Skunks

[Anonymous Poster]

Anybody know how to get rid of skunks? I went down to check on an area I have been working on for about a week to see if it was dry enough to work. I found a mother and 5 baby skunks frolicking happily. The area is within 100 yards of my house. I hate to shoot them and could cause a problem by doing that, anyway. Any suggestions on how to get rid of them without stinking up the whole section?

 

[W5FL]

My wife discovered a skunk (actually a civit cat) and two babies in an aquarium in the garage. We left them along and they left us along, and a few weeks later they were gone. They tried to stay hid during the day and never offered to spray.

Also used to have a dog that would kill skunks. One he went after was right by the intake on an evaporative cooler. Sure prefer just leaving them along. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

These could be civit cats. I'm not 200 miles from you. I just saw alot of black and white stripes. I think leaving them alone may be good advice. I would sure like to do something but my instincts tell me to stay away. THey are right where I was working on a pond, though, so I may be shut down for a few weeks. Maybe somebody out there has a failsafe method besides a tomato juice bath after I get done.

 

[Thomas]

Eddie,
Like wen wrote they should move on in a couple of weeks.
If they don't or you wish to move them along quicker bleach & cleaning powder mix with a little human urine than shaken,than pour some in the areas they are staying./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Also this works in the gradens to keep deer,bears,moose etc..away./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif



Thomas..NH

 

[Muhammad]

Bob, Mark... we have a new TractorByNet.com record, I think, for the longest post!!

 

[Bigfinn]

Eddie, do not despair. I am sure if those skunks are just like the rest in North America they will migrate my way and spray my dog. I found getting her into the shower and shampooing (is that a word?) her before she can rub on the carpet and furniture and MY side of the bed is the best course of action. Lovely way to wake up at 3:00am...

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I'll let you know when I miss them so you can be expecting them./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[richh]

Live trap them, put a rug over the top of the trap hook up a hose to your cars tail pipe [must be gas motor] put it under the rug next to the trap, start the car run for 10 min. You now have a dead Skunk. Get your front end loader dig a hole and dispose of. I have done this way to many times and it has worked with out fail. If your a real good shot and hit them in the head they wont spray but its kind of risky. We have had so many skunks that some folks got us a stained glass one for our window.HA HA. If I typed faster I COULD TELL YOU ALL SKUNK stories for hours. This is very unfortunate for us.
Rich

 

[TomG]

If you can't get rid of them, at least use them for entertainment. There were skunks living on one Air Base in Nebraska where I was stationed. It wasn't unusual for them to wonder into squadron areas at three or four in the morning. We used to see them sometimes after coming back late from town, and started herding them.

The idea is the same as for circus lion taming. Stand far away, and the skunk ignores you and just goes back to digging grubs. Stand too close and the skunk sprays. Stand just near enough and the skunk moves away, and you move with it. With careful positioning of yourself, you can pretty much drive a skunk where you want.

Of course, timing is everything. The skunk periodically stops to check you out. You have to stop too. And, the skunk periodically decides you're too close. You have to move back quickly. If the tail just lifts, it's not too bad. Skunks do that, and you get a whiff. Skunks turn into sort of a horseshoe before they spray. So, if you see both the front and hind end of the skunk at the same time, you have to be real quick.

Our object in this entertainment was to drive a skunk between two barracks. With any luck, a Sargent may be charging out of a barracks on his way to do Sargently things. Never happened, but the thought was entertaining.

Granted, this may not be everybody's cup of tea. We also would buy several gross of pop bottle rockets and shot them at each other. Soldiers can have some pretty strange idea about entertainment. An occupational hazard, I guess. Since this was in Nebraska, I guess it's close enough to rural living so I'm still on subject.

 

[W5FL]

Last night a large skunk got through my son's fence and his dogs got sprayed as they were young enough that they had not seen a skunk before. Several cases of rabies in skunks in this area make them a real pest, especially when a good fence won't keep them away from the dogs. A few well placed shots with a 9mm and a 22 rigle solved the problem. Wonder what the neighbors thought was going on?

 

[jyoutz]

We had aproblem last summer with a skunk eating dog food and spraying the dog at night. One night, I put the dog in the garage and left the dog food out in the usual place. Only I seasoned the food with a little red chile powder (actually quite a bit of chile). Next morning I discovered 1/2 the food gone and a pile of puke 20 ft. away. Never had any more problems that season with skunks. I've also shot them with a .22, but the chile method is easier and more entertaining.

 

[EddieW]

Wen, I left the skunks I had alone until they ended up in my yard one evening. I shot three of them and buried them. I then took the tractor down and dumped about 4 feet of dirt over the opening to the den. I haven't had any more skunk problems. I had no intention of going outside some evening after dark, stumbling on a skunk and getting sprayed.