Skunk season again! Ugh!!

[Mule Packer]

A few nights ago, I smelled a skunk out here at the ol' homestead. In the past, I've had them den up under my tractor barn, under the tack shed, and under the wood shed, so I try to eliminate them as soon as possible.

Their breeding season is between January and March, so when love is in the air, they start getting active.

Anyway, like I mentioned, I smelled one the other night and figured I'd better start trapping or we'd have a passel of 'em running around in the spring. I set the trap two nights ago and nothing. The bait leading up to the trap had been eaten, but whatever it was that took the bait didn't eat anything in the trap.

Set the trap again last night, and when I checked this morning, there was a good-sized skunk in the trap. A .22 to the brain pan usually does the trick, but no matter what, once those sphincter muscles relax, it's all over but the shoutin', if you know what I mean. Ugh!

On the bright side...I could always make Ms. Judy a pair of slippers.

 

[arjay]

We used to smell them every year. I think they were denning under the little farmhouse next door. Loved waking up at 3am to close the window quick lol
Stinky little boogers!

 

[Onomea]

Seems to me we had a thread on skunks and how to deal with 'em fairly recently. One fellow said that there are those who approach the trapped skunk with an outspread blanket, cover the cage with it, and cart it off for release somewhere. (Sounds kinda like telling a canary it is nighty-night time.)

You first!

(Around these parts, if one smells skunk in the air it is usually somebody puffin' on some marijuana. Dunno when marijuana started smelling like that. Back in the day, I don't recall that, um, aroma...)

 

[ZGrand]

A friend of mine had a de-scented one as a pet. It was actually a fun little critter.

I smell them around here frequently, and see them dead on the road, but I've never seen a live one here.

 

[raisedin99]

Mule Packer,

Here is a little ditty along with lyrics that you can sing or whistle to yourself while running your trapline. Warning it is addictive

terry

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxgagXVqZZM[/ame]

 

[mtgianni]

A hit to the brain kills them dead and allows muscle function. Breaking the spine and exiting through the heart lung area doesn't allow them to spray. It isn't easy to set up though.

 

[Eric300]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svZdNI8aQns[/ame]

 

[prairieviper]

We like skunks as long as they and we keep our distance. Heck, our cats even share with them.

 

[Rudi]

Now a days a Pepe Le Pew cartoon would send the snowflakes to a safe space.

 

[Rustyt1953]

 

[twodog max]

About 35 years ago we lived in a house and enjoyed a season of skunks denning under the house and the terrible stink. I developed an intense and lifelong hate for them. I shoot them all on sight. Zero tolerance.
To trap and remove without the stink get one of the plastic spray proof traps. Those things really work. No stink. The biggest fault I ever found with them is the skunks are usually asleep and they don't want to waddle out for dispatch.

 

[keith44spl]

Polecats (skunks) are the primary
carrier of rabies in my neck of the woods.

We deal with 'em accordingly

///

 

[JcMack]

Went through basic with guys that were all from Chicago or NYC. First night in a skunk crawled in under the barracks and cut loose. It woke up everybody and they're all "what the hell is that". One little guy from Arkansas chimes in "that's a skuuunk". We all got a ditty bag that morning with soap, toothpaste and Arrid spray. They were all runnin around spraying that **** which did zero good.

 

[OLDSTER]

Yep : this is the season where the things seem to hang around our neighborhood. Fortunately ( unfortunately for my neighbor ) my neighbors' old Jack Russel Terrier finally checked out. That little fart loved to tangle with skunks ( plural), and being the friendly thing he was, we'd hardly dare sit out on our deck because if he saw us he'd come over and hang out.

 

[Gaffer]

I had friend who was brave or fool enough to live trap in cage throw a blanket over it and haul it in the back seat of his Volkswagon beetle to where he released in miles away. He never had one spray, but he was lucky I think.

 

[375hh1973]

I shoot them in the guts with a pellet rifle...

They crawl off and die at someone else's place.

 

[Greyman50]

Remember Aberdeen Proving Grounds had lots of skunks, they would spray when fog came off the Bay and most of the base would Stink. When on guard duty at the Tank Park skunks would walk through daring anyone to bother them. Good reason to climb on the King Tiger and watch them .

 

[growr]

What does a skunk do in the whole scheme of things anyway?

I am not aware of anything that is predatory on a skunk, even road kill skunks are left alone by coyotes.

Randy

 

[madmikeb]

We had a mother cat with a litter of 4 kittens hanging around at my job a few years back and I proceeded to live trap all of them.

Over the process I caught two skunks in the trap. Both times the skunks would rake a bunch of grass into the trap, make a bed and go to sleep. When I arrived at work the next day I would approach the trap, make sure the skunk was awake so I wouldn't startle them, open the trap and they would waddle off in no hurry, just as mellow as could be.

Of course while I was doing this all my co-workers would watch from a safe distance waiting to see if I would get sprayed! I actually think they were a little disappointed when I didn't.

 

[Mule Packer]

I am not aware of anything that is predatory on a skunk, even road kill skunks are left alone by coyotes.

Believe it or not, foxes, coyotes, and cougars will prey on skunks. Of course, it's not their most preferred meal, and if they get sprayed they definitely think twice before going after one in the future. But, they will eat skunks if nothing else is readily available.

Now owls and hawks are a whole different thing. They prey on skunks and their olfactory senses, if they have any, don't seem to be affected. I read somewhere that Great Horned Owls are the skunk's most dominant predator.