How Can I Rid My Yard of Skunks?
Homeowners can easily tell when skunks frequent their yard , and most consider them unwelcome visitors. Skunks like to dig holes in the yard and may burrow under porches and buildings. Their characteristic rotten-egg odor is unpleasant for most, and skunks are also known to carry rabies and other diseases. If you have seen or smelled skunks around your yard, there are several humane ways to remove them. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Flour
- Floodlights
- ½-inch mesh hardware cloth
- Live traps
- Peanut butter
- White sheet
Instructions
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Remove garbage and any other possible food sources from your yard, and avoid leaving garbage outside at night. If you have outside pets, remove their food when they're finished eating.
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Sprinkle flour in front of openings beneath your porch and other house structures to detect whether skunks are living there. Check the flour after dark for skunk prints. If there are no prints, close the openings with ½-inch mesh hardware cloth to prevent entry in the future. Insert the wire 6 inches deep into the soil. If there are skunk prints, install wire the same way, but include a one-way swinging gate out of hardware cloth hinged at the top. The gate will allow skunks to exit without reentering. If it is breeding season, don't install wire, since there may be immobile kits underneath. Instead, place floodlights underneath the area and turn them on to drive out skunks and their kits. When all skunks are gone, close up the entrance.
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Place live-catch traps around the yard, using peanut butter as bait. Peanut butter attracts skunks, but not cats. Hold a white sheet in front of your body as you carefully approach the trapped skunk This will prevent startling the skunk, which would cause it to spray. Wrap the sheet around the cage and transport the skunk to a far-away location.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Tom Brakefield/Stockbyte/Getty Images
