Category Archives: Skunks

Anything to do with skunks

Skunk in the Window Well

Redoing your lawn is hard enough without having to deal with a skunk in the window well, what started out as normal Saturday morning, with raking leaves pulling weeds and tearing out old grass, turned into a smelly, week-long disaster. About a month ago my wife complained that the grass was dead, plants were rotting, fence was outdated, and the deck and lawn decorations were sundried and cracking; it was time for a full lawn makeover, or so she said. I didn’t think it was such a good idea until my oldest daughter, Charity, wanted to go out with a boy on that same day, then it was in full swing, an all hands on deck situation. Everyone had a job and there would be NO fourteen year olds going on a date. I know my wife would have shut my plan down if she didn’t want a new lawn as badly as she did.
My oldest son Mikey and I set to work on ripping out the old chain-link fence while my wife and youngest son Andrew started ripping out the plants (it was more my wife, Drew is only four but he did his best to help), Charity and her sister were assigned to chip off the old stain, and repaint the deck. When she wasn’t mumbling about how stupid and unfair it was, I think Charity secretly had a good time; until she found the skunk. She was getting a drink from the hose on the side of the house, to do this she had to bend over right near the window well, right where he was trapped, and afraid. We didn’t know what had happened when we heard her scream but it didn’t take us very long to smell it.
Now, we had two problems; one: my daughter was LIVID and smelled like skunk butt, and two: we had a skunk in the window well that we couldn’t get out. It was obvious that picking it up and carrying it out wasn’t plausible, unless Charity did it since she had already been sprayed, but there was no way on Earth she was going near anything but a bath in tomato soup, so instead we tried to build it a ramp. We put on our hazmat suits (doctor masks, goggles, leather gloves, and head to toe clothing) and carefully slid a plank down into the window well. Knowing fully well skunks aren’t exactly renowned climbers, we attached small pegs it could use to climb up and out with.
Unfortunately, this plan failed and none of us were brave enough to try and put a trap down with it, and remove it if he was caught. After a week of no luck with the creature, we decided there was only one thing we could do, I got my .22 and handled the situation. Our house, and daughter, stunk for quite a while, Charity hasn’t forgiven me yet for the incident, but we’ll never forget the family bonding we had when we found the skunk in the window well.

Skunk Dens and Winterizing Your Home

skunk          Skunks beef up in the fall, binge eating whatever they can find to build up fat reserves for winter.  That means you’re more likely to deal with skunks in the garbage can, skunks digging up the lawn for grubs, skunks stealing pet food or food meant for other domesticated animals, and skunks in the garden.  Skunks are omnivores, so they’re happy eating your winter vegetables out of the garden or insects or mammals.  If you have a problem with mice, voles or bees, skunks are more likely to be attracted to your property.  They also eat carrion, so if you have dead animals in the walls or under the house or in an outbuilding, that may also attract skunks.

These animals don’t stay in the same den throughout the year.  So, if you haven’t had a skunk problem this spring or summer, you might still encounter one this fall or winter.  They prefer their winter burrows to be in sites that are easily defended and that are warm against ice, snow and wind.  It’s common to find skunk dens under porches, in crawl spaces, garages, even under sidewalks or driveways.  They prepare their winter den by building up leaves or grasses to help keep the cold out, and they may even hunker down with another skunk for extra warmth, adding to your skunk problem.

And, skunks aren’t the only animals using the fall to prepare for winter.  Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, mice, rats and roosting birds are gearing up for the cold winter.  Homes, office buildings, warehouses, outbuildings, horse stables and other properties provide food sources, water sources and possible winter nesting sites for these animals.

Allstate Animal Control is your resource for protecting your property against the health and safety risks wild animals pose.  Having an experienced wildlife management technician inspect your home or property can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in damages to structures.  They are expert at seeking out and sealing up entrance points, removing any wildlife problem you may currently have, and protecting your property against animals re-entering.  This will save you from such health risks or inconveniences such as bad smells, dead animals in the walls or attic, property destruction, water damage, mite infestation, viruses or bacteria in animal droppings, and threats to pets.  Exclusion materials can be installed to keep skunks or other animals out of window wells or crawlspaces.  Licensed and experienced professionals can also sanitize and deodorize areas that have already been saturated with animal droppings or a decomposing animal.

Winterizing your home or property should include taking care of any animal problems before it becomes a serious and possibly dangerous issue.  Allstate Animal Control can take care of that for you.

Mild Winter and Nuisance Animals

Skunk (2)            I recently had an enlightening conversation with the pest control technician who was sent out to my home to help me battle the explosion of insects that are attacking my neighborhood this summer.  He said their company is extremely busy this season, due to the fact that Utah experienced a relatively mild winter during the 2013 to 2014 season.  While skiers and snowboarders lamented, and all of us worried about future water levels, we admittedly enjoyed the fact that we experienced fairly beautiful weather.  But, that has meant an increase in critters like Miller moths, earwigs, carpenter ants, slugs, snails, crickets and grasshoppers.  Frustrated homeowners are keeping these pest control companies busy this year!

A relatively mild winter gave rise to an increase in the insect population.  And, now we are seeing an increase in the bird population.  Utah just approved its first crow hunt because the crow population has tripled over the last twelve years.  New rules now allow Utah homeowners to kill nuisance birds if other efforts of getting rid of them are unsuccessful.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports an 8% increase in the duck population in 2014.   My neighbors have remarked how surprised they are to see more robins and pigeons than we’ve ever seen in this area before.

So, let’s follow the logic.  More prey means more predators.  With a growing bird population, we’re likely to see a growing population of raccoons, snakes, skunks and other animals that feast on both insects and birds.  A growing population of nuisance animals means they will expand their territories.  With such a feast of prey, nuisance animals may not need to root around in garbage cans or steal food from domestic animals, but we are likely to see an increase in animal dens under homes, raccoons nesting in attics or chimneys, and skunk dens under porches or stairs.

The damage these animals can do to property ranges from offensive smells to house fires and everything in between.  Raccoons easily tear through roofing or siding materials.  The smell of skunk spray is notoriously hard to get rid of, and can cost homeowners thousands of dollars to replace items that have been sprayed.  Animals in and around your home, such as raccoons and skunks, are a noise nuisance, cause offensive odors, threaten domestic animals, cause costly property damage, and can harm you and yours.

Let’s follow the logic just a little bit further.  Mild winter equals bigger insect population, which feeds a larger nuisance animal (predator) population.  And, those nuisance animals are in turn preyed upon by a larger tick and mite population.  When raccoons nest in your home or skunks move onto your property, they bring with them the insects and diseases hiding in their fur, on their skin and in their feces, which in turn infest your home or property.

I know, this all seems a little doom and gloom.  It’s just nature.  But, there is help.  Allstate Animal Control is a national network of nuisance animal control technicians.  These people know what they’re doing, they know these animals and the particular places they like to hide.  They are experienced at humanely removing nuisance animals out of your home or other buildings, off your property, and can clean the area and repair the damages the animals caused.

Get proactive and protect your home and property against these nuisance animals before they cause property damage and health issues.

Skunk in the Window Well

skunk          Skunks are not good climbers, so when a skunk falls down into a window well, it can get stressed, dehydrated, panicked and then spray.  You may not even be aware you had a skunk in the window well, but when the smell hits you, you’ll figure out soon enough that you have a skunk problem.

A woman I know works at a hospital and often works the night shift.  She came home in the early hours one morning, stepped out of her car, and gagged on the smell of a fresh skunk spray.  Skunks have poor eyesight, which is ironic since they are nocturnal, and one had fallen down into a window well leading to the half-finished basement.  Unfortunately, her teenage son had been painting the walls of his soon-to-be-bedroom the evening before and had left the window slightly ajar.  It wasn’t wide enough to let in the animal, but the sharp, musky, oily scent of the spray got in.

My friend initially thought a skunk had gotten inside the house or was somehow in the basement, so they were afraid to go and investigate.  For hours, they tried to combat the stench, not realizing they had a skunk trapped in the window well.  Finally, the animal was discovered, and they figured out what must have happened.  But, what to do?  They wanted to help the skunk in the window well, but they didn’t want to risk getting hurt or sprayed.  Of course, they were concerned the skunk might have rabies, too, so there was no way they were going to approach it to try to help get it out of there.

My friend lowered a spare piece of wood they had lying around in the garage, hoping the animal would be able to climb out at an angle.  They had a bad moment when they were trying this, because the animal was skittish and panicky and turned around, lifting its tail as if to spray again.  Everyone ran for cover and the plan was abandoned.  After a while the skunk tried to walk up the lumber, but the angle was still too steep and it couldn’t make it out on its own.

Exhausted, after working all night and coming home to a stench and a mess and a wild animal in the window well, my friend finally gave up trying to handle the problem on her own.  She made a call to Allstate Animal Control, and they sent someone out to take a look at the problem and remove the skunk.  They even knew how to get the skunk smell out of the basement.  Of course, my friend got window well covers installed, and now so do I.  I don’t want to ever go through that kind of drama.

Skunk Smell

skunk

 

It happened suddenly, before I even realized a skunk had sprayed my daughter.  One moment I was helping my son with his bike, and the next my little girl is gagging and coughing and trying to scream.

The day had not started out well.  Both children had missed the bus, apparently because I failed to yell “Hurry Up” enough times.  It never fails to surprise me how slowly my children can do normal, every-day things, like put a shirt on or eat cereal or brush their teeth.  So, the bus came and went, and my children were not on it.  That meant that I had to search for my purse and keys while tugging on a bra and tennis shoes at the same time so I could drive them.  Driving them was the only way to get them to school safely and on time, although I would have loved to have just made them stay home, do homework and stay in bed all day long after the morning they gave me.

Nevertheless, I got them to the proper place at the proper time so they do the requisite learning activities and I could have the next several hours to prepare for my afternoon meeting.  That meetig did not go well, unfortunately, and I didn’t get the bid, despite all the hours of work I’d put into my presentation.

I barely got home in time for the kids to get off the bus, and we headed straight into whining homework time.  I powered through, helping them with their homework, cleaning the kitchen, folding laundry and getting dinner ready all at the same time.

I realized it was too quiet at the dinner table.  I’d spent all the time I had with my children that day yelling at them to hurry up or do something or focus on their work, and they were just as tired as I was.  It was time to do something fun.

We pulled out the bikes and rode around the neighborhood.  It was a lovely, early spring day, one of those rare warm ones, and the evening was turning out to be beautiful.  We laughed and raced and spent some wonderful quality time.

Then my son’s bike broke.  Then, my daughter chased down a skunk and the skunk sprayed her.  I had no idea what to do.  I wanted to grab her and hold her and console her, but we couldn’t stop coughing and gagging on that nasty skunk smell.  I somehow managed to calm her down, get us and the bikes back home, stripped her down in the garage and threw away the clothes, and got her in the tub while I searched for how to remove skunk smell.  After many hours, lot of my daughter’s tears and some tears on my part, we managed to get rid of the skunk smell, mostly.  Compared to today, tomorrow can only be better.

Baby Skunks

 

“I found baby skunks in my backyard last night and they were sooooo stinky!”

“Of course, you did,” I sighed.   I helped Camden’s mother out by taking him with my daughter, Emmy, to preschool three times a week.  Camden’s mother was a sweet woman who was overwhelmed by very active children, including twin toddlers who kept her on her toes every moment of the day or night that they were awake.  It was the least I could do for this friend who helped other people as much as she could, as well as raising her family.

But Camden wasn’t known for telling the truth.  Our short drives to and from preschool were filled with lots and lots of unbelievable stories.  Whenever my daughter or I said anything, Camden had to one-up us.  Emmy would say, “My Daddy has a truck and we get to ride in it this weekend.”  Camden would say, “Well, my Daddy has a helicopter and he’s going to hunt bears this weekend.”  I would say, “Isn’t it fun to read books?”  Camden would say, “We have more books than anyone else on the whole planet!  We have almost ten whole rooms filled with books.”

Momma skunk with her babies
A mother skunk with her babies.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

It’s cute once.  Then, it’s not.

I’m sure it has everything to do with the fact that he’s a middle child.  And, that the youngest two children are twin menaces that demand an incredible amount of his parents’ time.  If it was just telling stories, that’d be understandable.  But, he loves to lie, too.

I got a call from his mother once after he came home and told her I’d locked him in the trunk.  I’m still confused why she would even entertain the veracity of that little story, but whatever.  He told me, in tears, that my daughter cut his hair during preschool class.  I was upset at first, because he was sporting a new bald patch on his head.  Until their teacher assured me he’d done it to himself.

So, you can imagine I had no reason to believe his story when he regaled us with a tale of three baby skunks that he found in his backyard.  He told us they were as tiny as his hand, that they ate his mother’s homemade stew for dinner, that their names were “Stinky,” “Sweaty,” and “Skorp.”  He also told us that their mother skunk attacked the house, sprayed his dog, and tried to take his baby brothers away from him.

I walked him up the stairs to his house, and laughingly told my friend about Camden’s most recent story.

“Actually,” she said, “we did find three baby skunks in the backyard last night.  But, we don’t know where the mother is.  We had to call someone to get rid of the skunks.  The rest of the story?  Well, that’s all Camden.”

Of course it was.

Get Rid of Skunk

Kids are hilariously unpredictable, and creative, so I didn’t panic when my six year-old son marched in the house from the back yard and proclaimed, “We need to get rid of a skunk!”  I thought it was a new game that he and his five year-old sister made up.  So, I played along for a while.

“A skunk, huh?  Well, how do you think we should get rid of a skunk?”

He thought about it seriously for a little while.  He must have considered the latest super hero cartoon episode he’d watched, because he decided zapping it with a laser gun was the best solution.

“Well, that’s not a bad idea, but what if you missed the skunk and shot the house?  Then, our house would fizzle and smoke.  Maybe you should think of some other way to get rid of a skunk?”

My son nodded sagely at my counterargument, remained silent for a while, and then suggested a more mundane, but equally dangerous solution.

“We could just shoot it with a gun.”

“Uh, I’m not sure that’s the best way to do it, son.  We’re not supposed to shoot anything in our neighborhood.  We might miss and hurt somebody.”

“Oh, right.  That wouldn’t be good,” he agreed.  “I’ll go think about it for a little while.”

Only ten minutes passed and my son was back to play the game some more with me.  He handed me a blue print that would have made MacGyver proud.  It involved digging a huge hole with some sharp sticks at the bottom, a couple of trip wires strung around our back yard, and, for some reason, an alien from outer space.  I looked it over carefully, keeping a straight face.  “Son, you have really worked hard on this plan to get rid of a skunk.  I’m very proud of you.  Now, where do you think we can get an alien?”

“Can’t we buy one at the store?”

“That depends.  Is it a real alien from outer space, or just a toy.”

“Well, it’s a real alien.  His job is to make skunk noises and get the skunk to come over to investigate, trip over a wire and fall in the hole.”

“I see, son.  You’ve really thought this through.”  Plus, I was inwardly impressed a kindergartner correctly used the word “investigate.”

“Maybe the store doesn’t have aliens,” he suggested.  “I’ll have to think of another way to get the skunk to go in the hole.”

Just then, my daughter, who was still playing in the back yard, screamed.  I looked out the window just in time to see her holding the door to the shed wide open, and a black and white creature run across our lawn.  This was no game.  My son was right.  We had to get rid of a skunk!

Ushering my daughter back inside, I gave up all thoughts of blueprints and aliens and laser guns and trip wires.  I told my son there was a special number we could call when we need to get rid of a skunk.  He agreed that calling Allstate Animal Control was probably the best (and easiest) course of action.

Skunk in the House

It took forever for us to figure out we had a skunk in the house.  It shouldn’t have taken us that long, but you have to understand we live in a duplex, and we’ve had problems with our neighbors for years.  Now, we’re not the ritziest people.  We work hard, though.  I work two jobs and my boyfriend does construction work, so he can either be working a 16 hour day for three days in a row, or have no work for a week.  On the days he’s not working, he’ll pick up odd jobs and fix up houses and stuff.  We made some bad choices a couple of years back, so we have some real serious debts to pay off, and we want to put money down on a new house.  That’s why we work so much, so we can pay off the debt, buy a house, get married and start a family, maybe.

 

But the people that live next door are a nightmare.  They throw all-night parties, people coming and going until 3 or 4 in the morning.  Makes it kind of hard when I get home at ten at night and have to be up again at six.  They throw their trash out on the front lawn.  Never even makes it to the garbage can.  It’s just junk and stuff rotting or rusting.  Makes it embarrassing when we have our friends over, because they have to walk next to that.  I think they have to have mice or something nesting in that garbage, though, which is probably how we ended up with a skunk in the house.

 

Sure, we’ve complained.  The guy who owns the duplex doesn’t really care, though.  He’s got tenants that pay regular rent, so that’s that.  Yeah, he’s talked to them a couple of times, but it doesn’t look like anyone’s going anywhere.  We can’t move out fast enough, if you ask me.

 

We weren’t all that surprised when we started smelling a new awful smell.  Took us a while to figure out what it was, though.  We just assumed it was more garbage, or something had died or something.  Then, one morning, I was headed out to work around six, when I saw the black and white cat-sized animal come out of a hole in the wall, right behind the gas meter.  That’s when I realized we have a skunk in the house.  The meters are kind of in between the two duplexes, so it’s hard to tell whether it’s on our side or not.  I don’t care.  We can all smell it, and it can probably get into either side.

 

I called my husband from work, since he didn’t have a job that day, and told him all about it.  He called the landlord, who promised to get Allstate Animal Control out there to get rid of the skunk in the house.  I hope so.  If only we could ask them to get rid of the neighbors at the same time.

 

 

Skunk Control

The last thing I wanted to do when we got home late from our camping trip was worry about skunk control.  We had a great and well-deserved trip, and we were exhausted by the time we finally pulled up to our home.  We had already decided we’d leave all the stuff in the truck and unpack in the morning, since it was late, we were tired, and we didn’t want to wake up neighbors by making noise as we unloaded.  So, we pulled in the driveway, grabbed the food bag that would go directly into the fridge, and unlocked the front door.

I’ll admit, we were so tired we didn’t realize the house smelled funny until after we’d put the food in the fridge, fed the cat, checked our messages and headed upstairs.  Halfway up the stairs, my husband stopped and sniffed.  “Do you smell that?” he asked me.  I sniffed and smelled a faint musky odor.  It was definitely animal in origin, and at first I assumed it was the cat.  “Maybe Snuffles got mad at us and used a closet for her toilet?” I suggested.  “No, it’s not the cat, I don’t think,” said my husband.  “It smells like, I don’t know, some wild animal or something.”

Skunks
A mother and her baby skunks living underneath a house.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

The thought of wild animal smell in our house was too much to let slide until we were more coherent in the morning, after a night’s rest.  So, we spent the next forty minutes wandering around the house, inside and out, sniffing and looking and hoping we wouldn’t come face to face with an animal.  Camping is fine.  We expect to see wild animals, although we do everything we can to keep them away from the tent, of course, and at a distance.  When we’re at home, we expect wild animals to remain outside.  Far outside.  I was making another round around the house with my flashlight in the dark, and rounded the south side just in time to hear a rustling in the bushes next to our foundation, and see a little black and white striped animal hustle back underneath the undergrowth.  This was no animal we could just scare away.  We would need skunk control.

I made it back inside the house where my husband was looking through the basement, and explained what I saw.  He agreed we would need to get a professional to do the skunk control for us.  We just weren’t equipped to handle it ourselves.  More than likely, the skunk was attracted to our house because of the cat food bowl we’d filled outside.  We didn’t want the cat to go hungry during our four-day camping trip, so we’d filled her bowl to overflowing.  Cats are so easy.  They’ll just eat their fill and come back for more when they’re hungry again.  Of course, we didn’t think about how the cat food would attract other animals, especially skunks.  So, the skunk probably smelled the food, helped itself, and dug a little burrow or den or whatever they sleep in right under  the foundation of our home, over by the bushes that had halfway hidden the skunk earlier.

We got the number for Allstate Animal Control from the web, and vowed to call them first thing in the morning, even before unpacking the truck.  Skunk control is just the last thing you want to attempt when you’re already tired, it’s late, and all you want is a long, hot shower and a soft bed.

 

 

Overpopulation of Skunks

get rid of skunks

Tammysmom:

Anyone else notice that we seem to have an overpopulation of skunks?  Lately there’s a lot more odorous and destructive animal activity in our city, and more skunk road kill.  Usually, we only notice skunks in this area as we’re driving through a particularly odorous section of road and figure some fox was stupid enough to challenge a skunk.  But, over the last couple of months, I’ve noticed a lot more dead skunks in the road.  If there are more dead skunks in the road, there must be more skunks in the area, right?

Snickerguffaw:

True.

Runninmaster:

Hey, yeah, I’ve been seeing the same thing!  I think you’re right, we have an overpopulation of skunks around here.  I go running pretty much every morning and I’ve even seen a couple scuttling across the path.  Good thing I’ve got my running light or I mighta been sprayed!

Retirednhappy:

Well I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that.  I had one by my deck the other night.  Looked like it was digging for something, but I didn’t feel like going out to chase it off.

Tammysmom:

You had one by your deck?  Scary!  Makes me wonder if I should be more careful about letting my daughter go out and play outside after dinner.  Do you think any are rabid?

Retirednhappy:

Doubt they’re all rabid, but you can’t be too careful.

Runninmaster:

Yeah, I wouldn’t risk it.  If you’ve got some crawling around in your yard, I say get some help.

Snickerguffaw:

@Retirednhappy  If you got em at your house, there must be something they want.

Tammysmom:

@Snicker  It’s not like anyone puts out skunk food.  I’m beginning to think it’s just that we have more in the area, an overpopulation of skunks, for some reason.  So, we’re more likely to see them around our neighborhoods.

Snickerguffaw:

@Tammysmom  I’m just saying they’re gonna go after what they like.  Pet food, garbage, a mouse, whatever’s around your house.

Retirednhappy:

I assure you there are no mice in my house.

Runninmaster:

I still say get a professional to come in and trap the skunks around your house.  No use letting them dig up your yard or making a den under your stairs or something.

Retirednhappy:

@Runninmaster   You’re probably right.  Better get rid of the skunks now instead of having to repair damage later.  My knee just won’t let me do much around the house anymore.

Snickerguffaw:

Maybe they can get rid of your mice, too.  Juuuuust kidding, dude!

Tammysmom:

I just looked online.  I believe we have an overpopulation of skunks in the area because of the new subdivisions going up.  It used to be nothing but empty fields over there, so their habitat is probably being disturbed.  It looks like the best thing to do is to make sure garbage is secured, and don’t put pet food outside.  Basically, take away their food and water sources in our neighborhood.

Runninmaster:

Thanks for the info.  Will that get rid of all the skunks, then?

Tammysmom:

@Runninmaster  No, but it’ll help keep the problem down.  Looks like the best thing to do is to get a professional wildlife trapper to get rid of the skunks around your house.  Just like you said.

Retirednhappy:

Sounds good to me.  I’ll be calling tomorrow.  Night all.

Tammysmom:

I’m off, too.  Good night, everyone.

Runnimaster:

I have to get out and run tonight before bed.  Chat with you tomorrow!

Snickersguffaw:

Peace.