I "Had a Family of Skunks That Lived by My House for a Long Time"

Skunks are hands identifiable wild neighbors – homeowners volition typically recognize them on sight or on smell! Skunks alive in urban and suburban environments. They are omnivores, which means they eat a wide diversity of food, including insects, mice, fruits, chicken eggs, or even pet food that is left outdoors. Their food preferences or denning locations oftentimes bring them into conflict with people.

Skunk Behavior

Earlier resolving a skunk conflict, it's important to know how to best approach a skunk to avert getting sprayed. Skunks accept poor eyesight and can be approached slowly, though information technology's always important to lookout for signs of agitation. Before spraying, an agitated skunk will beginning:

• Stamp its anxiety;
• Turn around (with backend toward target);
• Raise its tail;
• Look over its shoulder (at target) and hiss.
  

Skunks will then spray up to five or six times and tin reach targets that are 12-fifteen feet away.

Cracking Horned Owls are the master predator of skunks; they catch skunks through a quick, silent pounce. Moving slowly and talking softly while approaching a skunk will minimize the threat they feel as a casualty species. Sentinel for signs of agitation, and freeze until the skunk calms down.

Dogs can easily startle skunks since their trend is to run directly at the skunk without pause. If you have skunks in your neighborhood, you lot may want to make dissonance at dark earlier letting your dog out in the k. Only calling out to warn the skunks will typically startle them out of your yard prior to letting the canis familiaris out.

Common Conflicts with People

Den under Building: The openings to skunk dens are usually about four to vi inches wide, and odour faintly like skunk. In general, skunks are not difficult to deter, and even balmy harassment can make them leave the area, though it's important to first place if the skunk is a mother with babies.

Babe skunks are typically born in May and June and remain in their dens for eight weeks. If at all possible, be patient and await for the skunk family unit to leave on their ain. Mother skunks will move their immature to a new den location if disturbed, but exercise caution to ensure that babies aren't separated from their mothers.

If it'south not possible to wait through the late bound and summertime, or if you are definitely deterring a unmarried skunk, employ visual, sound, and scent deterrents for several nights to make the den area inhospitable and unappealing.

One time y'all remember the den is unoccupied, loosely stuff the den hole with crumpled newspaper. When the newspaper stays undisturbed for iii nights (every bit long every bit it'due south not winter), you can assume the skunk family has moved out. Amend the surface area to forestall future skunks (or other animals) from moving in by covering the entrance with wire mesh that extends clandestine. The best wire mesh prevention should extend eight-12 inches straight downwards and 8 inches out from the wall in an "L" shape.  Skunks won't chew woods, so they don't practice much damage.

Digging in Lawns: Skunks love eating insects, and so if your lawn or new sod has an infestation of grubs, you may find skunks excavation in the yard to notice food. Typically, homeowners will encounter many holes in the k, usually about two inches in size. The best way to prevent this conflict is to get rid of the chow trouble. Grub treatment can include applying milky spore in late summer or early on autumn, or spraying with a one-to-1 mix of children's shampoo and ammonia. In that location are also other commercial grub treatments bachelor on the market; visit your local garden heart and ask about pesticide-gratuitous grub treatment.

Raiding Beehives: Skunks eat bees and larvae, but aren't good climbers. The simplest way to go along beehives rubber is to elevate the hives off the ground.

Raiding Chicken Coops: Exclusion is the only long-term solution. Make sure chickens are securely airtight in the coop at night; fencing around the coop should extend eight inches underground. The best wire mesh prevention should as well extend eight inches out from the wall in an "Fifty" shape.

Skunk in a Window Well: Skunks don't come across or climb well, and then ending up in a window well is not an uncommon outcome. Remember to sentry carefully for signs of agitation when approaching the trapped skunk; motility slowly and speak softly equally you lot work. If the window well is big enough, slide a rough, wooden lath into the well to act as a ramp for the skunk; the skunk will probable climb out at night. If the well is minor, and the ramp lath is likewise steep (more than a 45-degree angle), you tin lower a saucepan on its side into the well, afterwards placing some smelly food (cat nutrient, tuna, or peanut butter) in the bucket. When the skunk takes the allurement, very slowly pull the bucket out – ideally using a rope, so you can stay at a distance.

Stuck Skunk: It'south not uncommon for skunks to get their heads stuck in jars or bottles. In these situations, the only safe solution is to contain the skunk and send it to a permitted wildlife rehabilitator.

Out During the Day: Skunks are nocturnal, but sometimes are seen during the day, especially if the skunk is a nursing mother looking for food. As long as the skunk is alert and walking normally, in that location is no cause for business organization. If the skunk appears lethargic or is stumbling and having difficulty walking, call your local brute command officer.

Recommended Deterrents

Thorough fencing exclusion is the but long-term, permanent solution to proceed skunks out of specific unwanted areas, visual, audio, and olfactory property/gustation deterrents can exist useful short-term solutions to encourage skunks to leave an area.

Visual: Utilise bright flashing lights in night bars areas where y'all'd like to evict skunks. Skunks are adequately shy and can be easily harassed.

Audio:   Portable radios can be used in areas where you are trying to deter skunks.

Scent/gustatory modality: Believe it or not, skunks don't like strong smells, so ammonia or strong household deodorizing scents may deter them from a item expanse.

Best De-skunking Formula

If a skunk sprays y'all or your canis familiaris, we recommend using:

• 1 quart of three% hydrogen peroxide
• ¼ cup baking soda
• i tsp. liquid soap.
  

Mix together and breast-stroke! Delight note that this formula may lighten the hair of a pet with dark hair. The sooner you lot wash a sprayed dog, the more than completely y'all reduce the scent. Apply caution around a dog's eyes; if the skunk sprayed the domestic dog in the face, gently affluent the optics with cold water.

Article of clothing may exist a lost cause.

Other de-skunking solutions include liberal amounts of vinegar, tomato juice, or washing with carbolic soap and h2o.

If you Notice a Infant Skunk

Skunks typically have a unmarried litter of four to six babies in May-June; skunks den in old woodchuck burrows, hollow logs, wood or stone piles, or nether buildings and stone walls. The immature remain in the den for about viii weeks. The juvenile skunks are weaned by the time they emerge from the den and are near eight inches long. They tin make their odor at nativity, and by four months of age, can spray with accuracy.

Skunk mothers can get scared away from their babies rather easily, but a lone baby will commonly exist retrieved later. Mother and babe tin can track each other past odour. Older babies can typically find their mode dorsum to their own dens past scent.

If you detect a infant, leave information technology where it is for up to 12 hours, and then recheck to see if it is still there. If the baby is very young with eyes airtight, place it in an open shoebox (without the lid) and add a supplemental heat source that is not in direct contact with the immature.

Practise not feed the baby. If it is injured (bleeding, broken bones, or in a true cat'due south mouth) or has not been reclaimed past female parent afterward 12 hours or one night, phone call a permitted wildlife rehabilitator.

Public Wellness Concerns

Skunks tin can carry zoonotic diseases that are serious health risks to humans and pets:

Rabies:  In Virginia, skunks are a loftier-risk rabies species. There is no unmarried ready of indications that an brute may have rabies; since it is a neurological disease, rabies can manifest itself in many means. While the stereotypical "furious form" (aggressive behavior, foaming at the mouth) is ane manifestation of rabies, infected animals more than commonly display the paralytic form of rabies, which is exhibited through languor, loss of balance, loss of fear of humans or other animals, and general depression. Withal, those aforementioned depressed signs tin can also indicate head trauma from an injury, or some other illness. Information technology's likewise important to note that a mammal may have rabies and not nevertheless be exhibiting any symptoms. Never handle a skunk of any age without wearing gloves.

Roundworm: Baylisacaris columnaris is a skunk roundworm that can be spread to other animals, including humans. Infected skunks shed eggs in their feces; the eggs are very resilient and cannot be killed with bleach or normal disinfectants. While the skunk roundworm is non equally prevalent as the raccoon roundworm, all skunk feces should exist treated as potentially infected; read more about this zoonotic disease on the CDC website.

Forbid pets from co-mingling with skunks; outdoor nutrient dishes should not be shared between wildlife and pets. At that place are several diseases skunks and pets tin transmit to 1 some other, including rabies, leptospirosis, and distemper. Bring in pet dishes at night.

What Non to Do

• Exercise not move quickly or all of a sudden effectually skunks.
• Don't come into directly contact with skunks. If skunks, fifty-fifty babies, are handled without gloves, bites and scratches may possibly occur, which volition qualify as exposure. If the health department thinks someone has been exposed, they will require rabies testing of the skunk, even if the brute is not showing symptoms.
• Don't come into contact with skunk feces. Vesture gloves and a dust mask if cleaning an surface area where skunks have been denning.
• Don't keep the skunk. In Virginia, it is illegal to keep skunks as pets or to attempt to raise them yourself without a rehabilitation permit.
  

More than Information on Living with Skunks

Humane Society of the Usa: Wild Neighbors, What to practise about Skunks.

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Source: https://www.wildlifecenter.org/skunks-neighbors

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