Skunks are docile animals but may spray if threatened.
Also, Learn Why and How Skunks Spray!
Hey鈥攚hat鈥檚 that smell? If you think you鈥檝e got a skunk hanging around your yard, it鈥檚 time to act. Here鈥檚 how to identify and deter skunks from your yard and garden.
What Are Skunks?
Skunks are nocturnal animals that are naturally mild-mannered and non-aggressive; they prefer small animals and insects for dinner instead of your garden. They occasionally visit gardens; if they do, it may be because corn or other plants are close to the ground.
The skunk claims homesteading rights from coast to coast. Four species of skunks are distributed across the country, including the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and the spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius). The common striped skunk lives mostly in sparse forests and fields.
Skunks can be very nice to have around because they dig up and feed on the larvae of cutworms, Japanese beetles, hornworms, and other crop-destroying insect life. However, skunks are not only partial to insects; they will eat leaves, buds, grasses, grains, garbage, fruit or berries within reach, and even small game. They also may disturb your plants while digging for these grubs. This is what can make them a bit of a nuisance to gardeners.
Although their nocturnal wanderings around our fields and gardens, lawns, and flower beds cause us occasional inconvenience and uneasiness, these are minor faults that can be readily overlooked by the time the Harvest Moon begins to shine. It is then that the skunk鈥檚 appetite for the pests that plague our gardens helps make it possible for that Moon to glow over a cornucopia brimming with plenty.
Why and How Do Skunks Spray?
Skunks are famous for their skunk spray鈥攜ou can smell an angry skunk from over a mile away. Furthermore, a skunk can 鈥渟hoot鈥 you from 10 to 12 feet, sideways, up, or down, with little apparent effort. Most gardeners worry more about a skunk spraying in the garden, on the gardener, or on a pet than about a skunk chewing up some veggies.
Under a skunk鈥檚 tail are two pouches equipped with a pair of ducts that remain hidden in peacetime but quickly expose themselves when danger threatens. Their foul ammunition is a golden-yellow liquid whose active ingredient is the sulfide mercaptan. Each of the two pouches contains enough ammunition for six rounds. After the supply is exhausted, a week is required to replenish it. This spray means skunk creatures are feared by nearly all animals, including most of mankind.
A skunk鈥檚 warfare is purely defensive. When confronted by a menacing man or clamorous dog, skunks try to sidestep by ambling off. If you find a skunk, turn back, and you should be fine. Skunks will turn, face their aggressor, and stamp their forefeet if pursued. This is their first warning. At this point, you should be running!
The second warning comes when their tails, all but the tips, are hoisted. Then, this ultimatum failing to establish peace, the white tip rises and spreads out, and the skunk, snapping into a U-position with snout and rear toward the target, delivers a charge of spray. At this point, it is simply too late, and your dog probably smells foul.
People usually get sprayed when walking through their yards in the dark (if you can鈥檛 see a skunk, you can鈥檛 run away), or if they disturb a skunk while eating. Those are good reasons to keep skunks out of your yard in the first place鈥攁nd always carry a flashlight!
How to Identify Skunks in Your Garden
The best way to identify skunks is often鈥攗nfortunately鈥攂y their odor. Hopefully, you don鈥檛 have to deal with the skunk spray in your garden, but you鈥檒l know that you have a skunk as soon as they decide to spray.
The typical striped skunk has prominent white stripes running down its back and black fur on the rest of its body. It is the size of a house cat and is the most abundant species of skunk in the United States. Spotted skunks are smaller and have white spots as well as broken white strikes amid their black fur. Skunks have short legs and proportionately large feet with well-developed claws that are perfect for digging.
Tracks can help identify skunks. Skunks are often mistaken for raccoons because they both have five toes. Sometimes, the fifth toe is hard to see in skunk tracks. Their heels usually are not part of the tracks, and their claw marks are usually somewhat visible. Skunk droppings also often contain undigested insect parts.
Photo Credit: Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Signs of Skunk Damage
If your lawn or flower bed has many holes, you may have a skunk problem. Skunks dig up the turf, looking for grubs. They move around at night and dig in grassy areas, making distinct 3鈥攖o 4-inch deep holes. Skunk activity increases in the spring and then lessens naturally, so any problems may stop all on their own.
Skunks sometimes feed on corn, but they tend only to eat the lower ears that they can reach. If a corn stalk has been toppled over, the culprit is more likely a raccoon. Planting taller varieties of corn can minimize this damage.
Of course, skunk spray is a common sign of damage. If your dog smells foul, you probably have a skunk!
How to Keep Skunks Away
- Spray a mixture of castor oil and dish-washing detergent diluted in water. Skunks find the smell offensive. Spray the area at night when the skunk is away foraging.
- Probably the best skunk repellent is light. Skunks are nocturnal, and their eyes are very light-sensitive. A bright light or a motion sensor flood light will scare skunks away.
- Most animals, including skunks, dislike the smell of citrus fruits. Place orange or lemon peels around the yard as a natural skunk repellent.
- Predator urine (dogs, coyotes) can be used to repel a skunk. These are commercially sold in garden centers. (Note: Use a responsible source for predator urine to make sure that the animals are treated humanely and the brand complies with state and federal regulations.)
- Many readers have found success placing ammonia-soaked rags around the yard; however, these need to be replaced often.
- If the skunks are in a smaller garden patch, put bars of strong-smelling soap or a room deodorizer near your garden. Ironically, skunks hate strong scents.
- If nothing works, there are humane ways for professionals to trap raccoons and skunks and transport them elsewhere. Often, skunk removal by trapping is the only answer, and there just isn鈥檛 a lot you can do if it is a skunk. However, be aware that many species of wildlife do not survive when placed in a new territory, and it may not even be legal to trap and relocate wild animals in your area.
Photo credit: Tom Friedel, BirdPhotos.com
How to Prevent Skunks
- As skunks love to find lots of grubs in your garden, one of the best preventative methods is to treat your lawn so that you get rid of their favorite snacks. Spray your lawn with milky spore disease or beneficial nematodes. This will also help to control Japanese beetle larvae, so it鈥檚 a win-win! Contact your local Cooperative Extension Service for suggestions.
- Fencing may also be a good idea for small areas, such as a garden patch.
- If you don鈥檛 want skunks living under your deck or shed, seal these areas with chicken wire. Leave at least one foot of additional wire on the ground extending from the structure to prevent skunks from digging under to enter.
What to Do If You Get Sprayed By a Skunk
Oh no! We can all smell a skunk from miles away, but it鈥檚 truly awful to have that smell on you. Clothes can be washed, but the smell may linger on skin and fur. Many people claim that tomato soup will take away the odor, but we prefer this method. If you or your pet gets sprayed by a skunk, try the following:
- Make a mixture of 1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide (fresher is better), 1/4 cup of baking soda, and 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid dish soap.
- Using the solution, shampoo only the area sprayed by the skunk. Wet the area and work the solution into the skin or fur with your hands (avoid the eyes). Leave it for about 5 minutes or until the fizzing stops.
- Rinse thoroughly with water.
- If the smell is still present, repeat the process.
- Air dry or towel dry; do not use a hair dryer, as heat can cause any remaining skunk scent to set into the fur or skin.
This remedy may dry out the skin, so use a good-quality cr猫me rinse to replenish moisture once the skunk smell is gone.
Do you have any special remedies that you use for skunk spray? Let us know below!
Catherine Boeckmann
ADVERTISEMENT
If you think that getting sprayed is a likely happening, make sure that you keep an UN-OPENED bottle of hydrogen peroxide in storage just for that purpose. HP loses it's potency after opening and an open bottle that hasn't been used for a year or more will not do the job as well as fresh.
Skunks kept digging holes in my three sisters garden and tipping over my little embedded cups of oil which were there to catch earwigs. I got some little solar powered devices that strobe two red lights that look like eyes all night. They turn on automatically at dusk and off at dawn. They're small and easy as pie - and THEY WORK! Now I've no more holes to fill, and I breathe a little easier at night letting my puppies out for potty breaks, although I still take a bright flashlight with me. (We've had three stinky encounters in the last three years!)
While I have seen a few skunks around my yard over the years (and, remarkably, one white skunk just out from my front porch), I am more concerned about raccoons. I'm sure I have one making a nest in my attic. I hired a wildlife control 'expert' who put traps on the ground near where he thought they were climbing (a downspout; and he was right, because I watched one climb it one night). We caught a few; he relocated them (plus one possum). Never any skunks. Now, some years later, I need to get rid of this raccoon. How? Will the repellents recommended for skunks also work for raccoons? An article about raccoons would be useful.
my mother would wash our cat who got sprayed with tomato soup, it worked!
We look after an urban cat colony and we also get skunk visits frequently. Interestingly, everybody gets along. The cats don't seem to mind the skunks finishing their leftovers, and the skunks are not aggressive toward the cats. When we still had kittens running around, before we were able to TNR the whole colony, we actually found a baby skunk cuddled up with a litter of kittens for warmth in our neighbor's garage on a cold Spring day! It was very cute.
That said, we do try to deter them from the yard just in case the diplomatic relations between the cats and skunks break down. Typically, we'll just bang the ground from a distance with a large pole and the noise will send them on their way!
If you get sprayed, use Hexol. It works.
I used a super soaker squirt gun, one of the bigger ones, and after a couple nights of squirting it with water I never saw it again. They shoot far enough you don鈥檛 have to be very close
Moth Balls works as a deterrent however you do have to replace them when the scent is gone.
Skunk Spray Wash Formula
1 quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1/2 cup of Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
1 teaspoon of liquid soap
Mix together to make a shampoo for your furry pal.
Rinse well to remove the shampoo from the fur after vigorously shampooing.
You may need to double or triple this recipe depending on the weight of your dog.
The wash works great!
I never try to discourage skunks from my yard because they eat yellow jacket nests during their nightly forages. I've never had a problem with yellow jackets as long as skunks have visited my yard. One year, a neighbor poisoned the local skunks, and the yellow jacket population skyrocketed; I don't believe this was a coincidence. Yellow jackets are notoriously aggressive--skunks are not.
My dog was a pup and sprayed last year...she quickly found out not to investigate that animal. I washed her in Dawn dishwashing soap which removed the scent entirely from her body. Unfortunately there was a faint odor still in her nostrils and took a few weeks to dissipate. Following the use of Dawn, I then used her doggie shampoo which is vet purchased, soap free and rehydrating to get her skin and coat back to the right pH.
