How to find or get rid of skunks?

Lothlorien

Active Member
The past couple of nights, I went to let the dog out and smelled that G-d-awful smell! So, if there are skunks around, how do I find, catch and get rid of them? Open-window weather is coming and I don't want to have to keep everything closed up, because of skunk smell. I also don't want my dog (not the sharpest knife in the drawer kind of dog) to get sprayed. 11:00 at night, right before bed, is not the time when I want to take a bath in tomato sauce, ya know?
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I dont know but if you want, I can PM you Jamie's number or you can call your local animal control officer and have them come out. I know Jamie does this on a regular basis.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
You can try to find where they are staying. This time of year is when the babies are coming out along with their moms. Whenever we've had a neighborhood problem with skunks, they have been found nesting inside the eaves of someone's shed or underneath if it's a raised block foundation.

You can contact your local animal people or the Department of Environmental [whatever it is in your state] and they should be able to remove it. OR, you can place bait within a Have-a-Heart trap and trap it and then call.

Good luck. They are cute to look at from afar, but I sure hate the stench. And our old dog got sprayed right up his nose as he caught the skunk from behind and sniffed...boy was he surprised. Our house was skunked 5 times one summer because our neighbors were feeding the skunks under their shed.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
Thanks Janet. I don't know where they are, right now. Once I find them, I'll call animal control. They are pretty good, here. I had to call them a few times. Once was because there was a coral snake in front of my front steps, with a frog half in its mouth!! (YIKES!) I didn't know they'd come out for skunks.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
Joe, I'm thinking they might be under our porch or the neighbors'.

We have one of those Have-a-Heart traps and used it to catch stray cats (to set them free somewhere else or called animal control for a friendly cat). If we were to catch the skunks, wouldn't they spray us, if we came near the trap?????

I have to tell you, I have never had the pleasure of that experience and I NEVER want to experience that!
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
On a side note....friends of ours had a Shepherd that got sprayed. She called her vet and he told her that douches would work the best to get rid of the smell. So, she trudged out in the middle of the night to go buy dozens of douches. I can only imaging what that cashier was thinking!
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Well, the idea is to place the trap far enough away that it won't be IN your house, though it will be near, unfortunately, if the skunks are living on your property. We have a heavily wooded area nearby so if we were to set a trap, I'd be comfortable doing so as we would be able to set away from the house. Also, make it so the entrance is facing away from your home, so when the animal realizes it is inside a trap, it's spray will go away rather than towards your home.

You can go on line to find the best baits and other ideas. Good luck. I hate that smell. Once last Summer, difficult child and I were out for an ice cream run and I must have hit one. I had to have my car professionally cleaned inside it reeked so bad. We walked into the ice cream place and people moved away from us. Ugh. How embarrassing.:anxious::redface:
 

eekysign

New Member
Good freakin' luck. :)

We have one that returns to us during all the warm months to eat the trash on trash day (townhouse neighborhood, pickup tues/fri mornings). It was about 2ft from me last summer, luckily pointed the wrong way and I scrambled into the house before it got me. NO LUCK GETTING RID OF IT.

1) Called police/animal control. Wouldn't come out unless it was "acting rabid".
2.) Called exterminators. Would come out for ~$500-$1000 depending on how long it took to catch, but told me "it's pretty much a lost cause, unless we can trap on the whole townhouse property, which would be HOA business, it's unlikely they're spending much time on YOUR property specifically".
3.) Called HOA. "Umm, we don't handle that. Have you tried animal control?"

ARGH. I'm expecting him back any day now. I hear they don't like mothballs, I may try that. Also, keep your grass cut, no food out...other than that, I never got much good advice. Hehe.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
LOTH -

OMG - ROFLMBO.....

My dad trapped an albino skunk. He used a cat cage that he rented from our local wildlife people. Once it was caught he just walked up to the cage, picked it up and put it in the back of his truck. He took it a long long way from home - and let it loose.

Our wildlife expert exterminator here (had an office behind us for getting rid of bats, raccoons etc) told me that in SC if you call someone to come get a nuissance animal, when they catch it they will kill it. They have to. It disrupts the eco-system of an existing place when you catch and release. Not sure I agree with that but SC has weird laws.

We had a skunk about three weeks ago - and eventually she moved on. We didn't do anything and the smell was - well stinky, but I had a pet skunk that I inherited from a woman who had it destunk, that left it with no defenses. I had Stinker for about two years. I took in a boarder, she left the door open and there on the road was a skunk that didn't smell. They're awesome little creatures.

Sorry it smells so =
Maybe everyone get nose plugs until Momma moves off? I've heard tomato juice will also neutralize the acid in skunk spray. I bet Marg has a better answer.

Distant and less smelly hugs
Star
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I know they like cat food...

I wish I had better answers for you though.

I'm one of those people who don't mind the smell... They smell like sulfur matches to me. My Mom can't smell them at all. However, my FAMILY sure can, so we have to watch for them... Got pretty nuts a couple of summers ago when one had BABIES in the back yard. EWWWWWWW. They left on their own, though...
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I was all set to say, Animal Control, until I saw so many replies suggesting they may kill it (or them).
I got rid of squirrels last yr (they were on our roof, heading for the attic and it sounded more like a herd of cattle), through a private company that has a zookeeper's lic., and they place the animals way out in the boondocks. But it cost me $110. I called it conscience money.
I'm such a loser. I mean, squirrels are a dime a dozen. So to speak. ;)
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
DF said to get rid of skunks - he thinks if you left any difficult child (pre multiple daily shower stage) out in the woods a skunk would head for the hills :tongue:

~ fond, fond memories of difficult child's eu de toilet
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
I used to have several living under my house. Animal control would rent me a trap, but weren't really clear on what I was supposed to do after it was in the trap. Fish and Game didn't want anything to do with it. Exterminators weren't helpful, either, so I had to get creative.

I put radios in every room in the house, tuned to different stations, and BLASTING whenever we left the house. They didn't like the noise, so they went somewhere else.

Good luck!
 
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