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Thread: Get rid of skunks

  1. #1
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    Get rid of skunks

    All of a sudden I have 2 or 3 skunks around the place.
    Any idea how to discourage them from hanging around the place?
    "Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
    - Rick Dale

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Lehnert View Post
    Any idea how to discourage them from hanging around the place?
    How big is the place? - a small yard? - a yard with sheds?

    Sometimes skunks are attracted to a yard where there are grubs to eat. When the grubs get scare the skunks move on.

  3. #3
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    Dave - I have used two methods to solve a skunk problem. About 14 years ago when I lived in Helena, MT I had three acres of land, with a barn and horses, and a few cats. We fed the cats in the barn and while they were great at keeping down the mice, not so good at scaring off skunks. Since we were very rural, nearest neighbor was almost a half mile away, two different nights I arranged a meeting with the skunks and introduced them to my friends. The first one met Mr Smith and Mr Wesson. The second met an Italian gentleman named Mr. Beretta. Yes, both expressed their displeasure at the meeting by making a stink, but it was far enough from the house not a big deal.

    After the second one I did get a call from a neighbor asking if I had heard the noise, which sounded like a gunshot. So, taking a cue from that I searched out a quieter way of solving the issue. A friend suggested I borrow his trap, one he bought for a coon problem he had at his house. They had found a way into his house and always made a big mess. He said to set the trap up in my barn, with it half covered by a tarp. When Pepe Le Pue was in the cage, I should carefully extend the tarp over the entire cage, and since Pepe never felt threatened, he would keep his cologne to himself. Once that was done, I could provide a sedative in the form of CO out of my truck's tailpipe. It would help Pepe fall asleep without any fuss. I did it and it worked like a charm. Did it twice in fact and that solved my skunk problem permanently.

    If anyone gets upset about my handling of skunks, I apologize. They are nasty vile creatures that have been known to carry rabies and other diseases. They make a mess of things and just don't care about it. I am all for nature and the critters that live in 'nature', but not so much for those that invade my barn.

    The best way Dave is using a trap and letting the little bugger just take a nap.
    I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love.... It seems to me that Montana is a great splash of grandeur....the mountains are the kind I would create if mountains were ever put on my agenda. Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans. Montana has a spell on me. It is grandeur and warmth. Of all the states it is my favorite and my love.

    John Steinbeck


  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Blatter View Post
    If anyone gets upset about my handling of skunks, I apologize.
    DO NOT APOLOGIZE. In your parts, a 22 is exactly how one deals with this problem. Folks who don't live in the country won't get it and they never will.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Lehnert View Post
    All of a sudden I have 2 or 3 skunks around the place.
    Any idea how to discourage them from hanging around the place?
    Are they small? You may have more than that if mama is raising a litter.

    I've tried chasing one out of the barn and telling it not to come back but that didn't work. If they are getting under a structure I've had some success in encouraging them to go elsewhere by throwing mothballs and moth crystals (paradichlorobenzene) into the space. I use an entire container of each.

    I'm not opposed to shooting but I like to trap them in a live trap instead since shooting may trigger the intense odorous release.

    What to do with them after trapping is a consideration. Some professional pest removal people drape a cover over the trap and put the entire thing into a 55-gal drum full of water. Skunks won't spray unless they can see their target and stand and aim. (Unless they are very young and spray indiscriminately when stressed or startled.)

    I drag the traps to the pond and see how good they are at underwater life. To get the trap to the pond without them spraying I cover with a tarp, pull the trap onto a plywood "sled" with a rope attached, then drag. I've pulled traps about 1/4 mile without incident.

    Trapped one huge skunk that dug a hole into the peacock house and killed and ate a young female peacock. It won't do that anymore.

    I once set up three traps in the garden where something was tearing up the corn every night. The next morning there was a raccoon in the first trap, two skunks in the second trap, and three skunks in the third trap. It was a banner day.

    JKJ

  6. #6
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    I pulled up to a jobsite last week, and wasn't aware that there were three live traps set up around the old house. I knew about two... When that skunk in the third one let loose, it sure got my pickup. It's sitting in the driveway, 20 foot from my office right now, and I can still smell it. Moral of the story i guess is tell the carpenter where the traps are set.

    AR15 with a tactical light and a good night site is what I prefer.

  7. #7
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    You can live trap skunks, cover the trap with an old blanket and move it. But be aware that many locales prohibit relocating them. The best bet is to eliminate their food source. They love grubs in your yard. Milky spore will take care of the grubs. If you get sprayed the following recipe works great particularly on dogs or people to get rid of the smell.
    Use this recipe. In an open container mix together the following ingredients:

    1 pint of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide
    2 tablespoons baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap

    (Double recipe for large dogs. Do not put a top on the container as it could explode.)

    Apply to dog. Wearing gloves and keeping clear of your dog’s eyes and inner ears, rub the solution into the fur. Don’t leave it on for longer than five minutes as peroxide can bleach the fur. Rinse your dog thoroughly.

    Then use shampoo. Next shampoo your dog with pet shampoo and rinse again. By now, the smell should be gone. Dry it off with a towel and give it another dry towel to lie down on.

    I have personal experience with this formula and it works very well.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  8. #8
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    Last year a skunk really tore up my lawn going for grubs. I set up a large Havahart trap baited with bacon. Next morning it was in the trap furiously digging up the lawn through the base of the trap trying to get out. Had mounds of "lawn" inside the trap. I cut open a drum-sized trash bag & approached the skunk from behind with the sheet-sized bag between us, then dropping the bag over the trap & completely covering it. When i picked up the trap I almost got a hernia as I completely forgot about all the dirt inside the trap with the skunk. Anyway I carried the trapped skunk & immersed it into a 100 gal stock tank that I had filled with water. End of story.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
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  9. #9
    The irony is that if you get them young and de-stink them - they make pretty good pets.... Kinda like a dumb, friendly house cat that doesn't climb....

    A buddy had one as a pet and it was a hoot waddling all over the house... Everbody loved his pet skunk....

  10. #10
    I had a pet skunk after I graduated from college. Already an adult that somebody could not keep and kind of scared of everything. "Flower" and I got along great. Flower was like the best of a cat crossed with the best of a dog. Did not climb up furniture, did not chew on shoes, loved to be brushed and petted. Ate pretty near anything, cat food, dog food, apple cores, loved cookies. He liked to sit next to me on the couch when I watched TV and would stomp his feet and grunt to get me to pick him up. Had him three years before the vet said "it was time" I would have another in a heart beat, except since then the laws have changed and idiots in gov't have the idea that all wild animals are extremely ferocious and need to be caged 24-7. When I was in high school, I had a great horned owl named Igor. It was legal at thet time with no fuss. Igor was raised from a downing nestling to adulthood by me, hand feeding him and he also liked attention and treats. Every night I would set him loose to fly and every morning, I would go out and he would come down and land on my wrist. He slept on a perch in my parents garden shed. We only interacted a hour or two at dawn and again at dusk, but he was great. Some animals have the temperament to be "gentled" and others do not. Humans who respect that can get along fine with most non-dangerous animals.

  11. #11
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    I never tried the 'see if they can live underwater' trick. I found that covering the trap with a tarp, then running a hose from my tailpipe to under the tarp worked quickly and easily. Never had to carry the trap and take a chance on the tarp coming off.

    As a kid we some how ended up with one as a pet. It had been 'destinked' before we got it. The only thing I remember is that it bit my Dad's finger. I seem to recall it disappeared the next day, never to be seen again. Dad grew up on a farm in Montana and just never had much patience with animals that he felt were critters or varmints. Growing up in the Depression, on a farm and pretty poor, with 6 brothers just seemed to make them all a bit tougher than the average person today. The stories I could tell, but we will leave that for another day. RIP Dad.
    I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love.... It seems to me that Montana is a great splash of grandeur....the mountains are the kind I would create if mountains were ever put on my agenda. Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans. Montana has a spell on me. It is grandeur and warmth. Of all the states it is my favorite and my love.

    John Steinbeck


  12. #12
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    Thanks for the ideas.

    I was out tonight just before dark. The two I had now has turned into 5.
    Last edited by Dave Lehnert; 06-13-2018 at 11:26 PM.
    "Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
    - Rick Dale

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Lehnert View Post
    The two I had now has turned into 5.
    Pretty much the point of every reply thus far. Nip this problem in the bud, as they say.

  14. #14
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    At one point, I had dozens around my house. Two houses away was an elderly lady that didn't use her backyard and had two abandoned sheds in the back surrounded by overgrown shrubs. Once that house was sold, the sheds removed and the yard cleaned up, the number of skunks dropped quite a bit. When an old rarely used shed in the house behind me was removed and replaced with a garage on a slab, the number dropped again. So my assumption is that they find places where they can burrow under something easily and take up residence. This was confirmed when I removed the old shed sitting on the ground in a far corner of my yard and found burrows and a dead skunk underneath. No, it never smelled. I went in the shed a dozen times a year and never knew they were there since they had a burrow between the shed and the fence where I didn't see it.

    They never caused any problems other that digging a bit and throwing dirt around a bit. They startled me a few time like when i was walking down the side of the house and mama skunk and a half dozen kits came down the narrow path at me at full speed. They just zoomed on past like I wasn't there. I learned that if I'm out enjoying the evening in the yard to not leave food on the ground since I had one calmly sitting under my chair munching on the remains of my dinner. The first big problem has been when they are hit by a car and stink up the entire area. The second is that dogs will bother them and get sprayed.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greg R Bradley View Post
    They never caused any problems other that digging a bit and throwing dirt around a bit.
    I prefer skunks leave for one reason, they can carry rabies. The state expert on rabies told me since racoon rabies was eradicated in in most of TN skunks are the biggest carriers (along with bats) and the most likely to pass it to dogs. This was after I was bitten by a stray dog - fortunately I caught him, no rabies vaccine needed. A rabid skunk might be approachable. BTW, he also said an infected dog will likely appear very sick and avoid people. People are sometimes bitten by such a dog when they try to "help" it, perhaps by trying to coax or pull it out of a confined space where it crawled in to die.

    A big attraction for skunks, possums, and raccoons is cat food left outside. Another is the eggs in our guinea and peacock nests in the brush.

    JKJ

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