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Chris Padilla
05-31-2011, 3:28 PM
We noticed the smell within the shed for a couple of days but couldn't locate the source. I finally looked UNDER the shed (it sits on 5 PT 4x4s) and whose eye's should reflect the flashlight back to me ~10' away: Pepe le Pew!

Now this is the time of year for litters so I'm guessing it is a momma but I don't know for sure.

I blocked the other channels and then tossed a half can of moth balls in the channel and around the opening. I then lightly packed leaves/twigs/maple chips around the opening and I will continue to do this until this light barrier is no longer disturbed. Only then can I determine if the premises have been vacated.

I'm hoping I can convince momma (if she is one) to move the young. This shed is our general storage shed and has our freezer in it. Had the skunk picked the wood shed: no problem!

Wish me luck...ammonia-soaked rags are next if the moth balls don't work.

Charlie Reals
05-31-2011, 3:46 PM
Good luck Chris, no ideas except have you considered a call to animal control? I have on occasion had them under my shop without a major problem butt I am not in the city. Not sure where you are.

Rich Engelhardt
05-31-2011, 4:14 PM
We had a momma and 5 babies under our old house.
We called everyone in the book to no avail. Dept of Natural Resources said pretty much that we were screwed if we got caught molesting or killing them since they are fur bearing animals & coved by anti poaching laws.

None of the pest control places would handle them either. Roaches and mice - yes - but - not anything that's considered a fur bearing critter by the state.

I bought a live trap - one of the wire cage kind - baited it with a few sardines and within a day or so, I'd trapped moma.
All 5 of the babies were very concerned momma couldn't get out and they couldn't get in and just kept circling around the cage.
Momma was clearly PO'ed - big time.
I left for work w/ momma in the cage and the babies walking around it.
When I got back from work that afternoon - the babies had gone back under the house.
I held a blanet in front of me and walked up to the trap & then threw it on top so moma wouldn't see me - just some big square thing.
Worked llike a champ. I tied a long, long, long piece of heavy twin to the door of the trap and another to a corner of the blanket, then tied more around hte blanket covered trap.
I then tied the whole thing to the luggage rack on top of the car and drove it out to a semi rural park area about 10 miles away.
When I got there, I unfolded the blanket from on top of the trap and walked well away holing onto the pieces of twine.
I reeled in the blanket & as soon as momma saw me, she made it pretty clear if I got in her range, I'd get squirted.
I tugged at the twine connected to the door and it opened up.
Momma was content to just stay put.
I had to keep jerking the trap around and around and around before she took the hint and ran out.

I ended up doing the exact same thing with the 5 babies & dropped them all off in the same place.

On the last trip, I got nailed by a park ranger. He gave me a lecture about how I shouldn't have trapped a baby skunk because the mother might not like it...

Chris Padilla
05-31-2011, 4:25 PM
That is a good story, Rich! I cannot tell if I have a mom & kids yet but I know that Murphy rules the universe so I'll just assume so until otherwise convinced. I'll know more when I get home tonight...I hope!

Matt Meiser
05-31-2011, 4:30 PM
I'd recommend poking at it with a stick.

Please post video.

Chris Padilla
05-31-2011, 4:35 PM
Matt,

I'll pay to fly you out here and video tape you trying that idea. ;)

I found a funny ad for wildlife traps: http://www.wildlife-traps.com/?gclid=CNTa-JCDk6kCFQoObAodNj5TqA Scroll to the bottom one and be sure to add it to your cart! :D

Jim Rimmer
05-31-2011, 5:51 PM
Good luck Chris, no ideas except have you considered a call to animal control? I have on occasion had them under my shop without a major problem butt I am not in the city. Not sure where you are.

Many years ago I had a skunk in my garage and called animal control. It was after hours so a young policeman came out since no AC officers were available. He confirmed it was a skunk and left.

My dog had tangled with it so I wanted to kill/capture it. Neighbor tried his bow & arrow - looked like the Little Big Horn in my garage. Finally crushed it in the corner with a 20' 2x2. If you want a rabies test, guess who has to pay for it. Yep, and I also had to be responsible for packing it in ice and taking it to a vet who sent it to a state lab for me. Fortunately, no rabies, but what a circus. :eek:

Charlie Reals
05-31-2011, 5:58 PM
Many years ago I had a skunk in my garage and called animal control. It was after hours so a young policeman came out since no AC officers were available. He confirmed it was a skunk and left.

My dog had tangled with it so I wanted to kill/capture it. Neighbor tried his bow & arrow - looked like the Little Big Horn in my garage. Finally crushed it in the corner with a 20' 2x2. If you want a rabies test, guess who has to pay for it. Yep, and I also had to be responsible for packing it in ice and taking it to a vet who sent it to a state lab for me. Fortunately, no rabies, but what a circus. :eek:

Here animal control will not deal with wild critters at all. I don't know what they do in the city. I have a way of dealing with any nuisance critter butt I cannot recommend nor admit to it in Public. :D

ray hampton
05-31-2011, 6:46 PM
Matt,

I'll pay to fly you out here and video tape you trying that idea. ;)

I found a funny ad for wildlife traps: http://www.wildlife-traps.com/?gclid=CNTa-JCDk6kCFQoObAodNj5TqA Scroll to the bottom one and be sure to add it to your cart! :D

How much are you going to charge to poke the polecat or skunk with a short pole ?

Bill Cunningham
05-31-2011, 10:17 PM
Raccoons you can simply trap them and relocate them 20 miles away.. With Skunks, you can't relocate them.. They'll get you !!!
Trap them using the normal trap like in the link above, then with a tarp in front of you, as you walk toward the trap, just drop it over the trap(if it sprays, this will also protect you). Fasten down the edges of the tarp with stones/bricks/etc. Then run a sump pump type discharge hose from your car exhaust and poke it under the tarp(available at any hardware store and about 20 feet long).. Leave it until your sure the job is done, dig a hole and dump the contents in it and cover the hole.. I know this seems cruel, but if you try to kill them any other way, it will take longer, and stink more.. It's best just to Gas/shovel/and shut up..

Dennis Peacock
05-31-2011, 11:35 PM
We have skunks around here all the time. They mostly look for food and if you dump table scraps on the back of your property, there will be the skunks at night. Remove the food supply or move is further and further away from your place and so moves the skunks. Learned lessons the hard way on this one.

Chris Padilla
05-31-2011, 11:58 PM
We have no obvious sources of food for the skunks so me thinks SHE has a litter and the spot she found is quite safe.

The stopped up entrance was indeed disturbed so we'll see how things are tomorrow. The smell of moth balls is pretty strong. Strong enough?

Curt Harms
06-01-2011, 8:49 AM
I'm surprised, I thought most of the skunks in California were in Sacramento :D

sarah schell
06-01-2011, 9:11 AM
we have had a skunk problem this year also. If you live trap them and quietly walk up with a tarp to cover the trap, then tie a rope around it to hold the tarp in place, you should have no problem. I wore a face visor that I use for turning and a cheap rain suit that motorcyclists wear (from wally world). We simply drove to another area of our property and opened the trap and kept it open with a spring clamp until the skunk decided to leave--we had to shake the trap a bit to encourage her. The people contact seems to have scared her enough to keep her away. We have done this 4 times with 4 skunks this year and have not been sprayed. One even got into my kennel and I was in there chasing it around and it did not spray. the little critter just wanted to get away from the big crazy screaming lady. When his brother (sister?) tried to get into the kennel, I was there hollering and throwing pine cones at it--that's what was readily available. I actually felt sorry for the little dude--he just curled up and endured until I quit. Turns out we had 6 skunks and 2 possums hanging out there stealing food during an unusually cold winter here. Once they got a dose of human companionship, we haven't seen them again and best of all none of them were killed in the process. we have since critter proofed our kennel.

BOB OLINGER
06-01-2011, 9:28 AM
Nothing against skunks, but I like Bill's idea.

Lee Schierer
06-01-2011, 11:33 AM
Where I used to work we had several skunks in some of our buildings and we hired a local trapper. He used live traps with cat food or marshmallows as bait. He would cover each trap with a blanket before picking it up and placing it on his trailer. He claimed that he had trapped more than 100 skunks this way without being sprayed. I did note that he transported them on a trailer and not in the back of his pickup.:D

I can tell you from first hand experience that shooting them, even in the head, releases the spray and even the little ones are armed and loaded.

By the way, in Pennsylvania, it is illegal to relocate raccoons or skunks due to rabies potential.

Greg Just
06-01-2011, 12:54 PM
A strobe light controlled by a motion dectector will get rid of them. They do not like flashing lights.

Chris Padilla
06-01-2011, 1:06 PM
Greg,

That is an interesting idea. I have a flashlight with a strobe effect that is quite annoying. I really need to determine if there is a litter because I'd hate to trap the mom too soon and the kiddos die off and potentially smell to high heaven. I guess I need to look up the laws here in CA regarding trapping skunks.

Like the Beach Boys said, "Fun fun fun...."

Jim Rimmer
06-01-2011, 1:38 PM
One question that arose during my skunk encounter, since it had already sprayed my dog, is "Once a skunk has sprayed, how long does it take them to reload?" Anyone know? :confused:

David G Baker
06-01-2011, 4:14 PM
Jim R,
I would not take the chance on the skunk's spray sack being empty after it releases its perfume. Nature has ways of protecting critters and I suspect that skunks have enough spray in reserve to fight a few more battles. I do not know this for a fact or from experience but it makes sense to me.

Chris Padilla
06-01-2011, 4:33 PM
Everything I've read online (so it must be true) says that skunks tend to only spray when they've nothing else left to do (stomp their feet, run away, etc.) because they know that they are vulnerable once they spray since it takes time for them to build up more spray.

I've yet to find how much time it takes, however.

Chris Padilla
06-03-2011, 1:40 PM
Well, so far I tally: Skunk 4, Padilla 0.

Last night I emptied the rest of the moth balls in and around the opening and repacked it with debris.

Ammonia-soaked rags are on the docket for this weekend.

Jim Laumann
06-03-2011, 2:20 PM
Ah....

A subject with which I've dealt with several times......

We live in a rural area, and skunks (and 'coons, along w/ an occasional 'possum) are a fact of life, especially when you have outdoor pets (cats), who also get fed outside - the food is what attracts them.

I shoot them when I can - you can kill a skunk w/ little or no spraying by shooting them - but the trick is that you need to cripple the central nervous system - a shot gun is the best way to do that - hit them, and hit them HARD - break the neck/backbone, and they are done. When shooting them out in the open, I use a 12ga and heavy game loads - ie 1 1/4 oz or heavier game loads - w/ #6 shot - you want lots of pellets - a dense pattern. A head shot w/ a .17 or a .22 might work as well - but I don't have any experience doing that - have always used a shotgun.

When trapping - I use a live trap - canned cat food or other meat scraps works. Once trapped, I've used the tarp trick others have mentioned. I then have filled a poly 55 gal drum I have w/ cold water - the colder the better. I then drop the live trap w/ Pepe in it in to the barrel. My live trap is taller than my barrel, so Pepe gets a bath - and manages to crawl up the trap frame, getting its head back in to the air - but remember that cold water? - it stuns them for a few seconds, giving me enough time to deliver a terminal dose of lead poisin (#6 shot) to the head (w/ a .410). Any squirting that they may do go'es in to the water - which captures the stink.

After disposal of Pepe's carcass, I pic the barrel of water up w/ my tractor & loader (very carefully - lest you spill), and drive out to the field, where trip of the bucket waters the crops, weeds, grass etc.

One thing to keep in mind is that a skunk ALWAYS stinks, even when it doesn't spray - so there can be residual odor in a area....

Last years tally was 3 'coons, 2 skunks. This year - so far - 1 skunk.

FYI - there are several video's on Youtube of people dealing w/ trapped skunks - several of them are quite funny.

Jim

Chris Padilla
06-03-2011, 3:07 PM
I'm in a suburb so I think I'd be in jail if I tried doing any of your suggestions, Jim! :) I will continue on with my passive eviction treatments and see how it goes. I've got some time but the stink in the shed is just barely tolerable right now.

Charlie Reals
06-03-2011, 3:24 PM
I'm in a suburb so I think I'd be in jail if I tried doing any of your suggestions, Jim! :) I will continue on with my passive eviction treatments and see how it goes. I've got some time but the stink in the shed is just barely tolerable right now.

Thats why I didn't give you mine lol. I didn't know exactly where you are. The bay area is a big place. +1 to jim's ideas though as it works. A clean head shot with a 22 will do it but the shotgun is pretty much a sure thing. I can use these means where I am. I could tell a funny story of residual odor back when south dakota had a bounty on them, it takes a long time to leave the trunk of a car.

Gary Hodgin
06-03-2011, 5:25 PM
I live in an area inside the city limits where there are skunks and many have rabies. I had a family living under my shed and have have tried to trap them. So far I've caught a couple of possums and several squirrels, but no skunks. I've used peanut butter, tuna fish, and grape jelly for bait. The city has an animal control unit that will come pick up anything I catch and relocate it or kill it. They kill skunks and test for rabies.

David Larsen
06-03-2011, 10:01 PM
Raccoons you can simply trap them and relocate them 20 miles away.. With Skunks, you can't relocate them.. They'll get you !!!
Trap them using the normal trap like in the link above, then with a tarp in front of you, as you walk toward the trap, just drop it over the trap(if it sprays, this will also protect you). Fasten down the edges of the tarp with stones/bricks/etc. Then run a sump pump type discharge hose from your car exhaust and poke it under the tarp(available at any hardware store and about 20 feet long).. Leave it until your sure the job is done, dig a hole and dump the contents in it and cover the hole.. I know this seems cruel, but if you try to kill them any other way, it will take longer, and stink more.. It's best just to Gas/shovel/and shut up..

#1 idea. But, with California emissions, would the exhaust even phase him/her?

#2 idea. They make skunk traps. They are a live trap and like a mesh live trap, but enclosed on all sides with solid panels so that it performs as the mentioned tarp.

#3 idea. Canned cat food is good bait. The stinkier the better.

Bill Huber
06-04-2011, 2:52 AM
We noticed the smell within the shed for a couple of days but couldn't locate the source. I finally looked UNDER the shed (it sits on 5 PT 4x4s) and whose eye's should reflect the flashlight back to me ~10' away: Pepe le Pew!

Now this is the time of year for litters so I'm guessing it is a momma but I don't know for sure.

I blocked the other channels and then tossed a half can of moth balls in the channel and around the opening. I then lightly packed leaves/twigs/maple chips around the opening and I will continue to do this until this light barrier is no longer disturbed. Only then can I determine if the premises have been vacated.

I'm hoping I can convince momma (if she is one) to move the young. This shed is our general storage shed and has our freezer in it. Had the skunk picked the wood shed: no problem!

Wish me luck...ammonia-soaked rags are next if the moth balls don't work.

That really stinks.......:D:D:D:D:D

Bill Cunningham
06-05-2011, 11:28 PM
#1 idea. But, with California emissions, would the exhaust even phase him/her?

Even with CA emission standards, I doubt if you can breath your car exhaust directly from the tail pipe:p
We just had a case in Toronto last week, where frustration took over, and a guy was fined for beating a raccoon with a shovel.. In toronto, you can't shoot them without a swat team showing up, and the law says you can't relocate them more than a kilometer way from where they were trapped, which pretty much guarantees they'll be back home before you are! Where I am, the best bet would be to relocate them 1 klm to the East. That puts them about a 1/2 kilometer off shore:D I know they can swim, but like Criss Angel, they would have to untie the bag first! ;)

ray hampton
06-06-2011, 2:26 AM
coons know how to claw and bite their way out of a bag

Chris Padilla
06-06-2011, 11:41 AM
Well it rained and was generally miserable here in the BA this last weekend and so I didn't take any further steps with my skunk resident(s) plus I kinda forgot. :rolleyes: I guess if one doesn't need to visit the storage shed, one forgets about the new pet.

Tonight, back at it!! Ammonia, here it comes! :D

You folks have some amusing ideas although I'm sure they work fine. Skunks are an interesting problem to deal with for sure. ;)

ray hampton
06-06-2011, 11:53 AM
Well it rained and was generally miserable here in the BA this last weekend and so I didn't take any further steps with my skunk resident(s) plus I kinda forgot. :rolleyes: I guess if one doesn't need to visit the storage shed, one forgets about the new pet.

Tonight, back at it!! Ammonia, here it comes! :D

You folks have some amusing ideas although I'm sure they work fine. Skunks are an interesting problem to deal with for sure. ;)


we heard it from his own mouth so everyone with skunks problems can call him and he will take charge

Chris Padilla
06-16-2011, 3:09 PM
Ammonia! It has been since Saturday that I covered up the entrance point and it has yet to be disturbed and the smell in the shed is gone.

So first I sprinkled a can's worth of moth ball in and around the entrance...that didn't appear to work.

Next, I soaked an old towel with ammonia (lemon-scented) and stuffed it in the hole to one side. I caught a good whiff of it and nearly passed out myself. I think it took about 2-3 days and now it appears the skunk (and litter?) has moved on to better, less smelly locations!

I received a call back from my county animal control and they recommended a product call Critter Ridder. It appears to basically be a hot pepper spray that irritates the nose/eyes but does no permanent harm. It is pricey stuff but my $3 gallon jug of lemon-scented ammonia from the local drug store appears to have done the trick!

The best part: no animals were harmed in this experiment. ;)

Bruce Page
06-16-2011, 5:01 PM
The best part: no animals were harmed in this experiment. ;)

You just got through saying that you nearly passed out! :confused:

Chris Padilla
06-19-2011, 6:29 PM
"Nearly"...operative word there, Bruce! :D

Erik Manchester
06-21-2011, 2:08 AM
Skunks are a pain, but are easily trapped. My FIL builds his own live traps out of plywood scraps and they work like a charm. He drops the skunks and trap in the back of the truck and they get a 25 mile drive before being let out on the side of the road. Easier to trap than to shoot, and no risk of an inadvertant discharge that you will smell for weeks. The traps are small enough that the skunk has to back out and therefore there is planty of time to get to safe range.

As a skunk burns its own behind when discharging its weapon, they prefer to run rather than fight and will usually always take the path of least resistance.

Good luck with your little problem, maybe if you wait until the babies are larger they will vacate on their own. Meantime, don't slam the shed door :-)

Mike Cruz
06-21-2011, 11:19 AM
Chris, that happened to me a couple weeks ago too...but it was under my SHOP!!!!!!! He moved on, thank goodness.

Chris Padilla
06-22-2011, 11:46 AM
Block up those access spaces, Mike! I now have a few bricks and stones blocking the cavities as I don't want a repeat but this is our first skunk resident in the 12 years we have lived there.