danged skunks

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ericuda

ericuda

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10 minutes ago my dogs started going nuts. I was maybe 100 feet away but I could see my young ? dog getting mad with hair up and ready to attack (thks for dogs, easy to see something was not right). I keep them tied up when I am not out with them playing (live next to busy county road). I knew something was up, ran up and seen the telltale sign (tail) of a skunk headed out of the area. Nice ks day, 60 degres and still daylight. Second time in a few weeks. First ended worse, stupid skunk ended up in basement window well and of course couldnt get out.

Moral, I need to be more prepared. All i could get quick was the sons 20 gauge 870 youth and a handful of bird shot. Luckily I caught up with the offender after a small chase 100 yards away from the house and only ended up with the lingering scent in a nice ks evening.

I think i am going to mount a coupe hangers above the front door with the plug out of the little 870.
 
I think we are entering the time of the year when the male skunks start feeling a little frisky and get out looking for companionship. I've been seeing a lot of them dead along the roads around here and had a close encounter a few nights ago myself. I was walking into a hunting stand in the woods just after dark to watch for hogs around a feeder. I try not to use lights to get in there so I don't spook the hogs in the area, and as a result came within about 2 feet of stepping on a skunk. Luckily I must have surprised it and didn't get sprayed, but on my walk out I could smell a light skunk odor in the air, so it must have let go with some of it.
 
I suppose, spring is arriving. Just one animal that aggravates me. Had a few minutes to think and to me shows the value if good ole hounds. Shows appreiation of good dogs. My ole choc lab wouldnt hurt a flea and was very excited and aware. The little ? even showed more agression than normal. He is not the best around people he doesnt know but something that isnt right like a skunk steps him up a few notches. Good lesson on what the surroundings can show me.
 
I trapped two in my squirrel traps this time last year.

Shot them both with .22 CB caps in the brain.

One fell over dead and no smell.
The other one unloaded with both barrels and sprayed my truck and the driveway.

Chlorine bleach in a weed sprayer kills the stink on contact.

rc
 
My wife's white Alsatian shepherd tangled with a skunk, one night. She spent the next day doing de-scent. I came home from work to observe my first-ever sighting of a pink Alsatian shepherd: Tomato juice. :D
 
I found that nothng works completely. I tried the hydrogen peroxide with baking soda and a little apple cider vinegar works okay if the ole dog sleeps outside but still not allowed at the foot of bed for a week or so.
 
I don't recall ever seeing so many road-kill skunks as I've seen this year. Saw an odd event last spring. My buddy and I were in a small fishing boat on a farm pond and watched a skunk dive into the water and swim about 50 yards cross one end of the pond. Within a minute or two another one followed the first one. That's the first time I've ever seen swimming skunks.
 
Tomato juice didn't work for our dog on two occasions, so then I Googled it and found that is just an old wives tales.
 
Tomato juice is an old wives tale and people used it only because of the acidity to cut through the oily skunk stuff. On a whim once, I signed up and attended the SPCA Pet Grooming college in San Francisco for a few months. They taught us to use Dawn Dish soap...being careful to avoid the eyes and rinsing well afterward. Skunks spray an oily substance and you need something to cut through the oil without harming your pet. It's sort of like the black powder thing, but in reverse.....you have to use something not just water based or you will onnly spread the oily substance around more. You can't break down or wash oil off well using water.
Nothing will completely remove the smell other than time, but you can make it better for you.
 
I can't think of any good outcome for having a skunk in a trap. Almost seems like something to call EOD to deal with, but I know they won't.
 
I have found that shooting skunks in the head leads to them spraying, everything, about 8 out of 10 times. Shooting them in the vitals, 9 times out of 10, causes them to run a few steps and pile up with no stink. I think shooting them in the head makes their central nervous system go haywire, same as when you cut off a chicken's head.
 
Skunks have gotten rare down here in the last 20 years. I only smell one about twice a year and haven't seen one in over 8 years.

The "cracker barrel" gossip for us old men hanging out at the post office is, "I wonder what happened to all the polecats."
 
I and my neighbor trap the darn things. A head shot from 30 yards is the best thing to do. No stink but they start to leak in about 15 mins. I use my heavy barrel .223, I live in a rural area and have a good back stop. The .223 will break a few wires but just bend them back.
 
I gave up on centerfire, although probably very effective I have lost more in the weeds due to not being the best at quick shooting. The little 870 with cheap low brass 7 1/2's worked very well. Since the danged things are going to spray anyways I'll take the better odds of the little 870 but today i upgraded to keeping a box of high brass 4's within easy reach and put the full choke in.
 
We trapped 4 of them from under a neighbor's house a few years back. The county or KDWP (can't remember which) provided traps, looked mainly like a 6" sewer pipe. One guy would open the trap and slide them out off the top of a 15' dirt pile the other would shoot them with a 12 ga. Never had them spray, but 4 is not a very large sample size.
 
Shotgun works well enough, especially if away from house area. Bullet to head more often than not leader to spraying, but a .22 CB behind the front leg will kill them within a few minutes. If you have them in a trap, throw a cover over it and drop it in a pond. Come back later.
 
When I trap them, I see how well their Hudini impersonation is. Have never had one spray. I just cover the trap with a blanket, let it set for a minute then move it to edge of the pond. Tie a rope on the cage and pull it in leaving the blanket behind.
 
We had one spray under the house a couple months ago. Spent two nights in a hotel and had to replace our mattress. Started setting traps and going out at night with a .22 rifle. Trapped and shot a total of 7 skunks and still know of three more in the area. I hate `em!

Medicine:
IMG_9052b.jpg
 
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