Skunk residing in yard!! Questions...

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I've always been afraid the day would come when I'd go to take either Oscar or Lucy out to their nightly potty spot along the side of our house and run into a SKUNK. Well, the day has come! It happened the other night. I was with Oscar and he started sniffing the ground, like he'd really gotten a whiff of something new and unusual, while I kept telling him, "Hurry-hurry, go potty". All of a sudden he made a 180 turn and ran like a bat out of hell past me. I shone my flash light at the end of the side yard and, sure enough, a skunk hunkered at the end. We made haste back into the house! Earlier in the week I'd noticed cone shaped indentions in the flower beds near the potty spot, and all this week both dogs have been sniffing the ground a LOT. I have a feeling the skunk has been a nightly visitor the entire week. What I'm afraid of is that its made it's den somewhere on our property. We'll be inspecting all the crawlspace vent holes around the house's foundation this weekend, but other than that I can't imagine where else it would be denning. We have no wood piles or open porches, but we do have an elevated area in the back of our property with a retaining wall with lots of Arborvitae and other evergreen shrubs. I wonder if that might be attractive to a skunk. Also, its interesting to note that the entire backyard is fenced, and I've read that skunks do not climb fences. I guess its possible there might be a spot it was able to crawl under the fence.

I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem, and if so, how did you get rid of the skunk? I've seen youtube videos showing the best way to trap a skunk and relocate it to another area without getting sprayed, and we do have a trap we used a few years ago for a family of feral cats/kittens. So there is that possibility. My husband DOES NOT want to go that route, however. He seems to think we'd get sprayed, but after watching so many different videos I feel confident we could do it. I checked with a local pest control company and they charge $350 to do the job. They also 'euthanize' the animal afterwards, which seems extreme and unnecessary.

Anyone here successfully trap and relocate a skunk?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We've had a skunk epidemic in our neighborhood this past year, so I've been doing some reading. I'm pretty sure ours are living under the sheds in several of the neighbors' yards, as well as under a few decks. As to how they got into your yard, they probably came in under the fence. They're pretty thin and can flatten themselves out easily. 

And trapping is really the only way to get rid of them from what I've read. The skunk repellents are supposedly a big waste of money. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, one way to avoid attracting skunks is to pick up poop immediately. They're disgustingly omnivorous and will eat other animals' feces, as well as bugs, lizards, frogs and even mice. 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Interesting! We do pick up poop immediately, but we deposit it into a receptacle that's kept in the potty area. There's been no apparent evidence that the skunk has tried to get into the bin (its a tall kitchen bin with a push top, but maybe the smell is attracting him/her? Its emptied once a week, but as of tonight I moved it to under the patio cover, so if its been the smell causing the attraction then maybe it will stay out of the potty spot. I had read that dog (and fox) urine repels skunks. Sure doesn't seem to be the case here as the potty spot has been the only area I've seen the skunk, or noticed those cone-shaped holes in the beds.

[Lynda Kamrath]

We had a skunk who had a litter under our deck many years ago.  I just told my son to keep his dog away from her and she would move on when the kits were older - which she did.  Never sprayed.  My FIL also used to relocate skunks at his mobile home park in Arizona.  When they got into a trap, he would put a blanket over the trap and then drive the trapped skunk out into the country and carefully release him.  He became quite noted for relocating skunks.  Never got sprayed either.  The skunk probably came under a fence.  Another dog got sprayed through the deck and it was rather a problem getting rid of the smell.  If you are gentle and quiet around the skunk, you can probably get away without getting sprayed.  Barking and yelling will get them upset and they may spray you or your dog.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Oscar had the good sense not to mess with the skunk. He made not a peep or bark but simply turned and ran. In fact, he's quite the scaredy cat when it comes to unexpected living things being where they shouldn't be. I praised him profusely once we got back in the house. I'll monitor the skunk activity and if need be, I'll give it a shot at relocating him. Knowing they're timid and shy creatures helps. All the videos I watched on youtube (well, most of them anyway) showed men approaching the trapped skunk with a blanket held low and then they gently put the blanket over the trap and carefully picked it up for transport. I wondered why they didn't put a blanket on top of the trap to begin with, that way the skunk wouldn't see them approaching. If it comes to it, I'll do it my way.

Years ago I had a co worker who ran over a live skunk. No matter how much she washed her car she couldn't get rid of the smell. Thanks for your input!

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

I wish you luck. I would be curious to hear about it if you do try to trap them because I have been thinking about it.

I have a serious skunk problem. My next door neighbor leaves food out in several places in her yard 24/7 and feeds the skunks, raccoons,feral cats, everything. That's another long story and a battle I lost years ago. 

Overall they are pretty gentle creatures, unlike raccoons. I have had several close encounters in my yard, in the middle of the day even, and have yet to be sprayed. The young ones don't have as much control over spraying so I deal with skunk aroma a lot in the late spring. If you have a fence around your property, which it sounds like you don't, you have to do regular border control. Then can't climb but they dig. Just make sure they don't have access to food.

This was shot in the middle of the afternoon in my yard. 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Wow, what a pretty skunk! Unfortunately, the very sight of seeing a live one sends panic through my veins.

I'm so sorry about your neighbor. That would be one difficult living situation. I thought skunks were only nocturnal animals. Now I'll be leery of going out in the back even during the day! We do have a fenced in back yard, but as I mentioned, its possible it slipped in under the fence.

I'll give an update if we take it to the next step of trapping and relocating the little fella. I've not had a single whiff of skunk scent yet. Hope it stays that way :)

[DJ & Chance]

Wow.  I watched a family of skunks walk into an open area under my deck but did not have a camera in hand.  So far no spraying but I am always on the alert now for these critters.

[Marie and Hoka]

There is indeed a skunk pandemic in the Chicago suburbs at least.  After 20 skunking-free years with dogs, Hoka actually got a mild skunking 2 nights ago!  I have seen them every night lately, throughout the neighborhood.  I even saw one skulking in the bushes as I left work last night at midnight. I was relieved to see the skunk because I at first actually thought it was a bad actor of some type. So for us, there is no individual skunk of which to rid ourselves. We are just taking dogs out only on leash only when dark out. 

BTW, we used hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap to remove the smell as recommended on ASPCA website.  This worked perfectly, but it was only a very mild spraying.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

A, 'bad actor of some type', skulking in your bushes?? Was that an auto correct typo, or are bad actors commonly found skulking in your area??

[Marie and Hoka]

No, it was real,  Meaning a prowler.  I get off work at midnight and walk alone to my car.  It's a well lite area and I usually don't think twice, but heard rustling in the bushes next to the exit.  My heart was thumping and I was relieved to see it was a skunk!  Skunks usually scares people more.  LOL

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Okay, got it! LOL... Yeah, that would scare me too. That was my first thought when Oscar turned tail and ran past me. He was so scared! I acted fast (if I'd given it a moment of thought I would have simply turned and ran inside!) and flashed a light down the strip of yard hoping I wouldn't see anything there. Finding a skunk really surprised me! We MUST get a motion activated light installed for that side of the yard this season!