Wildlife Control Supplies Blog

One of the most common complaints regarding skunks during the summer months is “grubbing” of lawns. While grubs are certainly high on their preferred food list, this damage may be from the skunks searching for worms and other insects. This damage usually occurs from mid-summer and fall and the damage can be severe sometimes in just one or two nights. The grass is dug up leaving large patches of loose turf with many small precise holes that are created as the skunk pushes their nose into the turf and then digging with their elongated front claws to get at the insect. Another common complaint is, “We are smelling skunk!” Remember that during breeding season, skunks will often spray one another. If the customer says that the smell has been going on for many days there is a good chance that you may be dealing with a dead skunk. I, like a fair number of trappers and wildlife control operators, like the smell of skunk, but not a dead rotten one. After doing many years of wildlife control, I was able to determine within minutes of being on the property, if the skunk was alive or dead by the odor. Dying skunks seem to always crawl back to the most inaccessible part of a building or crawlspace, and during winter months, will often be found nearest a heat source. I have broken ribs crawling under building doing this type of work so be careful and be sure to carry a backup source of light in case your flashlight dies on you.

If you can find the carcass, be sure to remove a few inches of soil under the carcass as the anal glands will likely have rotted to the point that all of the essence has leaked out. There are some good products on the market for removing skunk odor such as Epoleon N-100 and Citrus Neutrox. It is best to apply these products with a fogger like the Hudson Electric Atomizer Sprayer.

Once you have mixed up the hydrogen peroxide solution it must be used because if stored the gasses will build up blowing the lid off your container. Another fairly common call is “I have a skunk in a window well or stuck in a basement”. The easiest way to remove these skunks is to lower a pre- baited and covered cage trap into the window well, which often works so fast that you can just wait a few minutes to retrieve your “prize”. If a skunk is stuck in a basement or any room for that matter use the following technique. Place two covered cage traps along the walls where it seems to travel, and use a water bottle to squirt at the skunk, which will direct the animal to your set.