Think I got a skunk

[benyflyguy]

my wife has been telling me for months that there is a skunk under the deck. Whatever. We have a lot of skunks in our area and the spray a lot so it can get skunky every now and then.

Deck spans from house to pool room(greenhouse). About 60-70’ long and 25’ wide. So yesterday I walk out on back deck to head to pool room. Smell nothing Open door to head in and I hear faint rustle, thought it was leaves under the door. Do some pool stuff for about 5-10 min. Come out and right there by the door it’s real skunky! F me blind.

Was thinking of setting up a trail cam to catch where it might come in and out.
But then what? Trap it?? -then what?

 

[Pilawt]

My dad lived on five acres of forest in southern Oregon. He said he reached an accommodation with the family of skunks that lived under the deck. They got cat food, and he got protection.

 

[bflynn]

Skunk repellent - like $15 a jar.

 

[Zeldman]

Don't try to stink them out, they will win every time....

Unless you have small children and/or pets, skunks are very good neighbors. They will keep the bug population under control.

When I was a kid we had a momma skunk that would have her kittens in our barn every year. When she showed up we would put dry dog food and water out for her. She never stunk up the area.

 

[Chip Sylverne]

Get a live hav-a-hart trap and cover it with brown Kraft paper so when it closes up, the skunk can't see you. Bait it with tuna. When you catch the little sucker, place a blanket GENTLY over the trap and slowly, carefully put it in the back of your truck and take it...elsewhere. Open the trap and it'll wander off. They really don't want to spray, and won't unless frightened or startled. Easy does it.

Been there, done this several times, never had a problem.

 

[Stingray Don]

You just need the right tool for the job

 

[RyanShort1]

Let the skunk live! They really don’t do much harm if they don’t feel threatened. I remember trying to find a fox that was killing chickens one night and suddenly realizing a skunk had let me pass by about 5 ft away unmolested. I try to return the favor to it’s cousins at the ranch.

 

[chartbundle]

All I can say is make sure you close all your car windows for when the dog startles them and they spray the car.

 

[DaleB]

I would counsel against allowing a skunk to make his or her home under your deck. Why? Well, eventually that skunk will grow old... and die. A decomposing skunk under your deck is a new experience in wondering if you can just burn the house down and be done with it.

 

[jimhorner]

Just make sure not to startle the skunk, and you’ll be fine. Had this little fellow show up a month or so ago. I put out the food because he seemed hungry. He was looking in our patio door.

The momma eats at the neighbors next door. They’ve seen her numerous times eating the food that the put out for a feral cat in the neighborhood.

One of our cats gets out on a regular basis and also goes nextdoor for the food. He came in one evening with a faint whiff of skunk on him. Not like he was sprayed, more like he’d been playing with the skunk. Would not be surprised at all if that was the case.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[wrbix]

I’d be happy to live and let live with the skunks hereabouts.......my dogs not so much. Nocturnal skunks and the boys going out at night to attend to business leads to conflicts.
Found the only thing that works well when applied to a skunked dog is 3-4 months.

 

[timwinters]

...Nocturnal skunks.

Actually, skunks, along with many other animals, such as deer, are not nocturnal, they are actually crepuscular.

It's a very common misconception for them to be referred to as nocturnal, even many supposed "authority" websites do so. But, they're not.

Everything in nature is welcome to "do their thing" around my house and farms. Well, except for red wasps, but only because I'm allergic and go into Anaphylaxis if stung. Not fun.

 

[wsuffa]

Better a live skunk than a Dead possum. Trust me.

 

[wrbix]

Actually, skunks, along with many other animals, such as deer, are not nocturnal, they are actually crepuscular.

It's a very common misconception for them to be referred to as nocturnal, even many supposed "authority" websites do so. But, they're not.

Everything in nature is welcome to "do their thing" around my house and farms. Well, except for red wasps, but only because I'm allergic and go into Anaphylaxis if stung. Not fun.

Deer, skunks, raccoons around my Northern Command are more commonly seen at 4AM (when the boys insist on their constitutionals) than in the late evening hours. Repeated scientific observations.

 

[Banjo33]

In college, my wife and I lived in a single wide trailer for about a year and a half. We started hearing rustling under the bedroom floor one night and would every-so-often get a whiff of skunk through the window fan. Not knowing much about them, we thought the best approach should be to scare them out. I tried everything, screaming inside one access hole and banging on the underpinning with a stick trying to drive them out another hole. I could see them looking back at me when I’d shine a flashlight back there. Apparently I crossed a line when I tried scaring them out by shooting bottle rockets at them through the access hole. That whole end of the trailer was unlivable for the remaining months we lived there.

 

[Lachlan]

One of our cats... like he’d been playing with the skunk. Would not be surprised at all if that was the case.

I think you might have that one backwards as to who was playing with whom.

 

[Timbeck2]

I've heard that de-scented skunks make really good pets.

 

[Zeldman]

I've heard that de-scented skunks make really good pets.

Pretty much like a cat. Really loving and playful and will sleep on your lap. I wanted to get one here in New Mexico but it is illegal to own wild animals.

Skunks may use a kitty litter, but it needs to be cleaned daily. And have one in two or three rooms.

 

[Rgbeard]

+1 on letting the skunks live

We had several families in the avocado grove and one family lived near the house

Never a problem with our dog

They can’t see much past 10’. Just FYI

 

[timwinters]

Deer, skunks, raccoons around my Northern Command are more commonly seen at 4AM (when the boys insist on their constitutionals) than in the late evening hours. Repeated scientific observations.

Early morning...late evening...near twilight...crepuscular involves both...

And, just because they're categorized as crepuscular doesn't mean that's the only time they're active...rather that's just when they're typically the most active.

"Many familiar mammal species are crepuscular, including some bats,[2] hamsters, housecats, stray dogs,[6] rabbits,[2] ferrets,[7] guinea pigs and rats.[8] Other crepuscular mammals include jaguars, ocelots, bobcats, strepsirrhines, red pandas, bears,[9] deer,[2][10] moose, sitatunga, capybaras, chinchillas, the common mouse, skunks, squirrels, Australian wombats, wallabies, quolls, possums[2] and marsupial gliders, tenrecs, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs."