Porcupines venture into residential areas for a surprising reason—they crave salt that they cannot get from their diet of leaves and bark, and there is plenty of it near humans. Some of their favorite sources of salt include car tires that have driven through salted streets, tool handles and boat oars found in sheds, horse saddles, and plywood that is glued with a sodium-based material. Porcupines are an uncommon home intruder. If one is a regular in your yard, it is likely because of unusual circumstances such as a drought or food shortage.
We trapped and relocated these two porcupines.
The biggest nuisance is when dogs bother them. They will defend themselves. Porcupines can strip and kill an ornamental tree in less than a week. In the forest,this helps with opening the forest floor as well as providing food sources for woodpeckers. They find food in the decaying tree. Nature has its process.
Owls will use the cavities opened by woodpeckers.