They can strip so much bark off the tree that it dies. There are some products that can discourage porcupines from literally eating you out of house and home. Most of these are liquid sprays that taste terrible to the porcupine. Another option for controlling problem porcupines is trapping and relocation. In northern climates, a natural predator of the porcupine, the fisher, is sometimes introduced into an area to control porcupine populations.
Fishers are a type of weasel and are about the size of a large house cat.
Other predators of the porcupine include the bobcat, and where found, the timber wolf, and wolverine. These animals are quick, and are able to flip the porcupine onto to its back in order to expose it s soft, unprotected belly. In Oklahoma, only the bobcat, and occasionally the coyote, are natural predators of the porcupine. Porcupines mate in the fall and give birth about 112 days later in the spring. They usually have only one offspring, called a porcupette, and twins are rare.