Skunk in a Live Trap -- Help!

[Blkcat]

We have been bothered lately by raccoons raiding our bird feeders. Since we live inside city limits, shooting them is not a good option. Enter the idea of a live trap. Then,one night, before installing the live trap, my dog gets hit by a skulking skunk right by the bird feeders. Now the idea of a live trap for the Coons seems a bit more risky. What the heck to do if I catch a Skunk??? How do you get one of those critters out of a live trap without getting nailed??

By the way, when my dog got hit, the Peroxide, baking soda and soap bath worked wonders, but I don't want to have to endure that myself - it's getting too durn cold for outdoor baths!

Any suggestions???

 

[cjw3]

Cover the trap with a cloth or tarp. Transport trap to where you want to release the skunk and latch the door open. Remove the cover and get several feet away and it will figure it out.

If they are covered so that they can't see you while all this is going on, they won't be frightened and "respond".

 

[Ga Johnny]

if you live in the city why not call animal control to come get it,

 

[ColbyBruce]

Keep the trap AWAY from your home if possible, but within plain sight so you can safely check it. If you get a skunk, take a large, dark tarp and slowly move up to the trap and gently cover it; or rig a tarp to lower over the trap from a safe distance. Run a pipe under the tarp and stick it in the exhaust pipe of a vehicle, my friend used his Honda four-wheeler. Let the exhaust put the animal to sleep.

 

[mtgianni]

Skunks are dirty animals. If you catch one throw the live trap in a garbage can full of water for 1/2 hour then empty the skunk into a garbage bag.

 

[sipowicz]

Invite an occupier to set up a tent by it...that should keep the skunk away.

 

[TACC1]

I can't think of any way at all that I want to deal with a skunk.
I wish you all the luck with whatever method you choose. TACC1

 

[jreXD9]

Skunks are dirty animals. If you catch one throw the live trap in a garbage can full of water for 1/2 hour then empty the skunk into a garbage bag.

there ya go. a friend of mine does that to the squirrels that he catches. I just shoot 'em with quiet .22 CB loads. They're no louder than a strong pellet gun. I'm in the city, too.

 

[Bluelou]

Let your wife take care of it.

 

[truckemup97]

If they are covered so that they can't see you while all this is going on, they won't be frightened and "respond".

That's the theory, anyway. Don't cover him with anything important just in case.

 

[ChuckS1]

When I was stationed at FT Hood we used to have a big problem with skunks getting into the trash behind the dining facilities. The post engineers used to set out live traps to catch them and haul them out to the training areas for release. One of my less than stellar soldiers took a trapped skunk and released it in the 1st Cav Div MP company barracks. First field grade Article 15 I saw where the battalion commander and CSM couldn't keep a straight face. Soldier was handed over to the MP company 1SG for performance of his extra duty punishment.

 

[David LaPell]

The best way is to cover the trap up and take it and open it. I made a prop out of a Y shaped branch so I could get the door open fast and then get behind the trap. As long as the skunk doesn't feel threatened or scared, you should be ok. I trapped a big skunk once and took it back to the wild with no problems. There is also a live trap that now has covered sides especially for skunks.

If not, do you have inlaws? The phrase "Anyone want to make a buck?" can work wonders.

 

[imjin138]

I remember a few years ago I had an officer who found a skunk sleeping under his truck. He called me because I had trapped raccoons and other animals at the prison and asked what he should do. I told him what I would do and he didn't want that so his plan was to sneak up on it and bonk it on the head.

I figured he would either get sprayed or come in with a skunk skin hat. Well he never came in the the hat.

 

[sheriffoconee]

22 CB cap.....I have silencers for just such social problems....not only that, but silencers are cool

 

[jkc]

22 CB cap.....I have silencers for just such social problems....not only that, but silencers are cool

But, it's been my unhappy recent experience, posted previously, that a shot skunk will likely "release" on expiration, so choose the kill site with that in mind.

 

[tops]

I covered one with a tarp and run a pipe from the exhaust of my truck and let it run 15 min. and it didn't kill the skunk. I live in a rural area so I just shot him and then I dumped him out. I have covered the trap with a tarp and used a 10 ft. pole with a hook to drag the trap out of the shrubery to where I could shoot and have never had one to spray so I would think it would be safe to cover one and dump him in a barrrel of water. The Aquila .22 Colibri is quiet enough to use in town if you don't want to use the drowning method. Use a pistol because sometimes they won't clear a rifle barrel. Larry

 

[Sebago Son]

Skunk Trapping...

For a brief period in the early 1960's skunk pelts were in high demand. My Uncle who was a life long trapper showed me a little trick that works pretty well.

He used to cut an alder pole about 20 feet long and chain his Victor leg hold trap to one end of the pole. This he in turn baited and set by a brook or a stream. Upon checking the trap and determining there was a skunk in it, we would grab the OTHER end of the pole, drag it down to the water and throw the whole works in... later we would retrieve his prize. We were never sprayed in the process.

 

[cobra44]

If you catch a skunk in a live trap and cannot shoot it, there is an option.
Throw a tarp over the cage. Get some of those ground hog smoke bombs that you throw in a groundhog hole. Throw a couple under the tarp and wait for 15 minutes, then you can take it out of the trap.

 

[rimfired]

.22 short or CB cap to the head. SSS, shoot shovel and shutup.

 

[jimmyj]

Jimmy's idea: leave the skunk alone and move to another neighborhood.