Skunks breeding next door

[Phisherman]

The house next to mine is abandoned and skunks are living under the rotten deck, or perhaps even inside the house. I don't care about that, but now my back deck smells of skunk when the wind blows a certain direction. I called the City Animal Control and they said they can't do anything about it since it is not my property. Then I called the city manager and someone came out to take a look, but that was 3 months ago. The owner is paid up with property tax so the city will not do anything. I'd prefer not to break any laws. Am I stuck? We have red fox and hawks, but not sure if they will bother a skunk.

[hrhofmann]

How about playing a radio (that you don't care about getting back smell-free) day and night where you think they are living to see if the noise will drive them away? You could push it near where they are living using a long pole so that you don't end up smelling like their living quarters,

[HeyBub]

I'm pretty sure skunks won't honor property lines. Put out some traps.

[willshak]

Turn it to a rap station. That will drive anything away.

[MLD]

I had a family of skunks living under a deck that was built on the ground; when they were under it (between the joists) they didn't have enough room to lift their tails. They'd come out every night at dusk and back home by daylight. I tried everything: ammonia soaked rags, broken glass in between the joists and where they came in and out, moth balls, a liquid guaranteed to get rid of skunks--nothing helped. So in the end we decided to live and let live. They were right under our feet, we could see then through the spaces between the decking. No matter what we did during the day--walked the deck, ate on it, swept it, washed it down with a hose we never had a problem with the skunks (at least four of them)--I guess they were willing to put up with us in exchange for such a nice dry place to live (deck was covered by a trailer canopy). BTW, no smell; before the summer was out they decided to relocate on their own. Maybe, as suggested, a continuous loud radio noise would be a worthwhile thing to try---anyway, good luck. MLD

[aemeijers]

A dead skunk is gonna smell better?

-- aem sends...

[HeyBub]

Skunks are not stupid. They were just trying to make a living. After they ate all the bugs on your property and surrounding, they did move on.

You don't bother them, they won't bother you.

Mostly.

[Ed Pawlowski]

A story about animals? I saw the subject line and expected to read about the welfare check, food stamp couple having their 8th baby.

[joevan]

Have a dog around?

[Van Chocstraw]

I don't believe you have to put up with skunk smell any more than you have to put up with cigarette smell or cow manure. Call Joe Bornstein. Show them you mean business!

[Van Chocstraw]

You could rile up the skunks and make them stink so much that the owner would have to do something about it.

[Phisherman]

Yeah. The other neighbor's large dog got sprayed really good. The dog was throwing up for several hours. After several days the dog owner said they used a two gallons of tomato juice on the dogs thick fur.

[Phisherman]

No person lives there, the house is empty, abandoned, and has been falling apart the last 7 years. The smell does not bother the owner, he lives in another house, in another town. I thought the city may (or maybe should) do something about it. Now I know the city's primary function is to collect property taxes, anything else is secondary. I need some kind of "action line" to know what can be done. I'd prefer not to piss off the owner, if that is possible.

[joevan]

One summer in Maine we had that pleasure, using a gallon or so of tomato juice on the dog.

[Van Chocstraw]

This may call for a little Jewish lightening.

[Cheri]

It worked on Noriega. :-)

Cheri

[nefletch]

I would have no problem with poisened food thrown under the deck, preferably with something that willl break down after a week or two so a cat or dog does not get poisened a year down the road.

[aemeijers]

Again, a dead skunk is gonna smell better? You never want an animal to die where it sleeps, if it is within the same structure YOU sleep in, or closely attached. I even disarmed the humane mousetraps when I went out of town for a week a couple months back.

-- aem sends...

[Jack Stein]

Skunks don't smell unless attacked or something scares the heck out of them? Even then, the skunk doesn't smell, but whatever attacked or scared them probably will. Well, they smell if crushed by a car or something.

I've had skunks living under my shed a number of times and only smelled them rarely, probably just before eaten by something or run over by a car. They never seem to stay around long? I've had dogs come home smelling like skunks many times though. I've even seen skunks kept as pets, with the smell glands supposedly intact... no smell, just don't piss them off...

Are you sure it's not a local dog that enjoys the smell and found a way to enhance the neighborhood aroma:-)

At any rate, a .22 short should work well.

[Frank Warner]

-Frank