Zundfolge
Member
You're paying taxes for a reason, call the pros at animal control and maybe get your money's worth for once.
Skunks
- Thread starter svtruth
- Start date
- Status
You're paying taxes for a reason, call the pros at animal control and maybe get your money's worth for once.
We had a feral cat take up residence in our garage. Wife said to let it be. Damn thing pissed on my reloading equipment.
Any way, Saturday morning there is a sudden grilled garlic and piss odor.
A skunk had come into the garage, met the feral cat, and let loose.
Feral cat gone, but skunk is now under house.
Call animal control.
They'll be out in about an hour.
Two hours later, I call and they'll be there after an emergency they have to take care of.
Two hours later, i call and they'll be out in about 3 hours.
Three hours later, I call and I am informed that they don't make skunk calls and I am on my own.
We call every exterminator we can and none will come out. I point out to animal control that the skunk is out in the day time and is probably rabid.
They tell me to keep my animals in doors and we will be OK.
Next day, we find a trapper who will come out. He places a couple of traps under the house. Comes back the next day and all the bait is gone. Rebait with smelly fish. Next day, smelly fish still there but skunk has left. We close up every possible entrance and the trapper takes back his traps.
Where we lived, out back yard was water and the front yard was street. The skunk had to travel over 3 miles to get to our house, by passing about 50 or more homes on the way. We were on a peninsula, so all there was was a road with houses on both sides and water on both back sides.
I gained a lot of "respect" for animal control...
Any way, Saturday morning there is a sudden grilled garlic and piss odor.
A skunk had come into the garage, met the feral cat, and let loose.
Feral cat gone, but skunk is now under house.
Call animal control.
They'll be out in about an hour.
Two hours later, I call and they'll be there after an emergency they have to take care of.
Two hours later, i call and they'll be out in about 3 hours.
Three hours later, I call and I am informed that they don't make skunk calls and I am on my own.
We call every exterminator we can and none will come out. I point out to animal control that the skunk is out in the day time and is probably rabid.
They tell me to keep my animals in doors and we will be OK.
Next day, we find a trapper who will come out. He places a couple of traps under the house. Comes back the next day and all the bait is gone. Rebait with smelly fish. Next day, smelly fish still there but skunk has left. We close up every possible entrance and the trapper takes back his traps.
Where we lived, out back yard was water and the front yard was street. The skunk had to travel over 3 miles to get to our house, by passing about 50 or more homes on the way. We were on a peninsula, so all there was was a road with houses on both sides and water on both back sides.
I gained a lot of "respect" for animal control...
Armored farmer
Member
AH.....skunks are a problem here also. They are the foremost reason that I have a "truck gun".
My suggestion.......Lights and loud radio. I know it works. It will run them out.
Yune radio to Lib talk radio or rap music.
My suggestion.......Lights and loud radio. I know it works. It will run them out.
Yune radio to Lib talk radio or rap music.
fishinbill85
Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2008
- Messages
- 23
There are PLENTY of ways to get rid of any wild or stray animal that takes up residence where you don't want it to WITHOUT being cruel or sick. Traps, lights, music, mothballs, bullets, whatever.... they all may work. I could just as easily put one down with my rifle or shotgun as trap it... but be sure that If I made the decision to kill something it would be a quick end with as little suffering as possible.
DROWNING a trapped animal (or un-trapped animal for that matter) is TORTURE and that is quite frankly detestable and sick. Whoever does that disgusts me, and if I ever caught somebody doing it....... pretty sure I would end up in a mugbook for something bad.
Didn't some famous serial killers start out with similar beginnings?
DROWNING a trapped animal (or un-trapped animal for that matter) is TORTURE and that is quite frankly detestable and sick. Whoever does that disgusts me, and if I ever caught somebody doing it....... pretty sure I would end up in a mugbook for something bad.
Didn't some famous serial killers start out with similar beginnings?
redneckdan
Member
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2006
- Messages
- 480
My personal tool for deskunking is a .375 H&H launching 200gr soft points at 3200FPS Never had one spray......
Justin Holder
Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 484
One dug a hole under our feed shed a while back. I set a #110 conibear trap over the entrance and caught him the first night. The problem was that the trap didn't kill him so I had to use the 10mm. 
Now the skunk is gone, but the smell remains. :banghead:
This is a conibear trap if you are wondering.
Now the skunk is gone, but the smell remains. :banghead:
This is a conibear trap if you are wondering.
deadin
Member
Why is it that some folks answer to most any problem is "Just kill it"?
Zundfolge
Member
A lady I used to work with told a story of her skunk shooting encounter.
It was many years ago when she was married to an OTR truck driver who was gone a lot.
Well they lived just outside of town and he left a .357mag at the house just in case she needed protection.
What he didn't tell her is how he loaded it.
First 3 shots were .38 wadcutters ... last three were hot loaded .357mag HPs.
So as she tells it, this skunk gets in the yard and she's trapped in the house with a toddler, so she gets the roscoe out and starts shooting. First 3 shots miss, but the fourth one erupted like a bomb going off and she hit the skunk square in the stink bladder and it just blew apart raining skunk spray all over the front yard ... parked car ... kids swing.
She was horrified.
It was many years ago when she was married to an OTR truck driver who was gone a lot.
Well they lived just outside of town and he left a .357mag at the house just in case she needed protection.
What he didn't tell her is how he loaded it.
First 3 shots were .38 wadcutters ... last three were hot loaded .357mag HPs.
So as she tells it, this skunk gets in the yard and she's trapped in the house with a toddler, so she gets the roscoe out and starts shooting. First 3 shots miss, but the fourth one erupted like a bomb going off and she hit the skunk square in the stink bladder and it just blew apart raining skunk spray all over the front yard ... parked car ... kids swing.
She was horrified.
I know what ya mean. Skunk is annoying nothing more, block the entrance and they'll just wander off. I won't kill something unless I need to and I've had worse than skunks in my backyard. Like this guy:Why is it that some folks answer to most any problem is "Just kill it"?
He didn't bother me so I didn't bother him. Figured it was a good way to keep mice and rat population down. Now if I had kids or a dog I might feel diferrent
Can't think of anything a skunk is good for but I'd still let 'em wander away as a first choice...
Curator
Member
Sardines in a "Hava-Hart" trap. Be prepared for the spray with garden hose. Hose him or her down as they spary and keep up wind. No easy way to get them gone without spraying. Moth balls under a shed sometimes does work, use a lot of them and replace after a couple of days. A "permanent solution" is often the most humane. CCI CB-caps and a single shot .22 rifle are almost noiseless and are the treatment of last resort for most of the "pest wildlive services around here.
WardenWolf
member
Drowning a trapped animal is NEVER acceptable and is absolutely despicable. Its origins were in the fur trade where trappers would do it to avoid damaging the pelt. That some people still practice or recommend this is horrifying, and if you're caught doing it, you WILL be prosecuted for it. It is NOT a humane or legal way to put down an animal. Period.
Now, that being said, I have to agree with trapping it. It's the only real option, and the best if you want to have any chance of not getting sprayed. Beware, though: skunks are extremely intelligent animals, and may be able to outsmart your traps, at least for a while. You may need to try a few slightly different traps. Patience is the key.
Now, that being said, I have to agree with trapping it. It's the only real option, and the best if you want to have any chance of not getting sprayed. Beware, though: skunks are extremely intelligent animals, and may be able to outsmart your traps, at least for a while. You may need to try a few slightly different traps. Patience is the key.
We've had skunks in our barn that the wife has run into at night when feeding the horses. I've also seen them in the pasture in broad daylight. We've tried moth balls, fox urine pellets, etc. Nothing really works well. They're usually after shelter or food. Cover up what ever access they have to your dwelling and make sure there's nothing around for them to eat and they'll go away, although they eat bugs and most anything else they can catch. The last thing you want to do is shoot one of them unless you've never smelled that scent and want to try it out!! Trying to trap them isn't much better, cause then you have a pissed off skunk in a box to deal with. Cover up access, remove any food, and don't screw with them. They'll usually find somewhere else to be and you'll come out smelling better in the end. 
Trying to trap them isn't much better, cause then you have a pissed off skunk in a box to deal with. Cover up access, remove any food, and don't screw with them. They'll usually find somewhere else to be and you'll come out smelling better in the end.
Last edited:
JTHunter
Member
Other varmits
One of my elderly neighbors feed varmits by putting food out on an old window planter with a pallet leaning against the wall under it. We have seen opossums, feral cats, groundhogs, and racoons back there, sometimes as many as 8-10 'coons at the same time. This has been going on so long that the trails through the Bermuda/Zoysia grass in her back yard has been worn down to BARE DIRT!
Having dogs in kennels in the back where the varmits trails come up out of the woods kept me worried for the fear of rabies and distemper both.
One time (so far) I used a live trap to get one of these 'coons, picked up the trap and walked back down into the woods and put a .22 Short through its head. Then I skinned and cleaned it and put the meat in my freezer for later use.
FORTUNATELY, we haven't had to deal with this problem - YET!
One of my elderly neighbors feed varmits by putting food out on an old window planter with a pallet leaning against the wall under it. We have seen opossums, feral cats, groundhogs, and racoons back there, sometimes as many as 8-10 'coons at the same time. This has been going on so long that the trails through the Bermuda/Zoysia grass in her back yard has been worn down to BARE DIRT!
Having dogs in kennels in the back where the varmits trails come up out of the woods kept me worried for the fear of rabies and distemper both.
One time (so far) I used a live trap to get one of these 'coons, picked up the trap and walked back down into the woods and put a .22 Short through its head.
Then I skinned and cleaned it and put the meat in my freezer for later use. FORTUNATELY, we haven't had to deal with this problem - YET!
ol' scratch
Member
Don't shoot it!!!
Not because I love skunks, but from personal experence. When I was in college, I lived in a duplex. We had a skunk under the porch. The guy next door got drunk and took a pellet gun out to shoot the animal. It sprayed the front of the house and everything smelled like skunk for weeks.
I have used a product called Just One Bite to poison skunks. I didn't have anymore problems with them.
Not because I love skunks, but from personal experence. When I was in college, I lived in a duplex. We had a skunk under the porch. The guy next door got drunk and took a pellet gun out to shoot the animal. It sprayed the front of the house and everything smelled like skunk for weeks.
I have used a product called Just One Bite to poison skunks. I didn't have anymore problems with them.
unspellable
Member
Shooting a skunk at close range is not recommended. There's a good chance they will spray before departing for that happy hunting ground in the sky.
Years ago I heard a noise from the chicken coop and went out there with a flashlight and a 22 pistol. Up the path comes mama skunk with three little ones, fresh from teaching them how tasty chicken eggs are. She owned the path and she knew it. I stepped about five feet off the path and watched them parade by. Waaay too close to think of shooting.
I think skunks are more prone to rabies because they will not run from a rabid animal but stand their ground, not realizing that chemical warfare is no defense against rabies.
Years ago I heard a noise from the chicken coop and went out there with a flashlight and a 22 pistol. Up the path comes mama skunk with three little ones, fresh from teaching them how tasty chicken eggs are. She owned the path and she knew it. I stepped about five feet off the path and watched them parade by. Waaay too close to think of shooting.
I think skunks are more prone to rabies because they will not run from a rabid animal but stand their ground, not realizing that chemical warfare is no defense against rabies.
Justin Holder
Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 484
Because some folks are still in touch with reality.
I think I'd pay good money to watch someone try to take out a skunk with your average pellet rifle (on video or from a great distance). Seriously, if you can't kill it yourself due to laws the professionals are the best bet. They can also help prevent more visits in the future.
M2 Carbine
member
Because shooting is a lot easier than thinking.
deadin
Member
Why do you need to be quiet unless it's illeagal to be shooting where you are?
JTHunter
Member
Perhaps the shooter is respectful of his neighbors and doesn't wish to upset/offend them, regardless of wheter or not it is illegal.
FROGO207
Member
I have found that a radio left on a rock and roll station played reasonably loudly for days will drive skunks and coons from under my outbuildings. Then seal up the access holes and you are all set. I have however eaten skunk before. It is not that bad actually. Cover your arms with Vaseline, skin the critter, then carefully remove the scent bag. You will have to stake it in a cold running stream for 24 hours or so then cook as wanted. I get my revenge by roasting in barbecue sauce with garlic and hot peppers. Yummy
rodensouth
Member
How humane are the sticky-traps for rats? Poisons? I'd rather be drowned personally, and one better than that would be some lead in the noggin.
Check out www.pestcontrolcanada.com. They state 2 methods of dispatching skunks in traps, chloroform and DROWNING. IF our lawmakers have made this illegal as WardenWolf states, then it is based on emotion and not reality.
Check out www.pestcontrolcanada.com. They state 2 methods of dispatching skunks in traps, chloroform and DROWNING. IF our lawmakers have made this illegal as WardenWolf states, then it is based on emotion and not reality.
Last edited:
bang_bang
Member
I guess I was lucky then. I was marching through some scrub one winter day when I put my foot down on something that moved. Scared me to death.
Yes, I stepped on a skunk.
It raised it's tail as I was running backwards. I drug up my 10/22 to my hip and dumped the magazine on it. After a few rounds, I could see the impact of bullets and directed them to it's head. It did not spray...but weighed a bit more than it previously did.
I hate skunks...
along with opossums. I'll shoot either on sight. Another time, around 5am my mother came into my room and said "I think there is a skunk in the dog pen." I hate it when she's right...
A 22lr through the head ended his parade through my mothers pet turtles that she keeps in the pen during the summer. He was smashing a turtle (didn't hurt the guy though) against the bottom of the doghouse when I shot him. Again, he did not spray.
Headshots are the key here. If you can severe their CNS they cannot use their back legs to spray. My great grandfather used to trap...and would often pick skunks up by the back legs alive just to show others that when you keep their back legs from reaching the ground, their defense is useless. He never got sprayed either.
- Status
