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How to Get Rid of Skunks
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Who needs coffee when you have a family of wet skunks under your porch? Skunks can spray their musk up to 15 ft. For instructions on getting rid of the smell, read How to get rid of skunk smell.
Warning: Skunks can carry rabies. Never approach a live skunk and if someone gets bitten try to capture the skunk so it can be tested for rabies. Keep the head intact as the brain is needed for the test.
1. Keeping skunks away... far away
Skunks are scavengers and will eat anything from bugs to garbage. If a skunk finds a tasty morsel on your land, chances are good that he'll start visiting more often. This section will walk you through some steps to repel skunks from your property.
Eliminate skunk nummies
Skunks are nocturnal, so you're most likely to see.. erm.. smell them at night and in the early morning when they're out scavenging for food. Skunks can and do eat anything; bird eggs, bugs and larvae, human wastes, small rodents, you name it - they'll eat it. Following is a list of the most common foods that attract skunks onto people's property:
Unprotected garbage. When you transfer your trash outside for pickup, store it in heavy duty metal or plastic trash cans with lids that will stay on even if the can is knocked over. Never place unprotected bags out on the curb.
Grubs and larvae. Skunks love grubs! Grubs are beetle larva that live underneath of your lawn. Skunks are known for digging small holes in peoples yards as they hunt for them. Luckily, beneficial nematodes also love to eat grubs, and are easily deployed in your lawn and garden to eliminate this attractant.
Pet food. Never leave unprotected animal food outside at night, it's akin to setting a place at your dinner table for Pepé le Pew. I had a neighbor once who would leave table scraps and cat food out for neighborhood strays. She ended up with a family of skunks living on her property.
Nuts, berries, and fruits. If you have bushes or trees that bear fruits, nuts, or berries you should periodically walk your yard and remove any that have fallen to the ground. Skunks will happily feast on them, and so will rodents... which skunks will also happily eat.
Other attractants. While the above food sources are the most common culprits that attract skunks, there are (of course) more. If any of these exist on your property, do your best to minimize or eliminate them.
- Compost heaps containing bones, fruit rinds and egg shells. (Learn how to make compost)
- Large numbers of ground dwelling insects under dead leaves and foliage.
- Easily accessible water sources.
- Bird feeder spills.
Skunk repellents
Many folks swear by this or that for repelling skunks, but there seems to be little that delivers consistent results across the board. Here's a list of the most effective skunk repellents that we've been able to dig up. If you know of any not listed here, please add them with the 'tips' form at the bottom of this page.
- Bright light - Skunks are nocturnal and prefer to stay hidden, flooding an area with light can be an effective deterrent. Use flood lights in combination with motion sensors.
- Automated sprinklers - Contech manufactures a device called 'The Scarecrow' which is essentially a sprinkler attached to a motion sensor that will spray any animals that wander into your yard.
- Spicy pepper solutions - Pepper sprays are reported to work well but must be reapplied every few days to remain effective.
- Commercial repellents - There are many available types, people have also reported success with dog and cat repellents.
Skunk barriers
The good: Skunks are horrible climbers and they can't jump very high.
The bad: Skunks can fit through openings as small as 4" and they're good diggers.
Strategy: Erect barriers around areas that skunks may find interesting in order to keep them out.
Skunks will make homes underneath houses, sheds, decks, and other above-ground structures. Seal them off as well as possible - remember that they can fit through holes as small as 4 inches. Skunks won't burrow underneath them unless they can see that there is space on the other side. Fill in holes and ditches as well.
Enclose large, open areas with a three-foot high wire mesh fencing like chicken wire and it one foot deep to keep skunks from burrowing underneath.
2. How to get rid of a skunk that's moved in
Be cautious when around skunks - they could have rabies. If you see one acting strangely, disoriented, foaming at the mouth or overly aggressive - get away from it and call animal control. If someone gets bitten by a skunk, do your absolute best to capture it so it can be tested for rabies. It's brain is required for the test, so keep the head intact.
Forcing skunks out
Skunk removal isn't hard. The trick is to do most of the work while the skunk is out foraging so you don't risk getting sprayed. Sprinkle a light layer of flour, chalk, or other white powder around it's den and wait until nightfall. After dark, return and look for tracks leading away to indicate that the skunk has left in search of food and then get to work sealing up all of the entrances (barriers were covered in the previous section). If you do this right the skunk will not be able to get back in. If he does, wait until the next evening and try again.
Skunk traps
If you can't seem to coerce your skunky buddy to leave willingly, you may need to trap him. First, check with your local authorities to make sure you're within the law to do so and then invest in a box skunk trap that is small enough to keep the skunk from raising it's tail all the way up.
When you set the trap, secure a few old towels or blankets to the outside to make it safer to approach once it catches a skunk. Bait the trap with anything that has a strong odor; sardines, tuna, giblets, and canned cat food are all good choices. Check it often, you're just as likely to catch a stray cat (Tips on how to get rid of stray cats) or raccoon (Learn how to get rid of raccoons) as you are a skunk so don't depend on your nose.
Once you've got your skunk, cover up the trap so it cannot see outside (don't smother it) and secure it in the back seat (or open trunk) for a nice long ride out of town. When you've located a suitable secluded area, place the trap on the ground, open it up and wait for the skunk to leave. Skunks will often be confused and scared so it might take it a while to work up the courage - be patient. Sometimes you can coax it out by sitting the trap so it's floor is angled towards the door.
If that doesn't work, consider leaving it for a few hours and returning later to retrieve the empty trap.
I have had a skunk problem every spring for 3 years and I am fed up. I have sat on the porch with my 410 and waited for them to come out but they always wait till I’m sleeping. I don’t have a trap, though its probably a great investment. My question is, is there something i can mix with peanut butter to poison them? Only problem is that I have 2 cats and a dog. So I need something to kill them in seconds before they go back into the hole, or before a mouse gets into it, and then into the house near the cats. I cleary don’t want to hurt my pets. I’ve heard of using fly bait but i don’t know how fast it works.. anyone have any advice?
I have a skunk living in my barn right next to my house and it is the most annoying thing I have ever had to deal with. My car, my house, my dog….everything smells. It is embarrassing. Last night at a club my gal pal was like, ewwww, what smells skunky? I live alone in the middle of nowhere and I am scared to death to try to trap the stupid thing. I would shoot it if I had a gun.Has anyone heard of trying to make it leave by blasting the radio with lots of bass? Now I am freaking out because after reading all this stuff on here it says Bebruary is MATING SEASON. Great! This is March. Am I doomed?
Save your ammo for Al Queda and get a wolf hybrid…works wonders. One night back in 2008…my wolf hybrid who will remain anonymous…started barking and growling really loud. I was on my patio…where I could not even see her. Then I smelled a skunk. I ran back there and I could only watch…as I did not want to get sprayed. This is what I saw: Pepe Le Pew lifted his tail and sprayed her. She got all pissed off…pounced on him…bite him in the neck real hard…threw him about five feet. Pepe tried to get up which made her even more mad. She grabbed him again…by the neck and just whipped him around so violently…you could actually hear bones crackling and shattering. She carried him about five more feet and set him down. She then rolled around on the ground and rubbed her face a bit. Then she went over to Pepe one more time and finished the job. He was dead. The whole thing lasted about 90 seconds. He was not fast enough to get away…helpless actually.
Cleaning your doggie:
Oh…make sure to look closely. You may have to cut off some of that sticky and stinky black tar before you begin.
Then…I highly recommend…hydrogen peroxide…lemon fresh Dawn dish soap…and baking soda…mixed in with ANY dog shampoo. As your shampoo bottle says…you may have to ‘rinse and repeat.’ The smell was gone right away.
Back in the mid 90’s…my old German Shepard got sprayed and I used 2 gallons of Tomato Juice, and it DID NOT WORK. “Skunk-Off” is a good product that worked on attempt #2. I think I bought it at Petco or Pet Smart.
Remember…all dogs are related to wolves. The natural prey for the wolf is a freaking buffalo. However…dogs and wolves also make great exterminators. Yes it was a long night bathing her THREE TIMES IN A ROW, but she is a natural born killer. Out in AZ…she was killing scorpions too. Ate them…stinger and all…and never even got sick. Any animal in her territory is in grave danger, but she is great with little kids, dogs, cats and she even gets along with my dad. She nailed two possums, a raccoon and a squirrel. This week…she got her second skunk kill. “Pepe II” did not have a chance to spray her this time.
Eat it, Pepe.
I am waiting for the sequel…”Pepe in 3D: This Time: It’s Personal.”
Oh…if you call an exterminator…from what I have heard…they use some type of real thin pole for underneath the porch. It is some type of harpoon now…which has a poison tip…kills them instantly…most attempts…with no spray. So for those of you without a dog, cat or wolf…call the Skunkonator. Good luck out there.
“If it bleeds…we can kill it.”
–Arnold Schwarzenegger
We woke up one morning and noticed a skunk smell. The next week it happened every single night. We couldn’t take it any more. We called a guy that does nuisance animal control to come and try to trap and catch them. Then my husband and I were forced to move in with my parents for a while until we could get rid of the smell. Feb. is mating season and the skunks are only after ONE thing. There is so much activity going around our backyard. They are getting under our porch and our den that was added on as an addition. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever been through. So far we have caught 3 skunks. Our animal control man is pretty sure there are more. I am having our first baby on Friday and if some more aren’t caught then I guess we’re bringing the baby home from the hospital to my parents.
I saw on the tv show Mythbusters that the only thing that works best to get rid of skunk spray is TOMATO PASTE.
We have four dogs and we cant even let them out because of the skunk
Many good tips on here and if you notice there is no “fool proof” way to catch them. Recently, we noticed the smell of skunk that literally permeated the house.
I found an entrance (under my bedroom window-great…) placed a wire cage/coon trap (with 10ft. of rope attached to drag after trapped) about six feet out and baited it with moist cat food ( i barely opened the can so that he/she would have to work at it and trip the trap). This morning like clockwork, awoken from the stench, i looked out the window and there he was working at the can. I used my .22 caliber to put an end to him, one shot and no time for him to spray again. I know this isn’t the most humane thing to do, and frankly don’t care. let it air out and threw him into the field for the vultures. Reset trap and we’ll see if there are anymore to be caught from under the house.
Biggest tip>>> fill in any and all holes around foundation of house before the end of fall. You’ll probably never have to go through what myself and the dozens of others on this site have. Good luck.
In my rural area, apparently, my pier and beam house is a haven for skunks. I set the wire cages, baited at the end with dry cat food and sprinkle a little on the ground in front of it. The trap is about 12 feet from the hole under the house and about 15-20 feet from the front fence. In the last week, I’ve caught four skunks and one about a month ago. I can hear more under the house though. I call animal control for my county and they could shoot them and haul the carcass away. They initially asked that I cover the traps so they wouldn’t get sprayed. I never caught one with a cover on it, so I placed the trap far enough away from the fence so the officer could shoot it but not get sprayed. However, they often spray just by being caught. This smell hasn’t kept the others in the next day or so from getting in the cage. My brother has been catching them as well with dry cat food. He elocates them but as often as they spray under the house, until I get rid of them and can seal the opening, I’m O.K. with them being shot as I have no way to relocate them.
I have skunks living under my enclosed porch. We’ve tried everything! Got cages from animal control and covered them with garbage bags (cause they’re supposedly very smart animals), baited them with sardines, tuna, marshmellows, you name it I’ve used it. We’ve soaked rags in ammonia & thrown them under there, moth balls, all kinds of animal urine….no matter what we’ve used it hasn’t worked. We’re digging a trech all around the porch & filling it with chicken wire & concrete. Mid Feb is mating season and I certainley don’t want a family living under there. Once a female skunk has babies in like April you can’t even try & get them out til like June because the babies aren’t mobile til then.
I put moth balls under the garage to get rid of the skunks…yesterday
waiting to see if it works