We've been smelling skunks, a lot. So have all our neighbors. There
> have been a lot of nights I'll get home at 3am and they're there in the
> backyard, roaming around. This morning, around 6am, I look out and
> there's one roaming the yard. I called animal control and every other
> govt agency I could think of and they all say it's my problem. So I put
> out my have-a-hart cage this morning (baited with peanut butter). I sat
> there in my car and watched the little stinker come within 15 ft of the
> cage but didn't go in. I finally had to leave for work.
>
> It looks like they've setup residence in our ditch drainpipe out front,
> by the street. Does anybody know the best way to bait for these things?
> A neighbor says the best thing to do is cage them, then throw a tarp
> over the cage (so they won't spray you), then drown them (I have a
> wheelbarrow just perfect for that). Any other suggestions? (besides any
> sissy "don't hurt him" ideas).
>
>
Ask the good people at alt.home.repair
They have the best ideas about all kinds of critter control.
1 Quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
¼ Cup of Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
1 Tsp. Liquid Soap (Dish Detergent)
Mix the above together in a plastic bucket and wash the infected object, be it human, canine, feline, garage, shed, car basement, etc. Make sure you keep the solution away from eyes, nose and mouth. The skunk odour should disappear immediately!
This product is fast and safe ? and best of all, it works! _____________________________ Repellant
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There used to be a few around here, but not anymore. I have seen foxes though, and have the satellite on Fox... Hmmmmm.... :p
In my town (CA) the Animal Control will come and take them away once you've trapped them. Guessing that nobody else has the nerve to get close to the cage with the skunk inside. ;-)
Licensed nuisance wildlife operators, for a fee, will get rid of nuisance wildlife. I shoot skunks when I get the chance. I assume this is not possible where you live. When one of 'em tried to take refuge in the culvert I just put the barrel of the shotgun right in the pipe. Preventative measures can be most effective. Skunks are attracted to garbage. Take care of your garbage promptly and encourage the neighbors to do so. There are no poisonous materials approved for controlling skunks so a live trap is the only alternative to shooting them. You can also attempt to prevent access to the drainage pipe. Here is some more info:
Skunks are a valuable wildlife resource and are generally beneficial to farmers, gardeners, and landowners because they consume a large number of small rodents and insects. The handling of problem skunk situations should be preventive. Control is necessary only when individual skunks become a problem or cause economic losses.
Capturing skunks in live traps has hazards. Skunks are mild-tempered animals; however, they defend themselves with a unpleasant musk when frightened. If you decide to try a live trap, purchase or build one 7 inches by 7 inches by 20 inches. Set the trap near the door of the skunk's den entrance. Use a bait such as fish-flavored pet food. You can also use sardines, chicken innards, or bread crusts spread with peanut butter. After the skunk is in the live trap, cover the trap with old canvas or another heavy material. Transport it very carefully. If you plan to release the skunk, take it at least ten miles away. Handle the trap and its contents gently and keep it away from dogs and curious people.
If you kill the skunk, bury the carcass. The live trap with the skunk in it could be immersed in water until the animal drowns. Skunks seldom spray when underwater. Shooting or clubbing the skunk will almost always cause it to spray.
The best way to control skunks around buildings is to prevent access. Crawl spaces under buildings or porches should be covered with metal screening, sheet metal, or wood. Skirts around mobile homes should be well sealed and maintained. If suspected denning places are to be sealed off between May and mid-August, caution should be used to avoid trapping young animals inside. If skunk activity is suspected, sprinkle flour or ground limestone near the opening and then check for tracks after dark. If tracks lead out of the den, then this opening can be sealed off.
Nonsense. Clearly, you're just repeating what you read somewhere, and have never actually tried this yourself. A few years ago, when our dog was sprayed by a skunk, we found this *exact* recipe on the net and tried it. It didn't do a damn thing to reduce the odor. Neither did PetSmart's shampoo that was "guaranteed" to remove skunk scent. PetSmart gave us a refund on that one.
The old home remedy of a bath in tomato juice actually did cut the odor substantially --- but the only thing that truly works to remove skunk smell is TIME.
Danger -- this is from someone in Ontario Canada, where the highest incidence of rabies exists in North America. Skunks are nocturnal animals, they should only be out from sunset to sunrise. If they are roaming around in the daylight, acting drunk, acting aggressive or show no fear of humans, there is a good chance that it has rabies. DO NOT go near nor touch a rabid skunk, one scratch from a tooth can infect you. The treatment is painful and if not caught in time can be fatal.
"Cheri" wrote in news:E8udnTAyi8ZyeDbZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@inreach.com:
Now that I think of it, I recall my neighbor had the Animal Control bring her a Hav-A-Heart trap. They came and got it. I don't think it was a skunk,tho. I mean the animal could spray them thru the openings. LOL.
Maybe skunks in different parts of the countryt are "made" differently. I have used the "formula" on our dogs with great success. I heard this formula was designed by a chemist and actually neutraizes the chemical in the spray that smells (old wives tale?). Tomato juice only worked a little. Massengel powder, mixed with water, worked better than tomato juice and left a nice smell (along with some residual skunk), but the "formula", as I said, was best.
First of all - Around here a common thing that attracts them, besides garbage, like someone else has said, is grubs in the lawn. Grubs, IIRC, turn into Japanese beetles. Right now the beetles are going strong so I suspect the grubs are gone so that may not be whats attracting them to your area. If it is, kill the grubs and any other food source and they will find a better place to live.
Shoot them if you can, head shot will kill before they can spray.
I'll share a funny skunk story....
Got home from church and there is a skunk crawling in my back yard. It was early afternoon and the skunk was very lethargic. It was obviously sick or injured. No evidence of a recent spray. And paid no attention to me. Yelling scram solicited no response. I, like you, tried to find an animal control. I called local borough office but was patched through to local police. They said that the township had no animal control and suggested to contact an exterminator. They said they sometimes might send an officer out (What to secure the area until an exterminator arrived?) but they were all currently tied up with a traffic incident. I said thanks anyway and I would figure out how to deal with it.
I already knew, at that point, how I was going to deal with it. My Ruger
10/22 is very accurate. I had my wife call the neighbor behind us and tell them to stay in the house (In case of ricochet or the skunk spraying) I then set up position behind my truck and steadied myself on the hood.....
Meanwhile back in the house. Wife answers the phone, its the local police. They said they were now free to come out. She told them not to bother that her husband was going to shoot the skunk. (Its illegal to discharge a firearm in my neighborhood). Fortunately the officer responded about doing so safely and said to call if there were any issues.
Back to the skunk. From my position, leaning on the hood of my truck, I was about 10 or 15 feet away. I figured a head shot would put him down quick and minimize possible spray. My position behind the front of the truck would limit any exposure if he got off a shot. The skunk was definitely ill. I could see a white froth around his mouth and he was laying down. I yelled again to scram. He just lifted his head, looked at me, then laid back down. OK, in the cross hairs of the scope. Yea, Yea, no fair. 15 feet away with a scope! Head in the cross hairs. They have little heads.
CRACK . Just a little twitch from the skunk. Did I kill him? CRACK CRACK
2 more body shots to make sure. Autoloaders are sooo cool and .22 LR Aguila 60gr SSS rounds are very very quiet. No spray or smell.
I then proceed to double bag the beast and put him out with the trash.
The story continues!
I told a few coworkers the above story at work the next day. One guy is a nature guy. He said that the county health department is studying and tracking potential rabid animals and that I should call them to report a possible rabid skunk. So, I call. They say yes they are tracking the rabid animals and wish to perform an autopsy to determine if the animal was rabid. I told them where it was and that they could pick it up. They got there before the trash guys. I told them I wanted to know the results. I wanted to know if there were rabid animals in my neighborhood. They said they would call me back when the autopsy was complete.
A few days passed and I got a call. The person from the county health department told me that to determine rabies they need to examine a cross section of the brain under a microscope. They asked me how I killed the skunk. I said I shot it. They said I must have hit it in the head because there wasn't enough brain matter to conclusively determine if it had rabies! They said that it was very likely it did based on other symptoms and my description of the animal before it was dispatched.
Anyway - Comments or criticisms of my story, technique or suggestion?
Two cans, of the largest size I could find in the grocery, probably 48 ounces each. I rinsed the dog afterward, then shampooed and rinsed again, and rinsed, and rinsed -- took forever to get the tomato juice out of his hair. That would depend on the breed of dog, too, I'm sure. Ours was an Australian shepherd (long, fine, dense, fluffy hair). Something with short, coarser hair such as a beagle or a Labrador retriever might be easier.
More likely, your dogs have never gotten the full force and effect of the skunk's discharge. Ours unquestionably got the whole thing at a range of only about a yard.
"Eau de skunk" is a blend of a number of malodorous chemicals, some more volatile than others. A dog that gets sprayed up close, as ours was, gets everything, whereas one sprayed at a greater distance isn't going to receive quite the same cocktail.
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