Skunk!

[Porterhouse]

Hi Guys,
I have a whole family of skunk living underneath of our porch and my wife is on my case to do something about it. I got three traps ready but, what do I do if I get them? I asked around but what everyone tells me is to bring somewhere and release it. What the best way to get them out of my yard? Is "SSS" possible without taking the chance of getting sprayed? Any suggestion will be appreciated.

[leadman]

A 38 Special with the Lee 158gr RFN works well. You want to stop them immediately but not blow them apart. If you can get them alone it is better not to get the other 2 real excited!

[2muchstuf]

Had skunks at my other house.someone told me if you kill them outright they won't spray.
Shot one under my jeep, all OK
Shot one in the back yard, all OK
Shot another in the back yard,,,,,,,,,,,,,SPRAYED
All head shots with .22 lr
Cought one in a trap in the neighbors back yard,,,,,,,,,,,,SPRAYED
Battin 500
Guess I really don''t have any good info for you but SPRAY ISN'T GOOD
All in all it was kind of fun though
Good luck with your skunks
2

[454PB]

Years ago we lived out in the mountains and had an infestation of skunks. Over the period of a month, I must have shot a dozen of them with everything from a .22 LR to a 12 gauge shotgun. Though a lot of old timers had advise on how best to kill them without having to put up with the smell, I never found a sure fire way to do it. Head on with a 12 gauge or .357 magnum seemed to work best.

I finally got kind of immune to the smell, but my wife would gag and choke every time I failed to prevent the spraying.

[JeffinNZ]

An email friend of mine in Oregon is always good for an entertaining story and he regaled me with a tale of a family of skunk under his house. Someone told him to cover the trap wit a tarp so as not to get sprayed but as it turns out that is not entirely accurate and his wife made him disrobe in the yard before being allowed in the house. Then there was the photo of him with a trusty 16 gauge and his mate about to liberate the skunk from the cage to run the gauntlet. Funny times.

[shotman]

you is on your own, but they like hotdogs so put some out to where you can get a shot. You may have all at one time so would use a 12 ga auto They will come back If you dont kill them
rememmber its "self defense"

[contender1]

Ok, I'm a NC certified Animal Damage Control agent.
FIRST,,, you are trapping out of season. Many states require a permit to do this,, (NC does) as well as following all the other trapping laws. (In NC the permits are FREE!)
In NC that means your traps must be marked with the owners name & address. Traps must be checked at least once per day, and any animals caught dealt with the same day.

Once caught;
IN MANY STATES IT IS ILLEGAL TO RELOCATE SKUNKS DUE TO DISEASE CONCERNS.
ESPECIALLY on state or federal property. Next, any animal released upon the property of another can constitue trespassing.

Let's consider the worst case.
You have a neighbor who videos your activity, & it gets broadcast on the 6 pm news. Or,,,, you capture an animal and while trying to relocate it, you are involved in an accident, and rescuers get bitten. You are now liable for their treatment.

Ok,,, here is what you should do.

FIRST,,,,,,,,,, contact your state wildlife commission. Ask them what is legal & follow their instructions.

Next,, once you catch one,,, you can PM me & I will share trade secrets on how to NOT get sprayed. I catch 50 or more skunks annually, and I've never been sprayed, and I can not relocate any. I put all of them down.

[Plinkster]

While reading up for my Oregon trapping license I found in several sources a 22 short through the lungs was recommended to avoid the dreaded spray.

[waksupi]

Put a box full of moth balls scattered around under there.

[Slowpoke]

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/forum/view_topic.php?id=7874&forum_id=25


Post #16

Have fun

[MBTcustom]

Ok, I'm a NC certified Animal Damage Control agent.
FIRST,,, you are trapping out of season. Many states require a permit to do this,, (NC does) as well as following all the other trapping laws. (In NC the permits are FREE!)
In NC that means your traps must be marked with the owners name & address. Traps must be checked at least once per day, and any animals caught dealt with the same day.

Once caught;
IN MANY STATES IT IS ILLEGAL TO RELOCATE SKUNKS DUE TO DISEASE CONCERNS.
ESPECIALLY on state or federal property. Next, any animal released upon the property of another can constitue trespassing.

Let's consider the worst case.
You have a neighbor who videos your activity, & it gets broadcast on the 6 pm news. Or,,,, you capture an animal and while trying to relocate it, you are involved in an accident, and rescuers get bitten. You are now liable for their treatment.

OK................Dont cut the tags off your matress either?

I have busted skunks (probably out of season) with a 12 gauge loaded with #8s. No ill effect. Just aim for the head like shooting a duck. If you want to trap them, I can send you some simple and effective plans for a box trap that will do a pretty decent job of sealing in most of the stench, however, if all you want to do is get them out from under the house, Waksupi's advice should work (but it aint no fun).

[geargnasher]

My first question is if it's legal to shoot a gun around your house. If so, that simplifies things. If they have to be trapped, well, that's what you pay your taxes for: Call your county Rabies and Animal Control department and see what they will do. Be polite but firm if they try to pass the buck. What you have, if you emphasize the right point to them, is a serious potential health hazard for you and your family. Where I live, the head honcho seat of Animal Control is an elected position, and that fact keeps them working for ME even if I have had to remind them of that fact on occasion.

Gear

[leftiye]

Be sure that the traps have a brick attached, and be sure to wash them skunks before you take them to their new home.

[runfiverun]

out here skunks are the same as a coyote.
a load of number 4 steel shot usually just makes them stop doing what they are doing.
some say no, but that's what is kept in the shotgun by the door.

[jmsj]

We are in a constant battle w/ skunks here in NE New Mexico. I shoot and trap many skunks every year.
Contender1,
Here in NM skunks are considered pest animals and the only time you need a furbearers license is if you take them into possesion for their hides.
I have two Haveaheart traps that I have covered with canvas for trapping skunks. I have probably trapped 25-30 skunks since using the covers and have never been sprayed yet.
Good luck, jmsj

[C.F.Plinker]

I also had a skunk under the porch. I called the Dept. of Wildlife and was told that if I caught it I would have to release it on my property or kill it. Since I live in the city shootig it was not a viable option for me. By covering the entrance hole lightly I found that they left the den in the early night and returned before daybreak. Late one afternoon I put a baggie with mothballs in it in the den. It left and when there was no sign of return for 2 days I permanently blocked the entrance. None have returned. I tried some of the other repellants that you can find on the internet but they didn't work.

[FISH4BUGS]

Remove all sources of food. If you have food out for cats, etc. get rid of it immediately.
Use a hav a hart trap to trap, throw over a tarp after you catch them, let them settle down, then SLOWLY pick up the trap and tarp and move them elsewhere.
The other option, of course is a head shot. 22 short will do the trick if you are close. 22lr hp does even better. If you are a good shot, a CB cap will kill them. Between the eyes head on shot is best with CB's. Subsonic 22's are actually very quiet.
SSS always works just fine.
You ARE the animal control officer.....and don't tear the tag off your mattress either.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I have been told that whether or not a skunk sprays has to do with if their glands are charged up or not. I have killed a few with well placed head shots and about half of them spray.

If shooting is not an option you can try this tip I got from an old friend. Fill a 50gal (or larger) trash can half way with water, float a bowl filled with tuna on the water, and than have some sort of gentle ramp up the trash can. The idea is that the skunk will fall in the can while trying to get the tuna and drowned.

[Stick_man]

Years ago I was living in a pretty rural area and my wife always kept a dish of food out on the back porch for the cats. One evening, we saw 6 little black and white striped "flags" circling that dish. I talked with a friend that traps quite a bit and he suggested borrowing one of the city's cat traps. It was made out of sheet metal so the animal couldn't see out of it.

I set the trap up next to the porch and baited it with a little peanut butter. That evening, skunk #1 was caught. I was able to pick up the trap, put it in the back of my truck, and take it "crabbing" (even though there are no crabs in our area). No fight from the trap, no noise, no smell. (you can tell if it is a cat because it will fight for it's life. A skunk goes quietly with no fight whatsoever)

That year, I trapped and dispatched over 30 skunks with that borrowed trap. None of them sprayed, all were left for the coyotes and foxes to have a nice dinner with.

[fatnhappy]

elect them, they'll move to DC. Nobody there will notice the new reek over the current stench.

Seriously though, moth balls or head shots.

[Silver Eagle]

Skunk Spray Eliminator:

I worked at the company of the chemist that developed this formula. He released it into the Public Domain with the companies blessings.

1 Bottle Hydrogen Peroxide 3%
1 Cup Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Dish Detergent or shampoo.

Mix all ingredients until baking soda dissolves. Wash affected animal or person thoroughly and rinse with water. Also works on items that have been sprayed as well.

The Hydrogen peroxide attacks the odor causing compound and breaks it up. The baking soda negates the bleaching action of the peroxide (Think peroxide blonde). The detergent allows the solution to penetrate hair and fur and helps disperses the skunk oil.

Do NOT store any leftover solution in a closed container! The baking soda will cause the peroxide to give up its extra oxygen and eventually cause the bottle to rupture.

Silver Eagle

[Freightman]

Get you a trained Great Horned Owl skunk is there favorite food, of course they can't tell the difference between a skunk and a tabby or fido.

[ShooterAZ]

I use a "Have a Heart" live trap with canned cat food for bait. Once trapped I walk up to the trap with an old blanket held up in a fashion to prevent getting sprayed. I then cover the trap with the blanket and carefully carry it to the back of my pickup. Then it's off to the woods with Mr. Peppie Le Pew. I have trapped a whole bunch and have never been sprayed using this method. Good luck.

[DLCTEX]

I have trapped for years and had the misfortune to catch skunks too many times. I tried many ways of shooting them to prevent spraying, with occasional success , but mostly failures. Some that were dispatched without releasing spray released it somehow hours later. Live traps and a tarp or blanket work for me when called on to remove problem skunks in town, but I usually have to catch most of the cats around that beat the skunks to the trap. If any one in our area was so .... misinformed as to object to dispatching skunks, well they need some brought to their house so they can become familiar with them.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

arg ...

[pipehand]

Ok, I'm a NC certified Animal Damage Control agent.
FIRST,,, you are trapping out of season. Many states require a permit to do this,, (NC does) as well as following all the other trapping laws. (In NC the permits are FREE!)
In NC that means your traps must be marked with the owners name & address. Traps must be checked at least once per day, and any animals caught dealt with the same day.




I catch 50 or more skunks annually, and I've never been sprayed, and I can not relocate any. I put all of them down.

What is it about the area north of Gaffney,S.C., and points west that make the skunks so prevalent? I'm working not so far from you, in Cliffside, and I've never seen so many skunks in my life. There seem to be several different varieties- some the classic "Pepe LePew", some with only a white cap, and others with a white back of very long hair. Some days the odor is so strong that I can drink cheap beer and its just like drinking a Heineken.

[shooter93]

Ric's solution will probably work. I get them at times here and they always just move off after the young ones have grown a bit. I never had cause to kill them as they all just leave and caused no real troubles while they were here.

[contender1]

Folks,,, I'm downright disappointed that anyone would advocate illegal things here.

I do not worry about "tags on my mattress."

But I DO work as a professional Animal Damage Control Agent. I abide by the laws of NC. I'm aware of many laws in other areas.
To have people here supporting illegal activity that can be read by animal lovers, or folks who look at anyone who is into firearms,, just supports their arguments that we are incapable of acting rationally, or LEGALLY. Therefore many anti's will gleefully point at such things & say; "See those folks are lawbreakers & animal haters."

When the State of NC gives it's classes,, it stresses the fact that we should always do our job as if someone is videoing it & it will be broadcast on the 6 o'clock news.
Those are the kinds of headlines we do NOT need.

Yes,, I understand some animals can be a problem. Yes,, I know people need to be able to live in their homes peacefully & safely.

I'M JUST SAYING WE ALL NEED TO ABIDE BY THE LAWS OF OUR STATES.

And pipehand,,,, I've worked a big construction site in the Cliffside area for about 3 yrs now. Skunks & coons,,,,! It's possible we are talking about the same place,,,!

[454PB]

I tried the moth ball trick, I threw a bunch under the front porch. The next day I found that the skunks had rolled all of them out.

[BD]

Several things I've learned about skunks over the years:

1. Success with skunks is proportional to beer consumed depending on the method chosen.

2. You can pick up a skunk by they tail, if you're quick, and throw it out of the campsite without getting sprayed. IMO you need to be half drunk to do this. I've never seen a sober person willing to even attempt it, and falling down drunks get sprayed every time. Half drunk is perfect.

3. If you need to clear a lot of skunks out of the campground without scaring the pants off of the "innocent" campers, the best way is to stand on the tailgate of a truck being driven slowly backwards around bait, (away from the tents), while wearing a headlamp and use a bow to pin them to the ground with spinal shots. You want to shoot down at a steep angle as they don't seem to be able to spray very far if they can't get on their feet. Use old arrows because you're not going to want them back. It's best to use someone else's truck and park it away from your tent when you're finished. Oddly, beer does not help this part of the operation. Beer does help the second half of the process where you go back 30 minutes later and pick the carcasses up by the arrow for disposal, (see #5 below).

4. Do not attempt to shoot the skunks while they are in your tent with you. No matter the weapon used, this never turns out well in the end, beer or no beer.

5. If you have enough beer to deal with it, and have bagged more than 5 or 10 skunks, the proper method of disposal is to place the pile of skunk carcasses under some loose brush just to the side of where the local LEO parks for the speed trap between camp and town.

6. If the skunks are already on your porch and mixing it up with your blueticks, just shoot them and get it over with as you've already lost that battle.

7. If you have no beer at all, or if it's daylight out, the Have-A-Heart trap with a brick in it does work well. Just be calm, cover it with a piece of old tarp and go crabbing.

BD

[GL49]

BD,
Next time you're gonna try #2, let me know, I'll even buy the beer:popcorn:.

[waksupi]

Put me in for a six pack too! I'll hold your coat, Bill!

[contender1]

BD,, Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are! :D

PS; Next time you wanna do this,, let me know. I want to video it & get us on "Americas Funniest Video." A surefire winner of the $100,000!

[375RUGER]

Now that's funny stuff right there.

I'll be back in a few.

[375RUGER]

Morning coffee and daily briefing over.
Last place I lived in OK was a haunted house about 6 miles out of town. Had some wild cats, I mean really wild, living under it. And apparently some skunks too. I had been setting traps and catching the cats, I don't know how the skunks were missing them maybe they had a different entrance.
One night we were sitting there, and all of the sudden there was a terrible commotion under the house and then the fragrance of Pepe' wafting up through the floor. I guess the cats and skunks got into a turf war. Good thing I don't mind the smell, it would have run most people out of the house.
I had seen the skunks around but didn't know until that moment that they lived under the house.

BD,
#5 deserves a spot in the dirty tricks thread

[bootsnthejeep]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=129488&highlight=skunks&page=2

My method is #35. But Charley is the old hand with some excellent advice. But you'll have to trap a few of them out, and then I would think mothball the hell out of the underside of the porch and close it up tight.

Good luck, man! Be careful and remain calm. So far so good on my removal/disposals.

[contender1]

Ok y'all... I'll throw out one more tip.

Moth balls are for MOTHS!!!!!!!!

They do not work for skunks. Yes, I know some folks swear they worked for them, and occasionlly they appear to help. However,, they are made of napatha,,, and it can be toxic to humans in quantity & enclosed spaces. I have had customers who had to vacate their homes after putting out so many that they became sick.
I hear it almost daily how moth balls are the instant cure all for skunks, snakes, coons, birds, squirrels, & just about every critter known. But the very same people who try it, have to call me,, a professional,, to deal with the issue because IT DIDN'T WORK!

Many of y'all may call me a liar,, but I'll just say this; do an internet search for what the biologist experts say about moth balls & their "magic" repellant qualities.

[MT Gianni]

I cannot imagine living in a State that Skunks are a regulated species. I had some move in under our porch in Idaho. Set a Jump trap and they would not spray until they were threatened. My routine was open front door, open screen door, shoot with a 38 swc behind head breaking the spine and down into the heart/lung area. results were 5 dead skunks with no spray and minimal odors. When friends used a havaheart trap I made sure to put the entire trap into a garbage can overflowing with water for 1/2 hour to ensure a clean skunk.
Seriously they are under your porch because they want to be there, you want them out. Eliminate any outdoor foods, outside garbage and then eliminate the skunks and they won't return.

[Hardcast416taylor]

A friend of mine, yes I do have a friend, that lives up North by the Big Mac bridge was having skunk problems. His brother-in-law said to shoot the skunk in the head with a .22 LR HP. My buddy also was told this shot will render the sprayer unit inoperable on the animal. Later on my buddy had a chance to try this theory out. The way my buddy tells it the skunk not only emptied its scent sac but emptied a spare 5 gal. can of stink scent it happened to have along with it! Word around is that my buddy is still looking for his in-law.Robert:bigsmyl2:

[wgr]

elect them, they'll move to DC. Nobody there will notice the new reek over the current stench.

Seriously though, moth balls or head shots.

if that was not true it would be funny

[Shooter6br]

If you cant trap or shoot them throw mothballs under porch.They hate the smell and will leave....Rick

[GL49]

Hardcast,
Had a dog once that trapped a skunk under the porch of an old cabin on my mom's property. Stoopid dog. You can assure your buddy that most skunks carry the extra "five gallon can of stink" with them at all times. At least this one did. Don't know what kind of bomb sights skunks are equipped with, but the armed forces could borrow some of their technology. Why is it that dogs always want to be your best friend when they smell the worst?

[flounderman]

if you use a leghold trap, wire it to a pole. you slowly pick the skunk up and take it away from the house. you can take it to water and drown it. if you shoot it, it is going to spray. the smell will linger. not as exciting, but easier is to use the moth balls or some other irritant to drive them away. depending on where they are located, a hose on an exhaust pipe will gas them.

[kbstenberg]

The grounds keepers at Michigan State University use the fly dope mixed in a shallow dish with Coca-Cola in it. They go around early in the A.M. to gather up the dead coons and skunks that usually don`t get 10 feet from the dish, it fries their brain somehow causing rapid death.Robert



http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=158404
this is the thread from cast boolits where i got the info

[firefly1957]

I have head good things about flybait mentioned above but never tried it . Do not use if there are cats dogs around that could get in it!!!!

I have killed a number of skunks in traps and not in traps most of them sprayed at least a little when they died . A friend drowns them in a live trap he uses a garbage can filled with water he says leave them under at least a hour for their nerves to all die before removing. I would think a box filled with water next to trap and a rope and pulley might work also. Another option is Havoc smoke bombs if you can get to the hole and there is no chance that it will start your house afire. With this you block any other exits then light smoke bomb drop it in hole cover with boards rocks and leave it alone they will die in the den.

[Porterhouse]

Thanks guys!
I put a havahart trap two nights ago. A bear knocked it over. I put two more traps last night and got a little raccoon. As of now, it's still in it and I don't know what to do with it. You know, it's kinda cute...

[Bret4207]

What we do is bait a large Havahart with eggs in the shell or marshmallows. We have cats and chickens in the barn and those 2 baits seem to work with skunks and coons but not cats or other stock. When I get a skunk I gently approach and cover the trap with an old blanket (no scary rustling noise like with a tarp. Then the skunk/coon and I got for a little ride to an open field and he gets turned loose. I turn him loose by opening the trap and yelling "PULL!" coons come right out and die from lead poisoning. Skunks take their time and I often have to pull the blanket off. The skunks get a good head start before popping them. Anything from a 22 up to a 12 ga seems to work fine.

[firefly1957]

If you want to attract crows break some chicken eggs around on the ground it will bring them in also coyotes at night. I have been using Marshmallows in live trap works great for coons also attracts mice,squirrels , and Bluejays.

[Hardcast416taylor]

The grounds keepers at Michigan State University use the fly dope mixed in a shallow dish with Coca-Cola in it. They go around early in the A.M. to gather up the dead coons and skunks that usually don`t get 10 feet from the dish, it fries their brain somehow causing rapid death.Robert



http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=158404
this is the thread from cast boolits where i got the info


I believe the name of this fly control powder is "Blue Stripe" from it`s color. It is available at TSC farm stores and probably other farm/Ag product business`s. The main use of this concoction at the MSU campus is to control raccoons around the dairy facilities. And it is true that this coke concoction will fry their think boxes in less than a dozen feet from the dish. A buddies son that teachs there is my source of info on this. One teaspoon in a dish of "the real thing, Coke" (about a 1/4 of a can) is the dosage.Robert

[DLCTEX]

Delrin Golden fly bait kills more than flies. Bury the carcass deep or the killing will continue with buzzards and other scavengers.