Tag Archives: skunk

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.

How To Get Rid of Skunks

skunks
A skunk and her babies playing outside their hole into a home.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

A couple in Maryland want to know how to get rid of skunk smell.  They had planned a weekend getaway in their log cabin.  The cabin was a few hours away from their home, but up in the mountains where they could relax and enjoy some peace and quiet, and get back to nature.  Unfortunately, nature got there first.

After several hours of packing, and then a long drive to the cabin, they finally arrived, only to be chased back outside by a horrible smell.  It was unmistakable.  Skunk.  At the time, they didn’t know if the skunk was still in the property or if it had just gotten in there temporarily to root around for food.  Obviously, though, something had disturbed it and it had let off its noxious spray into the enclosed space.

They weren’t sure how to get rid of a skunk or its odor, so they called wildlife control specialists to come out and take a look the next day.  They spent the night in the car and waited for the professionals to come out to inspect the property before they went inside again.  Skunks can be a carrier of rabies, they can bite or scratch if provoked, and they can certainly spray again.  They did not want to risk any of that.  Let the professionals handle it!

It was eventually determined that the skunk had left, but they still had to deal with the damage and odor.  A search around the outside of the log cabin revealed the skunk had entered through a hole in the foundation.  It was unclear whether it had burrowed through the foundation itself, or if it had merely taken advantage of a hole made by a raccoon or other creature.  It had nested inside the cabin for a while, made free with the couple’s food stores in the kitchen, and had been disturbed enough at some point to spray its noxious odor.

The smell was horrific, even though it wasn’t fresh.  They searched through the cabin and found that most of their belongings stored within had to be thrown away.  The smell had ruined mattresses, clothes, rugs, towels.  They had to get a special cleaning company to come out to clean the cabin and get rid of the smell.  They started tallying up the damage to the structure itself, including the hole through the foundation.  The cost started stacking up.

Unfortunately, their insurance company denied the claim and refused to pay for the damages.  It was hard not to think of the “what if’s.”  What if they had learned how to keep skunks out?  What if they had checked in on the cabin more regularly?  Or, what if they had been home, ignorant to the hole in their foundation, when the skunk had come in?  Things might have been even worse.