31 July 2025
Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) are herbivores and solely eat plants. During the summer, North American Porcupines eat twigs, roots, stems, berries, leaves, and other vegetation. Porcupines also eat certain insects and nuts. In the winter, they eat mainly conifer needles and tree bark.
— Wikipedia: North American porcupine
So why do folks who camp in the north woods tell stories of porcupines that crawl under cars and chew on wiring, tires, brake and fuel lines?
Porcupines love salt and find some resins, rubbers and plastics quite tasty. Any one of these substances — but especially salt — can be enough to prompt a porcupine to start chewing on a vehicle.
Porcupines are especially attracted in winter when cars are coated in road salt.
Porcupines are attracted to anything salty. So winter road salt can attract them to automotive parts and rubber, including brake lines, fuel lines, tires, half-shaft boots, etc. Thoroughly hose off or wipe down vehicles and vehicle parts to remove accumulated salt. If possible, keep vehicles in a garage or erect a temporary fence around vehicles.
— Wildlifehelp.org: Pennsylvania > Porcupine Damage to vehicles
What else is salty? This doorknob on the outhouse door is salty from the hands that touched it and …
… there’s more salt inside the outhouse plus tasty resin in the plywood. This porcupine was caught eating an outhouse in Alaska. He poses in a defensive posture, exposing his quills.
We didn’t see a porcupine at Redbank Trail eight years ago (today!) but there’s more to the story of the doorknob in this vintage article.
p.s. If you have a porcupine problem, wildlifehelp.org may have a solution. Here’s their advice about cars.
My boxer got nailed by one in the Laurel mountains. He was such a knuckle head. That was the only time I ever heard him yelp.