diaster averted .........I hope

[lockhaven]

I have been having trouble with coons getting into the trash, eating the woodpecker food and peeing on the porch. Coon pee is next to skunk to my nose. So I went to TSC and for $25 bought a wire trap a 2 for 1 deal big trap for coons possums and like critters small one for squirrels and such. I baited the big trap with suet that the coons are so fond of and set it by the porch. I awoke about an hour ago and peered out to a knocked trap, and a coon running off into the woods oh good I thought I got one of the coons. My trail camera had alerted me to the fact that I had 2 coons raiding my turf each night. Being greedy I thought I would end the one coons career and maybe get his accomplice all on the first night. Flash light in one hand model 41 S&W in the other I approached the trap.......FAST RETREAT...... a skunk. I have not seen a dead skunk on the road for years around here and had no photos from the trail camera but he was in my trap right next to the porch. Shooting out of the question nothing short of a perfect shot to the occipital bone would not cause a sudden release of pure skunk rendering the house, porch perhaps my tractor parked nearby unusable for the foreseeable future. I knew that from my experience of living in the woods for 61 years and trapping fur as a high school money source I and most importantly the skunk had to remain calm. So far the skunk had been successful at keeping calm it was just looking around I was not doing so good. I devised a plan..... I took a large bath towel, since I am not married this decision was not met with any resistance. Very quietly and talking in a low steady voice I slowly placed the towel over the trap then stepped back for a few minutes. I then carefully and very slowly released the latch on the trap being very careful not to let it snap back down possibly upsetting my guest. I raised the door and stuck an arrow through the wire to hold the door open all very slowly and quietly. I then with a move that would make the Flash take notice retreated to the house. As I write this the skunk is finishing up the suet and has not yet left the trap, I do hope it does not take up residence.

 

[creekbend]

Best wishes. If worse comes o worse, I've heard that Tomato Juice works.

 

[dirt ditch]

I know there were some folks around here who would cover the trap to keep the skunk calm. They then slid the trap into a barrel full of water to drowned the skunk with no smell.

 

[lockhaven]

well the skunk has left without any 'messages left behind'

 

[Western]

I had a old army blanket I used just for skunks. As you said, just lay it over the trap and you can darn near carry it any where you want to go. DUKEs dog proof traps work great for coons. Might try some dog/cat food, or a marshmallow then add some molasses, coons love that stuff. Or tuna, skunks haven't seemed to be attracted to it as much, at least for me.

 

[Looking4new]

i don't know about where you are, but up here it is against the law to shoot any animal in the trap. Just sayin'.

 

[vwnotrunning]

Set your trap up on something off the ground. Skunks don't climb, the the coons can get anywhere. They will find and get to the bait, especially if other sources are eliminated.

 

[vwnotrunning]

I have also learned if skunks are a potential then I tie about a 30' wire to the trap. That allows it to be drug away from sensitive areas prior to any form of disposal or relocation.

 

[murphy1244]

i don't know about where you are, but up here it is against the law to shoot any animal in the trap. Just sayin'.

Why do people post Jast Saying? I see that a lot.

 

[MotorSeven]

The only problem with your plan so far is that by trapping, then releasing the skunk at your house, he will come back. I would have taken the skunk for a little ride, but I do have a pick-up that could be washed out.

 

[300UGUY]

It sounds cruel, but sometimes if you get a skunk in a trap, then simply leave it alone. After about 3 days, the skunk is dehydrated enough to be unconscious.

 

[The Deerslayer]

It sounds cruel, but sometimes if you get a skunk in a trap, then simply leave it alone. After about 3 days, the skunk is dehydrated enough to be unconscious.

I agree...it does sound and is cruel. Dispatch the animal if legal to do so by the quickest means possible. No need for the animal to suffer.

 

[Western]

Why do people post Jast Saying? I see that a lot.

Basically the same as "FWIW", but less condescending, just say'n

I agree...it does sound and is cruel. Dispatch the animal if legal to do so by the quickest means possible. No need for the animal to suffer.

Pretty quick under a cover and hooked up to the tail pipe. In Texas you need a permit to transport a "captured game animal", but if it is a "nuisance it can be dealt with by any means. (in a nut shell)

 

[dmccarty]

FWIW,

I can't remember if the law applied to all animals, but I know it is illegal in NC dump beaver, and I think tree rats, on other people's property, just say'n.

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Dang Lock, you trap a Smell Squirter on the porch in the wee hours of the morning and then post about it on TBN? I thought I needed help for my TBN addiction. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

I hope the Smell Squirter does not come back. We have been dang lucky to not have had a problem with them at our place. I have only seen ONE coon and ONE SS at our place. I saw them both within an hour one late afternoon when I put some beer I was making on the porch to cool off. Those two critters smelled the sugar in the wort and they were both making a bee line to the 5 gallon bucket. :shocked: Good thing I saw them or they would have ruined hours worth of work.

FWIW, I would have posted the story on TBN if they had gotten into my beer to be. Just say'n. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[/pine]

Why do people post Jast Saying? I see that a lot.

Generally it means that they are not implying anything beyond the statement etc... i.e., not judging or ridiculing etc...can also mean that the user is not trying to play teacher...

 

[murphy1244]

Generally it means that they are not implying anything beyond the statement etc... i.e., not judging or ridiculing etc...can also mean that the user is not trying to play teacher...

Thanks Pine, I often wondered about that

 

[Daver1963]

Best wishes. If worse comes o worse, I've heard that Tomato Juice works.

Is that for the skunk to wash down the suet?
I wonder if the skunk would smack his head and go "I coulda had a V-8!"

 

[RSKY]

We've been back in our house for a week or so after being out for ten days due to a skunk spraying underneath it. So believe me when I tell you to eliminate the critters, if you release them they will come back. And make sure they cannot get under or in your house. Our ten days in an apartment and other expenses added up to more than $4000, well $1000 for me, the remainder for the insurance company. One couple in our community was out of town for two weeks. When they returned home a skunk had got under the house, torn down the flexible ductwork, got in the vents and in the house and sprayed. Our insurance adjuster told us that the people would have been better off if their house had burned. Before we could get out of the house the night it sprayed we had to run back in, me to get keys and my wife her purse. We could both TASTE it. The smell was that strong.

I caught three of the little stinkers. The local "skunk catcher" put my traps in black trashbags. The skunk can't see you and so will not spray. The first I caught was in that trap and I carried it to the middle of the back yard and shot it. Had to throw the trap away with the skunk in it. The second one was a large male. He had tore the trash bag into little pieces and was not happy. I had a short cable attached to the trap but every time I would start to the trap the skunk would start hissing and pawing the ground with his tail held up high. The trap was right up against the house and we had been out for five days and I didn't want it to spray. It was also right up against the central air unit. So I climbed on top of the unit and shot down at the critter. I then made the worst mistake of the two week ordeal. I took my shotgun inside the house and warmed my hands for a few minutes. When I went back out he had released all his scent oil. After taking him off I went back in the house and had to leave because of the smell. The third trap I tied a 50' nylon rope to so I could drag it out in the cornfield behind the house. The skunk chewed the rope apart. So I had to use the sheet trick were you hold up a sheet and walk up to the trap and cover it with the sheet. If the skunk can't see you, he won't spray. Oh yeah, had to throw away the shoes I had on when the second skunk was trapped. Apparently I stepped in the oil and nothing will remove the smell. Kept them outside for three weeks and it seemed they smelled worse ever time I checked them.

Believe me, you don't want to go thru an ordeal like we have had.

RSKY