skunk under the house,any ideas?
alwaysoverbudget
| Posted in General Discussion on
i’ve got a skunk under our cabin,a crawl space about 18″ high. i know where he’s coming in at but don’t want to trap him in.i can’t figure out how to get him out without stinkin the place up. years ago had a animal control tell me to use a shot gun and hit him in the head,they won’t release that way. laying flat on my gut with a 20 ga and shooting at a skunk just doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. lol
anyone got a idea,i’m fresh out. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Replies
Wait until the skunk goes out again, you could use a trap and bait. Then seal up the hole.
_______________________________________________________________
It ain't what you make, it's what you don't spend
this is what i've thought about,but what do i need to do set up a lawn chair outside and spend the night watching. do skunks go out at dusk every night? i just don't know there habits. had a squrrel years ago,guy told me 2-4 in the afternoon they will be out eating,close the hole and your good.it worked. larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
That's why the trap, the kind for catching animals alive. Put some can cat food in there for bait, it will come out sometime, get trapped, and then you can fix the hole._______________________________________________________________
It ain't what you make, it's what you don't spend
so i've got a pizzed off skunk in a trap is he going to start spraying everything in site?.i did think about this and could put a 50-75' rope on it. when he gets in i could drag it to the lake and drown him,but at some point i need to get the trap back,unless i did it when the boat was out then i could just take him water skiing out to the 300' deep part and cut it loose!i'd have to video that,cause something would surley go wrong..... larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Hey, I thought you wanted it out from under the house.
One problem at a time!
I was figurin' ya could just wing it when ya had 'em inna trap._______________________________________________________________
It ain't what you make, it's what you don't spend
Skunk traps are too low for them to lift their tails - which they have to do to spray. Around here that's the only wild critter that Animal Control will deal with, because of rabies risk. Once they catch one in a trap they put it into a cubby on the truck and gas it en-route back to base. The lake will work too :-)
If you handle the trap quietly, he will not spray. I've done it several times.Put the trap in a contractor's trash bag, attach to tailpipe, & gas away!...away from the house, that is - he will let go as he dies.Edited to add - if you do get sprayed, or if your dog does - 1 qt. hydrogen peroxide (antiseptic, not hair bleach)
1/2 cup baking soda
1tsp. dish detergent, preferably DawnMix, multiplying as needed. Apply to afflicted, let steep a few minutes, & rinse off thoroughly.Add vodka to the tomato juice the other folks told you to use, & happy recovery.
Edited 3/26/2007 12:24 am ET by kate
You just put a carborad box or a taarp over the trap once he is in it is all. I favor using the mothballs to encourage him to leave on his own, but if he is a she and has a litter under there, you could be in for an all out war.Long time back the local marshall in our Colorado town was also a trapper by trade. He happened to have a couple of live skunks out behind his barn in cages.One night he gotr a call to bust up a big bar fight at the "Hoof'N'Horn" salloon. He never went in. Just stood at the door and threw the burlap bag full of skunk in on the floor and let the place empty on its own.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
why not tie the plastic bag and forget about him. the air will run out
Twice I've caught skunks in a Have-a-Heart trap while trying to rid my yard of woodchucks. And twice I was able to open the trap with a long-pole pruner. Each time, the detainee just sauntered out, picked up the apple I had tossed nearby, and sashayed away. There were some tense moments for me, though. I thought I'd have to take an extended leave of absense from my job.
If the trap is small enough the skunk can't spray. A skunk will not spray if it's tale is not up. They will not spray their own tail.
Headstrong, I'll take on anyone!
Skunk Story.. Visited a client for a meeting, rural site, house partly finished, no baths installed yet, no Chem can in sight. and way too much coffee. Meeting over , clients stay at the house to clean up some odds and ends and I head down the driveway with a real urgent need to relieve myself. I stop on the steep driveway by a culvert, no e-brake so I put the truck in gear to hold it on the slope. Open the truck door, stand up , and step away from the truck by the culvert. Just start relieving myself when up pops a skunk from the culvert, does a neat back flip , lands tail pointed up and it's hindquarters painting at me, stamping it's little front feet. I back pedal real fast , fall into the truck knocking it out of gear and down the drive I go , still 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the truck and still pizzien like a race horse .. ended up with a stench anyway plus in the ditch and having to get towed out by the owners. Had me thinking the skunk would have been the least of the evils at the time..
Skunks are nocturnal - they go hunting - at a stroll-every night. While he's out, block up the entrance, & reinforce any other spots he might try as substitutes. Be rigorous about cleaning up any food sources, pet food, garbage in compost, etc.Good Luck!
try mothballs, naptha repels squirrels and other critters- it may work.
Expert since 10 am.
I've also heard that mothballs work, although never tried it.
What you wanna do is put some peanut butter on a 20lb propane tank. You sit there with your 22 and when the skunk comes to eat the peanut butter shoot the tank and KABOOM!! The blast should be big enough to burn up the smell. I never tried this, but let me know how it goes.
what ever you do, dont mess with him, throw some moth balls under there
You can actually chas...er, encourage the skunk to leave. Happened at our house. Fall & the skunk decided that the perfect place to hybernate would be in the windowwell. Stunk the basement to high heaven. I could barely breathe. Anyway, animal control wouldn't come out 'cause it's a "wild" animal & they only do dogs/cats. The cops wouldn't come because the only thing they could do (didn't want to mess up the uniform & become a joke in the department) was shoot it & Mother didn't want to hurt it. We found out that a rag soaked in ammonia will chase them away. Put a board down, so he/she could climb up & wrapped a rag on the end of a long pole. Rag was very wet w/ammonia (but not dripping) and Mother put the pole down into the windowwell trying to get him to leave (without looking in and maybe getting zapped).I was in the basement watching him thru the window (it was an escape hatch windowwell) & he was frantically zapping, so I could barely breathe but as soon as he started up the board, I yelled really loud. Mother jumped away and ran & all the kids in the neighborhood who were attracted by the commotion & were watching also scattered. He waddled across the street & we put a cover on the window well. Makes for great memories<g>.Edited to add that was it! Ammonia not bleach.
Edited 3/25/2007 11:01 pm by plantlust
Shotgun bad idea. Even if you don't get sprayed, you still gotta drag the bloody varmit out. I once used a rag soaked with ammonia to drive a racoon out of a vent stack. Rocky just about flew out out of there. We made up 1/4" galvanized hardware cloth screen in advance to plug the hole as soon as he exited.
it might be possible to open one of the vents up and spray the heck out of the crawlspace with ammonia with a garden sprayer.i'm not quite sure where he is nesting at under there,just smell him and see where he's crawling in at. thanks larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
cougar ...
badger ...
or real hungry ferret.
toss one in and lock the doors!
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
My husky killed one. But that is guaranteed to stink up the place.
I forgot about the cartoon solution.
get a black cat ... and paint a white stripe down it's back ...
if the skunk is french ... he'll chase it all around town.
works on TV?
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Pepe Le Phew
Smokebombs
My wife asked me if there was a skunk under the house after I cooked a big pot of red beans. But that's another story...
Billy
Had one two years ago take up residence under my house. Tried smoke bombs, burning sulpher, moth balls...nothing worked.
Little sucker dug under the footing , I would fill one tunnel "She" would dig another. Nesting season for the little lady it seemed.
Finally talk a to a friend who told me to take an apple, cut it into pieces and put it in a live trap , skunks love apples it seems.
Worked like a charm, friend then dispatched it .. not without the skunk letting go first however.
Ammonia trick sounds like a winner to me, if it keeps them from returning it is what you want.
A few weeks ago, a similar thread was working in a flatpick guitar listserv that I frequent. One poster suggested that urinal cakes worked well, in fact better than mothballs, to discourage under-home habitation by skunks. Another poster piped up that he had tried that method, only to be waken up at 2 a.m. by a bunch of rednecks pizzing on the side of his house.
Just thought I'd pass that along in case you were considering trying this yer ownself.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
What I've done for squirrels....should work for skunks....
Using a piece of wire mesh, form a funnel. The large end being big enough for the critter to easily pass through, while the smaller end is barely large enough for the animal to squeeze through. Affix (large side) at opening where skunk is entering and exiting.
I try and make sure the small end is curled in a bit with plenty of sharp edges facing out.
Even if its a struggle for skunk to get out, he will attempt and manage once he is hungry enough. If you do it right, he won't try or at least be able to squeeze back in through the small end.
Democrats.
The other white meat.
Based on personal experience, I can tell you that shooting a skunk at close range with a shotgun does not prevent them from going off. Not something I am going to do again.
I have handled several skunks in the last couple of years in traps and not gotten sprayed. I just throw a tarp over the trap and, being careful not to shake it, put it in the back of truck. I just run them up the road a few miles to a wooded area and open the trap. They're a lot more interested in running away than spraying.
Happy huntin
A.
Live trap as others have mentioned with your prefered bait, dig an open hole deep enough to cover the trap, when the skunk gets trapped fill the hole with water.
P.S. Its probably best to have the hose in place before the skunk get there!
Tim
I would try a couple of insect foggers - chase the skunk away and get rid of any bugs at the same time.
I helped a neighbor with a similar situation a couple of years ago. She had a racoon living in the crawl space that was using a foundation vent as a "doorway".
I stuffed the hole loosely with newspaper and checked the opening a couple of times a day. One fine morning, the newspaper was on the ground outside so I knew that the critter had moved it out of the way as it went outside. I boarded up the hole until I could get a new screen.
She said that she saw it a couple of times after that, but it finally disappeared. and hasn't returned.
This might work:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/content/Item/41/76/19/i417619sn02.jpg
Cuddeback No Flash Infrared Scouting Camera
View Image
Instant Trigger Technology
Day 3.0/ night 1.3 megapixels
Invisible infrared flash
Day and night video clips
EZ Mode - intuitive LCD/keypad operation
Faster trigger speeds, longer battery life
View Image
View Image
Additional Info
•
Buyer's Guide
•
View Instructions
Keep a vigil 24/7 near your stand, blind or game trail and collect high-resolution images regardless of the time of day or night without fear of a camera flash spooking the game you photograph. The infrared flash is invisible, yet capable of capturing quality images of game up to an impressive 30 ft. away. Program delay times from a minute to an hour, or set the unit to record video clips from 10 to 60 seconds. Adjust the heat-in-motion sensor to activate at the level you desire, giving you more images of deer and fewer shots of chipmunks or rabbits. Instant Trigger Technology™ activates nearly 10 times faster than some other trail cameras with a 3/4-second trigger speed. By day this dual camera's images are full-color, 3.0-megapixel resolution with amazing detail, and the IR camera mode automatically transitions at night to produce images in grayscale with an impressive 1.3-megapixel resolution. You can program the date and time to appear on each image as well. TheftStop™ Plus technology with password protection teams with Cuddeback's inherent theft-resistant mounting system to discourage anyone attempting to take your camera. The unit also can be programmed to display your name and telephone number. Power is supplied by four D batteries (not included), and Battery Wise Technology™ permits the camera to take up to 1,000 pictures or run up to six months before batteries need changing. Images are stored on a CompactFlash media card (not included). Internal memory stores up to 20 images without media card. Weatherproof 3-D camo housing.
View Image
View Image_______________________________________________________________
It ain't what you make, it's what you don't spend
I've used the small live animal trap to catch both skunk and 'possum. They seem to like to come in through the cat door into the freezer room to eat cat food.
The trap needs to be in a black garbage bag with only the open end sticking out. The critter thinks it is a cave or such. Last year was the 'possum. I transported him/her up the road about 4 miles. Another one two weeks ago. Same one? Transported that critter down the road about a mile. I'm pretty sure it's the same one which is now back again. A couple nights ago I smelled skunk. Cautiously opening the back door sure enough there was a skunk and that dam@ possum right alongside!
Trap is set again.
Gladly, the skunk didn't return.
ok my first choice is the propane tank,my neighbor shoots off old m80's on the 4th.mine will be bigger!
i'm thinking from reading these is to set up a covered trap maybe 10 from house,throw some aaples,maybe a little cat food in all before dusk. hopefully next morning i'll have him in the trap. i think i'll just drag it down to the lake and take him for a swim. maybe after a day or 2 try and get the trap back?
maybe even give under the house a washing with ammonia just for good measure.
block off where he came in. sound like a plan? thanks everyone larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
When I was in my early teens I spotted a red fox at the creek a short distance from my home. For what ever reason I wanted to trap this creature. I went to the library and checked a couple of books but most were about killing the fox. A neighbor told me to bury a 6"X4' piece of stove pipe (sandy area) at a 45 degree angle, grease the inside and put some sardines in the bottom..... Next day I run to the trap hear a lot of scratching approach way to quick!!!
Yep It was a skunk and he was positions perfect for my surprise.
It took lots of tomato juice to get that smell off!!
Is the crawlspace enclosed in most areas? I've seen the following solution on a couple of shows, but the one I remember was "Finder's Fixers" on DIY network, http://www.diynetwork.com. Similar issue but less potent, ie a racoon. They wrapped all open areas w/ hardware cloth partially burying it along the bottom and then fabricated a hinged door out of the hardware cloth that would swing out away from the foundation and then close back, allowing the varmint to leave but not get back in. Once they were sure it was out, the trap door was removed and replace with regular hardware cloth. If it's a female, you want to get this done before she finds a litter of little ones. you might be able to search the site and get more info. I saw it on there about 4 weeks +/- ago. good luck
Thats what I would do.
A one way door.
Reminds me of the end of last summer.
Odor started coming from under the house.
Had to crawl under and get myself a half rotted oppossum that had crawled into a plastic garbage bag. Not sure if he crawled in there to die (he was half in half out) or not, but lucky for me wrapping him up was easy. But man did that stink.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WWPD