Yeah it's pretty bad and embarrassing. I was telling a friend about it earlier in the day. He said yeah, I smell it on you. I cancelled having my dad over yesterday because of it. I really got a better idea of the smell when I chased one away Christmas Eve. I think I read there is sulphur in their spray. Not really noticable through the floor, but I noticed it big time face to face.
Skunks Under the House
- Thread starter FMA4ME
- Start date
If you know where they are getting in, then wait until they leave in the evening and then seal up the hole. They're skunks, not super ninjas.
If you have access to the crawlspace through a trapdoor somewhere in the house, you can encourage them to leave by placing a loud radio or a bluetooth speaker down there and blasting loud music. Make sure the original opening they got in tbrough is open, then seal it up after they leave.
The easier way
Krismo962
mentions does indeed work...but it's almost always accompanied by an explosive scent discharge. And if it doesn't happen when you do the deed...the dang dead skunk is literally a hand grenade with the pin pulled, just waiting for you to pick it up to dispose of the body...and then POW! Been there, done that, had to burn the T-shirt.
If you have access to the crawlspace through a trapdoor somewhere in the house, you can encourage them to leave by placing a loud radio or a bluetooth speaker down there and blasting loud music. Make sure the original opening they got in tbrough is open, then seal it up after they leave.
The easier way
Krismo962
mentions does indeed work...but it's almost always accompanied by an explosive scent discharge. And if it doesn't happen when you do the deed...the dang dead skunk is literally a hand grenade with the pin pulled, just waiting for you to pick it up to dispose of the body...and then POW! Been there, done that, had to burn the T-shirt.
If you know where they are getting in, then wait until they leave in the evening and then seal up the hole. They're skunks, not super ninjas.
If you have access to the crawlspace through a trapdoor somewhere in the house, you can encourage them to leave by placing a loud radio or a bluetooth speaker down there and blasting loud music. Make sure the original opening they got in tbrough is open, then seal it up after they leave.
The easier way
Well it was at sundown when I tried the bug bomb earlier today. Sundown or night is when I've seen them. I'm wondering if there are small babies in there. I think I should have heard it try to escape by now. It's been sealed for 2 days.
I don't know a whole lot about skunks but it seems interesting that they would spray and smell up their chosen nesting area.
Lure them out at night with a few open cans of catfood placed several yards away from the opening and then seal them out when they take the bait and begin to feed.
Lure them out at night with a few open cans of catfood placed several yards away from the opening and then seal them out when they take the bait and begin to feed.
Do California skunks breed year round? I doubt it; in Canada they mate in late winter or early spring, give birth in summer and the kits are on their own by winter. At this time of year you can evict them with a clean conscience, there won't be any babies around. Sounds like you have closed the vent up with one or more skunks still inside. That's hard on you, hard on your house, and really hard on the skunks.
Lots of places have laws against killing "furbearers" unless you have a trapper's licence, and even then there are usually closed and open seasons on them. Some places may or may not allow the use of firearms.
Live-trapping and transporting is illegal in many places as well; I guess the logic is that you are not supposed to foist your problem on someone else? Don't forget, too, that animals that are trapped and relocated willy-nilly don't have very good survival rates. If you release it in a good spot for skunks to live...surprise! There are already skunks living there, and they are not interested in new friends! You aren't doing an animal any favours by dropping it off in a strange new location and expecting it to have a rich full life; odds are it will die an unpleasant death fairly quickly, or at best live a very tough and meager existence if it survives at all.
So, let the skunks continue on as they are; it's the New Age Man approach to wildlife management and interaction. Stop having friends and family over, and continue on in the knowledge that people you interact with at work and elsewhere can all smell skunk on you. I'll bet that in a year or so you won't even notice the smell yourself. Skunks are people too! They deserve health, happiness and the chance to explore their full potential. That skunk to whom you give shelter could go on to discover a cure for Covid, or maybe figure out a way to end world hunger or climate change.
Or...pit yourself in a contest of wits with an animal whose brain is the size of a raisin (I'm talking about the skunks, rather than the painters). Wait until they leave, then shut the door behind them.
Or apply the tried and tested country boy method: SSS. For the uninitiated, that means Shoot, Shovel and Shut up! It's only illegal if you get caught.
Lots of places have laws against killing "furbearers" unless you have a trapper's licence, and even then there are usually closed and open seasons on them. Some places may or may not allow the use of firearms.
Live-trapping and transporting is illegal in many places as well; I guess the logic is that you are not supposed to foist your problem on someone else? Don't forget, too, that animals that are trapped and relocated willy-nilly don't have very good survival rates. If you release it in a good spot for skunks to live...surprise! There are already skunks living there, and they are not interested in new friends! You aren't doing an animal any favours by dropping it off in a strange new location and expecting it to have a rich full life; odds are it will die an unpleasant death fairly quickly, or at best live a very tough and meager existence if it survives at all.
So, let the skunks continue on as they are; it's the New Age Man approach to wildlife management and interaction. Stop having friends and family over, and continue on in the knowledge that people you interact with at work and elsewhere can all smell skunk on you. I'll bet that in a year or so you won't even notice the smell yourself. Skunks are people too! They deserve health, happiness and the chance to explore their full potential. That skunk to whom you give shelter could go on to discover a cure for Covid, or maybe figure out a way to end world hunger or climate change.
Or...pit yourself in a contest of wits with an animal whose brain is the size of a raisin (I'm talking about the skunks, rather than the painters). Wait until they leave, then shut the door behind them.
Or apply the tried and tested country boy method: SSS. For the uninitiated, that means Shoot, Shovel and Shut up! It's only illegal if you get caught.
I know very little about skunks other than the obvious which these animals are famous for, so forgive me for the embarrassment i'm about to cause myself.
Are these guys just placid and keep themselves to themselves, or do they spray their putrid scent all over whether they're threatened or not? Will they dig under the property and cause foundation issues? Are they gnawers, like rodents, so electrical cables could be chewed through? Are they classed as vermin carrying all manner of disease?
Are these guys just placid and keep themselves to themselves, or do they spray their putrid scent all over whether they're threatened or not? Will they dig under the property and cause foundation issues? Are they gnawers, like rodents, so electrical cables could be chewed through? Are they classed as vermin carrying all manner of disease?
They're not aggressive, but they are also largely unafraid of people, probably because they know they likely won't be bothered. They're weasels, not rodents, so they aren't gnawers...although virtually any critter might chew through the soft insulation on wiring. They dig, but don't usually cause structural issues...usually. They can totally wreck your lawn digging for grubs. They are one of the most prevalent carriers of rabies.
They don't just spray for the fun of it...but the smell is so clinging and pervasive and persistent that they always stink. Just having one go through your yard in the middle of the night can leave a scent that is still easily detected the next morning. Getting sprayed with one...or having your dog sprayed with one...is absolutely disgusting. Eyes water, choking...it's like a slightly less intense version of mace.
Don't feel left out, Esox...I'm drawing up a petition requesting the Canuckistan gummint to relocate a breeding population of skunks to the UK so you folks can share in the joy of observing these delicate woodland creatures go about their daily lives.
They don't just spray for the fun of it...but the smell is so clinging and pervasive and persistent that they always stink. Just having one go through your yard in the middle of the night can leave a scent that is still easily detected the next morning. Getting sprayed with one...or having your dog sprayed with one...is absolutely disgusting. Eyes water, choking...it's like a slightly less intense version of mace.
Don't feel left out, Esox...I'm drawing up a petition requesting the Canuckistan gummint to relocate a breeding population of skunks to the UK so you folks can share in the joy of observing these delicate woodland creatures go about their daily lives.
They're not aggressive, but they are also largely unafraid of people, probably because they know they likely won't be bothered. They're weasels, not rodents, so they aren't gnawers...although virtually any critter might chew through the soft insulation on wiring. They dig, but don't usually cause structural issues...usually. They can totally wreck your lawn digging for grubs. They are one of the most prevalent carriers of rabies.
They don't just spray for the fun of it...but the smell is so clinging and pervasive and persistent that they always stink. Just having one go through your yard in the middle of the night can leave a scent that is still easily detected the next morning. Getting sprayed with one...or having your dog sprayed with one...is absolutely disgusting. Eyes water, choking...it's like a slightly less intense version of mace.
Don't feel left out, Esox...I'm drawing up a petition requesting the Canuckistan gummint to relocate a breeding population of skunks to the UK so you folks can share in the joy of observing these delicate woodland creatures go about their daily lives.
That's fine with me John, I could do with something a bit more offensive than my colorful language for when the Jehovahs witnesses come a knockin'. Lol.
Consider it done!
So, now that we've covered skunks and JW's...are there any other entertaining and irritating species of wildlife you'd like to get in that initial shipment we send over? Ticks? Mosquitos? Porcupines?
Make up a list!
