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How Can I Ward Off Skunks?
How Can I Ward Off Skunks?. Few odors are more offensive than the musk of a frightened skunk. Skunks emit a pungent oil from scent glands under their tail when frightened or injured, and this stinky perfume often lingers for weeks. In addition to their horrible odor, skunks carry diseases, such as rabies and distemper, that can infect both humans...
Few odors are more offensive than the musk of a frightened skunk. Skunks emit a pungent oil from scent glands under their tail when frightened or injured, and this stinky perfume often lingers for weeks. In addition to their horrible odor, skunks carry diseases, such as rabies and distemper, that can infect both humans and domestic pets. Warding off these worrisome pests will keep your property sweet-smelling and skunk-free.
Things You'll Need
Rake
Heavy gloves
Plastic garbage bags
Metal garbage can with lid
Chicken wire
Staple gun
Expanding foam
Lemon dish soap
Castor oil
1-gallon pump sprayer
Motion-activated sprinkler
Eliminate ground cover from your property to ward off pesky skunks. Rake up dead leaves, pick up fallen branches and dispose of yard waste in plastic garbage bags. In addition to reducing the number of potential nesting spots, cleaning up dead leaves and grass cuts down on the number of bugs for skunks to feed on.
Lock up pet food in metal garbage cans. Skunks are opportunists and will gladly steal a quick meal from open pet food containers, so set the bags in garbage cans and secure with tight-fitting lids.
Close off crawl spaces and window wells with chicken wire to prevent skunks from sneaking into your home. Lay a piece of chicken wire over the hole and staple it to the wall with a staple gun. Fill in smaller cracks with expanding foam to keep your home skunkless.
Spray the perimeter of your property with a skunk-deterrent spray. Add one 8 oz. bottle of lemon dish soap and 8 oz. of castor oil to a gallon sprayer and top off with water. Spray the mixture around your garden and foundation to chase off skunks. They find the overpowering scent of detergent and oil unbearable and will find other places to invade.
Set up motion-activated sprinklers to soak smelly invaders. Hook the sprinklers up to a garden hose and turn on the water. The motion sensors on the sprinklers will blast intruding skunks with water and send them packing.
Tips & Warnings
Never trap skunks without professional assistance. Trapping is illegal in many parts of the country and frightened skunks can still spray when trapped.
