How Many Skunks Under The House

[jonp]

Wife heard some noise then a spray. Ugh! Searched around and found the entrance. After the wife nixed the plan of crawling under there with a 22 pistol or a bodygrip at the entrance I bought a live trap. Put a can of sardines in the end then put it against the opening. Couple of rocks to seal the sides and a towel over it to form a tunnel.

So far i've gotten 4. Probably there all winter happy as clams in the dry crawlspace as ive seen holes in the yard digging for grubs. All good till they started getting frisky with spring. The spray is a female not ready for attention.

[BLAHUT]

None under this house, but maybe a few under the other house, fighting with the racoons for rights.

[Winger Ed.]

Sounds like you won't be having too many visitors for awhile.

[pworley1]

When I was young a mama skunk raised a litter under our floor. We left them alone and they left us alone. Thankfully after she left they never came back.

[square butte]

I used to have a couple under the front porch - There's one hibernating under the shed behind the barn this winter. A couple of years ago, I took 42 out of the neighborhood. There's no end to em here

[BLAHUT]

Sounds like you won't be having too many visitors for awhile.

I like that idea......

[BLAHUT]

I used to have a couple under the front porch - There's one hibernating under the shed behind the barn this winter. A couple of years ago, I took 42 out of the neighborhood. There's no end to em here

When I ran sled dogs, that was Favrot food, right up there with cats, for them dogs... Just remember, if you are going to try and take one away from any one of the dogs, never and I say never, grab the skunk by the tail...

[Dekota56]

I haven’t had any,Skunks under the house. A ground hog,, a opossum or two. I hate when they get up under there and for some reason they can’t find there way back out and die under there…
then I have to climb under there an get them out.

[Hannibal]

Fellas .....

What in the world do your foundations look like? Decks/porches I can understand. But under the HOUSE? :shock:

[BLAHUT]

Fellas .....

What in the world do your foundations look like? Decks/porches I can understand. But under the HOUSE? :shock:

My other house sits on blocks with tin skirting. No foundation, no slab,

[racepres]

Moth Balls... Trust me...Critters hate 'em... Especially Skunks....

[GhostHawk]

I had a close encounter with a groundhog under my porch. Thankfully no skunks yet.

[CLAYPOOL]

I am still at 78. It's been 4 years or more since we have had one. THANK GOD ...There for a 10 or more years after i retired they just kept coming. Shot in trap with Mosley .40 Tarsus Tactical long slide.. Mounted light blinded them .. heads goes down .. Shoot threw the front shoulders to parallelize them... PLEASE wear hearing protection in pole barn. VERY loud ..

[Gewehr-Guy]

I voted 7 or more. I hired a neighbor to move an old wooden 12x28 foot grainery with his hay stack mover. When he backed under it, it was crawling with skunks, and they would not come out from under the building, instead hiding amongst the movers tires, not liking the bright daylight. Eventually we shot about a dozen of them, and when he drove away, several more escaped.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Can't stop laughing. Deal with a lot of skunks growing up on the farm. They are an adventure.

[Dave W.]

Growing up, my dad was a beekeeper. Skunks like to eat honey bees. We stored empty supers on a pallet in each bee yard, the pallets were set on 4 tires. They made for a perfect skunk home, one of the tires would catch water, so they could drink. Another tire would be dry, so they had a dry place to sleep and the bees provided a steady food source. When all the supers came off the pallet we would pick it up and shoot skunks. When a person was by themselves it was fun, you did not know if the skunk(s) was in the tire nearest you or further away. At most they were 6 feet away. I have been kicked out of school more than once, for smelling so bad. Ah, the good old days.

[rbuck351]

Nothing can get under my house but we do get skunks come through the yard at night. I got tired of waking up in the middle of the night from the stink so I came up with a plan. I set up a bait station about 40yds from the bedroom window. It's a wire basket hanging from a post with a string going to a cowbell under the bedroom window. When the cowbell clangs I use a light loaded 22KH with a 40gr boolit and a night vision scope to terminated the little stinkers. Then I get a shovel and transfer them to the field where I plant them the next day with the backhoe. It's almost fun dealing with skunks this way.

[alfadan]

I use a wireless driveway monitor from Horrible Freight pointed at a frequented area of the yard. Usually for armadillos at 3am but sometimes skunks when they get too spray-happy. Had one apparently get spooked by my AC unit kicking on right by the house. Wiped out the whole village after that.

[poppy42]

When I ran sled dogs, that was Favrot food, right up there with cats, for them dogs... Just remember, if you are going to try and take one away from any one of the dogs, never and I say never, grab the skunk by the tail...
Well I’ve picked up a lot of skunks and not gotten sprayed. Stand on your tiptoes and tighten up your calf muscles. That’s what the skunk ass to do in order to spray you. Basically contract the muscles in the back of his legs and up near his anus. If you can get him completely off the ground before he has a chance to spray they can’t spray you! Of course you certainly don’t wanna have one slip out of your hands or drop them accidentally! Lol. Oh I don’t believe that garbage about a bath and tomato juice because that don’t work! I can’t tell you how many cans of tomato juice I went through trying to get the stink off my beagle and me when she got a hold of a skunk in our tack room! If you gotta shoot them don’t shoot them in the head they immediately start convulsing and spray all over everything! You either got a separate the brain from the spinal column immediately or I had the best results by shooting them in the heart and walking away! Let them die and don’t disturb them. I’ve only been sprayed twice, once with the beagle, and the first time I dealt with one. I was young newly married and I made a rather stupid mistake in setting a leg hold trap underneath my house in the crawlspace! I don’t know which one is worse dealing with the stink from being sprayed or dealing with my wife for the next several weeks while the place aired out! Lol

[racepres]

Well I’ve picked up a lot of skunks and not gotten sprayed. Stand on your tiptoes and tighten up your calf muscles. That’s what the skunk ass to do in order to spray you. Basically contract the muscles in the back of his legs and up near his anus. If you can get him completely off the ground before he has a chance to spray they can’t spray you! Of course you certainly don’t wanna have one slip out of your hands or drop them accidentally! Lol. Oh I don’t believe that garbage about a bath and tomato juice because that don’t work! I can’t tell you how many cans of tomato juice I went through trying to get the stink off my beagle and me when she got a hold of a skunk in our tack room! If you gotta shoot them don’t shoot them in the head they immediately start convulsing and spray all over everything! You either got a separate the brain from the spinal column immediately or I had the best results by shooting them in the heart and walking away! Let them die and don’t disturb them. I’ve only been sprayed twice, once with the beagle, and the first time I dealt with one. I was young newly married and I made a rather stupid mistake in setting a leg hold trap underneath my house in the crawlspace! I don’t know which one is worse dealing with the stink from being sprayed or dealing with my wife for the next several weeks while the place aired out! Lol

And...since they will Not live where we put moth balls...they still search for a "spot" by the barn... I just shoot em in any old part of the body.. Yea they stink...Bad!!! But, My Bitter half likes Eagles...and Only Possum draw more Eagles than a Skunk...

[45workhorse]

I learned where to, and where not to shoot skunks, only on Cast Boolits!:bigsmyl2:

[contender1]

"Moth Balls... Trust me...Critters hate 'em... Especially Skunks....'

I'm a State certified Animal Damage Control Agent. I deal with all kinds of animals daily. Including skunks. Moth balls do not work. I know many who may argue with me on this,, but I have dealt with this often. Skunks will just scratch or dig them out of a hole if they really want to get in or out of a hole. And a caution for homes is to make sure that if moth balls are used inside,,, to have proper ventilation.

I'm currently trapping skunks at a home. I use live traps, and I do not shoot them. And I can not relocate them either. I have to kill them. I use a chamber. I've never been sprayed, and hopefully never will be.
But as noted above,, tomato juice doesn't work.
Something that does work fairly well, is the following;
(1) qt hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
2-3 teaspoons of Dawn dish detergent

Mix all 3, then use immediately. It has no real shelf life.

All kinds of animals get under houses. They can dig holes in some spots. Or they find damaged vents, rotten wood in doors, old dryer vents, mobile home skirts not secure, & in general,, ANY small place they can use as an access point.

BTW; In my business,, I have a saying; "Skunks smell just like money to me!"

[racepres]

^^^ Tell the Skunks that Quit living under my Addition on the Pole Barn...
also... keeps Mice outta my Boat..
No Data here... Not a Professional...Just do what Works for Me...Someone who has No Agenda...should go ahead and try It...

[Gator 45/70]

We have no skunks this far south, we do have something called a pole-cat?

[contender1]

"No Data here... Not a Professional...Just do what Works for Me...Someone who has No Agenda...should go ahead and try It."

I knew you'd disagree with me. I was NOT trying to start an argument, just pointing out facts.

I've been certified by the State for about 20 years. And spent most of my life dealing with wildlife. I've seen mothballs fail a lot. AND, I've had people get physically sick from trying to use mothballs to "control" an animal. I just wanted to offer my professional opinion, AND hopefully prevent people from getting sick, or frustrated when it doesn't work for them. Putting out mothballs is something that's done often because "that's what I heard" when people finally call me.

[waksupi]

"No Data here... Not a Professional...Just do what Works for Me...Someone who has No Agenda...should go ahead and try It."

I knew you'd disagree with me. I was NOT trying to start an argument, just pointing out facts.

I've been certified by the State for about 20 years. And spent most of my life dealing with wildlife. I've seen mothballs fail a lot. AND, I've had people get physically sick from trying to use mothballs to "control" an animal. I just wanted to offer my professional opinion, AND hopefully prevent people from getting sick, or frustrated when it doesn't work for them. Putting out mothballs is something that's done often because "that's what I heard" when people finally call me.

I agree that mothballs don't always work, and the camphor is not a good thing to be breathing.

Something I was taught years ago when learning to be a farrier, was for a sore footed horse, when shoeing them, put a leather pad with oakum between shoe and hoof, then melt moth balls and pour into the back of the shoe. Takes the soreness away pretty much immediately.

[popper]

Caster oil.

[rbuck351]

When I shoot them, I quickly move them with a shovel to the field. I shot one in the top of the head and it didn't even twitch but I made the mistake of leaving it where it dropped. It leaked out over night. Another one I shot with a 20ga at about 10 yds, left it over night and it leaked out as well. Now I quickly move them to the burial site. When I plant them the next day I use the back hoe to dig a 3 ft hole then scoop the skunk and 6in of dirt under the skunk to place in the bottom of the hole.

[gwpercle]

Can't stop laughing. Deal with a lot of skunks growing up on the farm. They are an adventure.

Yes ... when you're young and adventurous ... they are an adventure !

I've got a couple stories that will put a grin on your face .

But when you get too old to go crawling around under the house ... the crwal space must have shrunk ...

Danged skunks are just a Stinking Nuisance ... at least with squirrels , possum or coons I have the option of shooting , cooking and eating them .

Gary

[MaryB]

I have eaten skunk... once... it was meh... edible but not something I want as a steady diet! Guy brought it to our annual wild game feed contest. Most unusual and still tasty dish wins. Have to bring enough to feed 12 people 4 big spoon/forkfuls(just a tasting, we always make a huge pot of venison stew to actually eat).

I probably have one under my shed or front porch... smelled one right before hibernation so the skunk may have argued with a rabbit fr the hole... judging by the bunny tracks in the snow coming from under the porch I am guess skunk won the shed hole. If he moves n this spring I let them be. He tries to take up residence he dies!

[owejia]

Couple years ago had one to raise a litter under my front porch. Porch is concrete and the ground underneath had settled making a very small tunnel underneath the concrete. Did not realize a grown skunk could get into such a small space. Every morning as I check in on castboolits and drink my coffee can see my driveway and orchard, one morning saw a skunk in my orchard, grabbed my 10/22 and shot it. A couple of days later was going to mailbox and just as I got to the end of my porch there were six little skunks in wife's flowers running every direction. Took about a week to dispose of all of them, usually one at a time. Shot some in daylight and had to shoot some at night with my 38 revolver and 22 pistol. Try to dispose of all of them around here.

[alfadan]

I read somewhere skunks will share burrows with other critters like possums. Ive smelled faint skunk stink in the area after a possum went through.

[Gewehr-Guy]

If they would stay out of the chicken nests and not destroy pheasant nests I would leave them be, but I think they are one reason we have few pheasants any more. Now a good tame pet skunk might be kind of interesting, especially if they rode well in the truck !

[375RUGER]

About 20 years ago I lived in a Sears Roebuck #303 kit home. Had a skunk family and a family of half wildcat/half domestic cat living underneath. Most of the time things were pretty peaceful until one evening the 2 families had a disagreement. It sounded as though this happened directly beneath the couch I was sitting on. It ended just as abruptly as it started and Ode de Pepe emanated through the floor into the house.

My Grandpa had a lot of wild pets growing up. He liked skunks for some reason and told of many he had. He would cut the scent glands out himself and make them his pets.

[15meter]

My best skunk story dates from right about 40 years ago. I was renting an 80 acre farm from an older woman. A bit of a character kind of woman. She was a contemporary and friend of my Grandmother. My grandmother allowed that she was one of the more unusual people in the neighborhood.

It was time to pay the rent on the Geiman Rd. farm, so I went done with check in hand. With Catherine it was never "Hi, here's your check, everything is fine, I'll see you next year." It's "come on in and sit a spell, I need to catch up on how you and your family's doing".

So, as I was sitting at her kitchen table, I could hear this scratching. Took awhile to locate it. The noise was coming from the wall behind the kitchen sink. Catherine picked up on the fact that I had heard the scratching, she, as calmly as could be, told me there was a family of skunks living in the wall behind the sink. There were little ones in there and when they got bigger and left she'd patch the hole in the wood siding. Now this woman was closer to 90 than 80 when this occurred and I have absolutely no doubt that when the skunks left, she went out with a chunk of wood and nailed it over the hole.

And I think the free spirit is genetic. Catherine has been gone probably 25 years, she made close to 100.

Her son move in with her in her later years, complete with his '49 Plymouth that he painted purple with a roller. That was his daily driver up until he died a half dozen years ago.

How does it go? Growing old is mandatory, growing up isn't.

[MT Gianni]

The best thing to do with skunks in a live trap is to put it in a garbage can full of water for 20 minutes or so. They can then be safely released in the wild.

[foesgth]

When I ran sled dogs, that was Favrot food, right up there with cats, for them dogs... Just remember, if you are going to try and take one away from any one of the dogs, never and I say never, grab the skunk by the tail...
Oh please!!!
Tell us how you know this.

[jonp]

"Moth Balls... Trust me...Critters hate 'em... Especially Skunks....'

I'm a State certified Animal Damage Control Agent. I deal with all kinds of animals daily. Including skunks. Moth balls do not work. I know many who may argue with me on this,, but I have dealt with this often. Skunks will just scratch or dig them out of a hole if they really want to get in or out of a hole. And a caution for homes is to make sure that if moth balls are used inside,,, to have proper ventilation.

I'm currently trapping skunks at a home. I use live traps, and I do not shoot them. And I can not relocate them either. I have to kill them. I use a chamber. I've never been sprayed, and hopefully never will be.
But as noted above,, tomato juice doesn't work.
Something that does work fairly well, is the following;
(1) qt hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
2-3 teaspoons of Dawn dish detergent

Mix all 3, then use immediately. It has no real shelf life.

All kinds of animals get under houses. They can dig holes in some spots. Or they find damaged vents, rotten wood in doors, old dryer vents, mobile home skirts not secure, & in general,, ANY small place they can use as an access point.

BTW; In my business,, I have a saying; "Skunks smell just like money to me!"

As a former Wildlife Biologist for both the Feds and 3 different States I agree

[Texas by God]

After losing my sense of smell to a concussion a few years back; skunk( from a distance) is one of the most missed aromas. Strange, I know.
It reminds me of fall - like wood fire smoke does.
Did.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Minerat]

But, My Bitter half likes Eagles...and Only Possum draw more Eagles than a Skunk...

Freudian slip I hope.[smilie=l:

We only get them passing thru the neighborhood. But the neighbors dog got one, one night. I have nothing they can hid in or under. Knock on wood.

[Winger Ed.]

But, My Bitter half likes Eagles...and Only Possum draw more Eagles than a Skunk...

The same effect happens here too, but with buzzards.

We have eagles pass through as they migrate, but they only seem to hunt near the shallow/swampy parts of the lake.

[beemer]

Years ago Mom had one to go up the drain to the washing machine, it was an interesting few days.

Had a friend get sprayed while trapping. He was driving down the road with nothing on but his drawers and hanging out the window of his pickup. He met a Highway Patrolman who turned and stopped him. The patrolman jumped out and started running up the the truck. He was yelling " What in the....... Never mind I understand, you can go".

[Winger Ed.]

Had a buddy that worked heavy construction.
On a job site one time there was a skunk in under some boxes or something they needed to move.

As the crew stood at a safe distance figuring out what to do....
Some city kid said, "If you're gentle, move slow, and don't scare them, they won't spray".

Naturally, none of the other guys said anything.
Then he started moving towards it, and when the skunk couldn't or wouldn't back up any farther,,,,,,
As the kid reached down to pick it up,,,, he got a valuable lesson and a whole new perspective on skunk behavior.

[MaryB]

I was taking the trash out one night... heard a noise and turned to see a skunk 20' away from me about to spray... snap shot with the .380acp I carry and a hollow point...


Oh I was downwind...

yeah...

Word of caution, don't shoot a skunk in the exit hole when the wind is blowing in your face...

[jonp]

I was taking the trash out one night... heard a noise and turned to see a skunk 20' away from me about to spray... snap shot with the .380acp I carry and a hollow point...


Oh I was downwind...

yeah...

Word of caution, don't shoot a skunk in the exit hole when the wind is blowing in your face...

Now that is advice we can use! We are up to 5.

[GhostHawk]

I was walking along the creek looking for things to shoot at one fine summer morning. Had my Ruger 10/22 in my right hand.

All of a sudden I heard a kind of angry chittering sound, stopped dead in my tracks. Looked down, and less than a foot from my right leg was a black and white tail.
Well the ruger automatically came to point, safety off, finger hovering near the trigger, barrel aimed at momma skunk's head.

About that time my head commenced to work and I started talking.

"Now just hold on a second momma, what we have here is mutually assured destruction. If you shoot, I'm going to shoot. If I shoot your going to shoot.
But how about you quit prancing on your paws showing me how upset you are and let me back up just one step?

Backing now.

One step turned into 2, then 4, then I was 20 yards back and she disappeared like a magician.

Well I backed up a little more and circled right into the woods until I had a good view of ground zero.

And I discovered the reason for the appearing disappearing act and the agitation.
There was an old steel 6" culvert which disappeared into the ground at an angle. I suspect she had a passle of baby's in there and I was less than 18" from it when we had our showdown. Eventually I saw baby's come out and play in the sun, cute as all get out. Like a fuzzy kitten with a single shot flare gun mounted to shoot out the butt. Cute and terrifying all at the same time.

The good news is no skunks were hurt, I did not get sprayed or hurt, everyone was able to continue onward on their journey through an awesome summer morning.
Life is good.

But boy that black and white tail a foot from my leg sure had my heart going.

[MaryB]

Skunks are curious critters and if you sit still they will come up and sniff you and check you out then wander off. I had one do it while I was sitting in the deer stand(old chair leaned up against a tree, just hidden in the brush). It sniffed, rubbed against me a few times so I took a chance and started petting it. It sat there and let me stroke the top of its head for 10 minutes before it got up and wandered off. If they don't perceive a threat they don't spray!

[Winger Ed.]

. It sat there and let me stroke the top of its head for 10 minutes before it got up and wandered off.


That is a bigger act of bravery than whoever ate the first raw oyster.

[elmacgyver0]

The thing about skunks is that they like to move into dens that are already dug if possible.
They don't always wait until the previous owner has moved out.
We had a ground hog den in the front of our house and a family of skunks evidently sub-letted it from the ground hogs that dug it.
Funny thing is they got along fine for months.
I don't know what happened, perhaps the ground hog raised the rent, but there was a quarrel and the skunk(s) let loose.
My wife was not a happy camper, she hired a professional to eradicate the skunks to a tune of hundreds of dollars.

[Keyman]

No skunks here, but those porcupines can sure chew up the crawl spaces. They love the outhouse also.

[elmacgyver0]

No skunks here, but those porcupines can sure chew up the crawl spaces. They love the outhouse also.

They must not have a very acute sense of smell.

[jonp]

Just caught a Possum. He didn't look happy and hissed at us but when we let him wander off over back of the soybean field he headed to the wild blue yonder and never looked back

[beemer]

Please don't ran over one with a motorcycle. It took a couple days to get the smell off the bike, had to leave it outside. I usually kept it in the living room.

[Handloader109]

Please don't ran over one with a motorcycle. It took a couple days to get the smell off the bike, had to leave it outside. I usually kept it in the living room.Don't run over an armadillo either. Did it by accident with my goldwing. It smelled of cooked armadillo for months. And it did smell

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[country gent]

Here shortly youll need to up the numbers in the poll. Spring is coming and the skunks will only have one thing on their mind.Numbers will grow fast depending on the number of females

[jonp]

They must not have a very acute sense of smell.

They love the glue in the plywood. I had one chew on mine every morning about dawn. After several days I finally hopped out of bed, grabbed my pistol and ran out and chased it into the woods then shot it. I then realized I was naked and running around in the woods with a gun.

Caught another one last night. 6 skunks and a possum so far.

[fastdadio]

I had the aroma fill the house around 4:30 this morning. They're getting active here. I live in town, so no shooting in the yard for me. I do trap them though. Guess it's time to put cat food on the grocery list.

[DougGuy]

If they would stay out of the chicken nests and not destroy pheasant nests I would leave them be, but I think they are one reason we have few pheasants any more. Now a good tame pet skunk might be kind of interesting, especially if they rode well in the truck !

I had an uncle that lived way down in Louisiana, he had a pet skunk that had been de-scented and I gotta tell you, that fat little booger was a TON of fun! It was smart, loved to play and jump around, it ran throughout the house you could hear it's claws "tick tick tick" loved to be petted. They do make good pets.

[beemer]

They love the glue in the plywood. I had one chew on mine every morning about dawn. After several days I finally hopped out of bed, grabbed my pistol and ran out and chased it into the woods then shot it. I then realized I was naked and running around in the woods with a gun.

Caught another one last night. 6 skunks and a possum so far.

Glad I didn't see that, some things you can't unsee.

[MaryB]

That is a bigger act of bravery than whoever ate the first raw oyster.

Nah the skunk wasn't showing any of the signs it was mad. It was rubbing on me just like a cat and sending the same signals as my house cat. I moved really slow, let him smell my hand, he put his head under it so I started a slow petting motion. He laid down next to me totally relaxed...

I have had rabbits come up to me too and just sit there... sniff, one chewed on a boot lace a little...

Animals have always been calm around me, like me etc. Strange dogs will come up to me and be instant friends... stray cats in the neighborhood let me pet them(nobody else can get near them)...

[jonp]

Nah the skunk wasn't showing any of the signs it was mad. It was rubbing on me just like a cat and sending the same signals as my house cat. I moved really slow, let him smell my hand, he put his head under it so I started a slow petting motion. He laid down next to me totally relaxed...

I have had rabbits come up to me too and just sit there... sniff, one chewed on a boot lace a little...

Animals have always been calm around me, like me etc. Strange dogs will come up to me and be instant friends... stray cats in the neighborhood let me pet them(nobody else can get near them)...

Skunks are really not that touchy. They just look at you as their eyesight is bad like a bear and they use their nose to get around. If you don't make any sudden moves they will look, wander up to you and sniff to see what you are then mosey off. All of the skunks we have released have walked out 10 or 20ft then stopped and turned around trying to figure out what we are then eased off into the woods.

[foesgth]

It could be worse than just skunks under the house...
310408

[Winger Ed.]

Animals have always been calm around me, like me etc. Strange dogs will come up to me and be instant friends... stray cats in the neighborhood let me pet them(nobody else can get near them)...

My sister is like that.
She worked part time at a vet's office for awhile, and all sorts of critters that were normally stand-offish, or vicious
would let her handle them.

[BK7saum]

I don't know, but one fall/winter we cleared out 17 skunks