Skunk Removal

[SOS]

A friend of mine is having problems with a skunk trying to build her next under his front purch slab. She is probably wanting to have her sping babies there. He keeps filling in the hole but she comes back and redigs it every night. Any ideas? He lives in town and the city will not capture it and he is not allowed to shoot it.:confused2:

 

[PILOON]

Remouve her VERY carefully! LOL

To be Eco Friendly or whatever, you need to relocate it.
Buy or rent a "Have-a-Heart" trap!
Drape the trap with a towel or such, carry over to city hall and release her.

On the serious side, probably a scent, such as used for deer, might work.
It is claimed that coyote scent (Skoot) is good.
Perhaps even some dog poo.

I once had serious dog problems and city refused to help.

The mutt was easy to handle, it actually hopped into my car so I drove to city hall and the mutt followed me inside where I left it.
When they got all upset and threatened all sorts of things I took the stand that 1- dog was not mine, 2-it folowed me, 3- Was there simply to ask how to solve the problem. 4- If the city paid dog catcher did his job I would not have problems.

Did not help that the dog cocked his leg to mark territory on the chief's desk!

 

[jlsmith]

can he use a live trap in the city. If so then thats will prob be his only choice. I cant believe th city will not trap it due to being a wild animal. Buddy the exterminator had an show where he traped one and then used a blanket to cover the cage so the skunk wouldnt spray.

 

[studor]

Live trap and blanket and be prepared for the worst
The blanket trick works most times but is definitely not 100% (don't ask me how I know)
Other methods like moth balls, dog poo etc do not work and cause other problems!
If you can make the hole "undigable" with wire or metal or concrete the skunk will go somewhere else (like the neighbours:thumbsup
We have so many rules around wildlife now that if they choose your place to reside you kinda have to live with the problem
Sudden onset lead poisoning with a subsonic round or a high powered pellet gun is still the best solution but likely to get you in trouble

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

DEFINITELY live trap.
Wrap trap in old towel. Bait with apple or banana slices. This will not waste time catching every stray cat in town.

QUIETLY approach trap with a disposable plastic tarp (cheap, blue) in front of you, with a small hole so you can see what you are doing. Wrap up trap with tarp as tightly as possible and transport.

SAFE release is the hard part.......... I personally test skunks to see if they can survive in a new environment. If they can't hold there breath for 20-30 minutes while in the trap in the river, they are not a good candidate for re-introduction into the wild..........

Good luck
Wyo

 

[Gizmo2]

Wet a fairly large rag or towel, depending on the size of the hole, with a generous (add it right to it) amount of ammonia, insert the rag in the hole and call it a day. Coupe days later throw the rag a way. Can be done without a rag but dirt does not hold the smell near as long.

 

[tcartwri]

They do not like vibration in the soil. We scare a lot of them out of their dens during the day when we roll along with our thumper truck.

 

[adjusterr]

I have used the Have-A-Heart trap twice, baited the trap with peanut butter, once the skunk was trapped, slowly covered trap with a doubled up white sheet, approach slowly from the rear and ease, don't drop the sheet over the skunk, hauled the skunk several miles, make sure sheet don't blow off, then slowly opened trap with sheet still in place, walked away and skunk came out and waddled away like nothing happened. Generally, skunks stand up on their front legs and point their tail toward their target then start dancing around, at that point you need to be about 30 feet away. Good luck.

 

[Milton Burro]

I've used both methods, the .22 and the hide behind the sheet method. I like the latter even though it more effort and less fun, they sometimes spray when shot if it's not well placed. Even with a good hit they can leak. I use the three "S" method on strays that chase the livestock even though it's legal. Shoot, shovel, shut-up.

 

[jlsmith]

SAFE release is the hard part.......... I personally test skunks to see if they can survive in a new environment. If they can't hold there breath for 20-30 minutes while in the trap in the river, they are not a good candidate for re-introduction into the wild..........

Good luck
Wyo

:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::thumbsup: