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OT - Need to Dispatch Skunk

K

Kirk Grau

Member
Yesterday was the third time in the last 2-3 weeks we have had a real strong skunk odor near the door we use to come and go from the house. Have some mature shrubbery around the corner where I think it/they are probably hiding.

Odor is bad enough it permeates the house and I have been instructed to fix it.

So.....How does a person go about fixing this?

Don"t have any firearms and don"t think it is a good application that close to the house anyway. Considering a live trap, but what do I do once I trap it? Thinking about attaching a rope/chain so I can at least drag it away from the house, but can"t really see taking it very far that way.

Looking for any and all advice.

Kirk
 
I have a friend who swears once you have them in a live trap you can stretch a blanket out in front of you, walk up and cover the trap then carry them away.
He says if they can't see you they won't spray you.
I've never tried it, for obvious reasons, but maybe someone else has BTDT?
Not sure how he gets them out of the trap though!
 
been there done that. live trap. when you catch it. take a large blanket hold up and walk slow and lay over trap. have done this 3 times and they have never sprad.
 

Pullin this outta my a$$, but you might try sprinkling that stuff that is supposed to keep cats and dogs off furniture and yards.... Maybe mothballs?? Killin it is prolly a sure fire way of getting perfumed. Don't leave any butter, milk, or cooking fat open near that door... You won't have to ask why...
They can't spray if they can't touch their back legs/feet on anything. Just be quick and pick em up by the tail. Buddy did that once and was carrying it to knock it in the head, slipped and it got it's feet against his leg and gave him a face full....
 
Live trap and blanket.

Do NOT use your wife's favorite blanket, unless she does not like your tractors, then it is OK.
 
Are you feeding pets in that area. Pet food will attract them. Wife found this out the hard way. She didn't get sprayed but came real close. I kept telling to quit feeding stray cats outside, one evening she walked up on a skunk eating away at the dish. That convinced her I was right.

Lead injected with force from a 22 will generally take care of the problem.
 
I had a visiting skunk when I fed animals outside. I opened the door to feed the dog and had a staredown with a skunk, do not know who was more startled, we both ran. No food outside, no skunk now.
 
BINGO,

Wife and daughters were feeding a family of stray cats nearby. That was stopped a week or so back, but maybe the skunk did not get the memo. Think it will leave on its own if no food is being introduced.

Kirk
 
Cat food, dog food, bird seed, and mice. They might be patroling your foundation for mice. If you stop the pet food, and he still comes around, let it. Better a skunk outside in summer than a mouse in the walls all winter.
 
Throw the trap in a large pool of water for a little while. Skunk will exit without resistance after breathing water for a while. Or BANG!
 
I had the same problem but solved it by putting the cat food higher up. The skunk can't (or wouldn't) climb.

As far as trapping I agree with others on the live trap, just put a blanket over the top and drag it off. If I have to kill it, I like it to be quick, so I propped open the door and used a .410 as he exited. (away from the house).

I did see a new type of trap just for skunks in Northern Tool, it looked like a long piece of PVC pipe with a trap door. Supposedly they can't raise their tail in there and thus can't spray.
 
It also helps to approach the trap from the door side (mine is solid, not screen mesh). This way they may not see you coming and they won't have a clear shot at you before you get the blacket over the cage.
 
i have been using a granular repellant from the big R store. it has some type of blood meal in it. not a pepper based product. repels all kinds of stuff, even armadillos. (i'm in north central illinois, ) have never seen a 'dillo here, gotta work good.
 
you could go to the dollar store buy a bottle of Ammonia ball up and soak rags with. put around your house. skunks hate the smell and will leave your place :!: or you could call the turtle man he will catch them skunks bear handed and take them away :lol:
 
Keith,
It's actually a pretty simple solution and some have given some good advice but no one actually hit it on the head.
Set a live trap, bait with cat food. Put a blanket over it after setting it, only leave the entrance end open. Much easier than trying to cover it after the skunk has been caught and see's you coming. Also tie a rope to the cage so you can pull it away from where it was set and think about the normal wind direction, be sure the cage is downwind from you.
Fill a trash can, 55 gal. drum or whatever you have with water, be sure the cage fits in it first. Then drop cage with skunk in the can and let it drown.
Remember, it could be a momma with kids around too. Also be aware many skunks carry rabies.
If you don't have a live trap, many local animal shelters will supply you with one with a small deposit or local ID showing your a tax payer in the area. Don't tell them your trapping a skunk, your just trying to catch a stray cat.....
 
Just live trapped number 14 skunk last night. I have a rope tied on trap and drag them away before I shoot them. Leave them lay for a day, dump them out and burry them. Have to do that yet tonight. Lot of guys drag them into water. Some throw a blanket over the trap and carry them away but I am not that brave.
 
If you search skunk trap, there is one, that is made out of a piece of PVC pipe, with a trip door, on the end. If you don't have the nerve to use a regular havahart trap, with the blanket over the top, might be just the ticket. I would drop the trap in to a drum of water, and let him drown. Not what the animal lovers would recommend, but the easiest and safest end, for the skunk. JMHO, your ethics might dictate electing him to congress, but I wouldn't!
 
My neighbor came and trapped my pesty skunk with a totally enclosed live trap. after it was caught he slowly uprighted it and carried it off. He said the skunk can not spray since he can not get into the correct position. He is an avid trapper and says he has never had one spray yet in 35 years. He just takes them to a bridge and dumps them out and shoots them when they hit the water.
 
Walt, I second the mothball solution. I used them, worked for me. Had one under the house, scattered a box of moth balls under the house & skunk left. Didn't see any moths either.
 
Get a .22 LR, .22 mag, or a .17 hmr and shoot it is you're not in city limits ,would be a good reason to go get a new firearm :wink:
 
EAsy and Cheap....
We just sprinkle a little salt on their tail, (doesn't take much), pick em up like a kitty and carry em someplace else....
Something in the salt that really calms em down. Carolyn's has been doing this for years. of course animals have always loved her and felt safe around her... i don't get it. deers rabbits, squirrels even small fish come right up to her! One thing, i have never seen a bird land on her tho, but they do come close. Just amazing!

:lol: :wink:
 
Alot of people recomend live traps and blankets and I agree it will work but the question is, why take the chance? Just put out a conibear with a long rope on it just in case it sprays. It propably wont spray but if it does, you have a long rope to drag it away with.

I just got one 2 weeks ago in a conibear, it didnt spray but I was afraid it would when I took the carcass out of it so I just threw the whole trap in the woods.... I will go get it this fall or next summer after its been picked clean by other animals and the weather.
 
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