors have been making use of Ludington State Parks Great Lakes Visitors Center. 

Porcupines are being blamed for large holes that have been gnawed in the wood siding  typically referred to as T-111 siding  on the sides of the building. 

The animals are apparently attracted to the glue used to build the siding out of thin layers of plywood. 

Weve had a problem off and on for years, Park Manager Mike Mullen said. 

Mullen said the problem seems to be more prevalent in the early summer, but he said hes not sure whether its the young porcupines or mother porcupines that might be seeking the minerals in the siding. 

The animals have also been chewing on the posts at one of the hiking shelters. Mullen said so far, the only remedy the park staff has tried that has worked is trapping the animals. 

One small porcupine was trapped near the hiking shelter last weekend. Trapped animals are killed in as humane a manner as possible, Mullen said. 

Mullen said crews would try putting hardware cloth  a wire mesh  around the posts and along the siding to see if that helped. 

Dan Rohde of Wildlife Removal Services said the problem of hungry porcupines feasting on homes is fairly common. 

I get a few calls every year, Rohde said. Theyre finding some type of mineral content in (the siding), usually salt. 

Another possible culprit may be red squirrels, Mullen said, but considering the size of the hole the animals made in the outer wall of the Visitors Center, he doubts theyre entirely responsible. 

On Monday, a very young red squirrel, whose ears and nose appeared to be too large for his body, skittered into and out of the live traps that the crews had baited with salt to attract the porcupines. 

Porcupines and red squirrels are not protected in Michigan.


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