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...74&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.