How to Get Rid of Skunks in your Home

From a distance, skunks may look like adorable creatures straight out of a Disney film, but they can be nasty creatures when they spray out their stuff on you or your property. The skunk spray produces an odor that can be detected up to a mile away, and not to mention, this smell is hard to wash away because of its oily nature. Sure, these animals are intelligent, but they are also vulnerable as they come looking for shelter in the most prominent places.

picture of a skunk

Skunks dig holes around your personal property while looking for food and stay there for quite a while if they think it is safe. If you're looking for ways on how to get rid of skunk, this information will help you out.

The 5 Best Ways to Get Rid of Skunks in your Home or Yard

1. Get Rid of their Food Source

Wait! Why would anyone leave food out on their lawn? Well, it isn't particularly skunk food that's on your property but the food you have leftover from your previous meals. Skunks don't have a great feeding range, and they usually like to eat various kinds of animal feed, birdseed, fallen fruits, veggies, nuts, and even drink the leftover water from the puddles. So, one of the best ways to remove the pest is by carefully disposing of garbage so that these pesky creatures do not get to them first. You may also want to get rid of subterranean insects by using pesticides so that the animals are not attracted to them.

2. Covering your Garbage Properly

Skunks, like stray dogs and raccoons, love to eat out of the trash. If you find marks and prints of a skunk, then there is a high chance they have come to your place due to lack of sanitation. You can protect garbage cans better by putting it in a trash can rack or using a latch to hold it firmly in place so that it cannot be knocked down. Also, ensure that the lid has been tightly secured; if there is no latching mechanism involved, see if you can make something up to lock it down. Overall, you have to protect your garbage until the sanitation services take it away.

3. Using Skunk Traps

If a particular skunk has not been trapped before, it shouldn't be too much of a problem capturing them. You can buy a professional grade animal trap and place it in areas where you suspect the animals may travel or near their dens. As a bait, you can use any tasty food such as pet food, bacon, peanut butter, or anything that has a strong smell to attract these creatures to the bait. Skunk traps are more expensive than traps for other pests, but this certainly has the reputation of getting the job done. These traps provide the necessary security needed to hold the critter safely until they can be released to a safe place far away from your home.

First off, we have a lethal trap and most people will be dismissive of this idea but we had to include it on the list because it just plainly works.

Secondly, we have a live cage trap. This is what most people prefer to use nowadays with the legal ramifications for killing animals being employed​ in most states. It's an excellent trap because of its spacious interior that would definitely help catching bigger animals.

And lastly, this one way traps are excellent for medium sized animals like rodents, squirrels, moles and raccoons. This works well when places right outside their dens and holes where they have no choice but to go in.

One Way Exclusion Doors

4. Removing the Animal from Traps

So what do you do with the trapped skunk? Releasing it is not a viable solution because many states have made it illegal to release the pests. The best option is to contact the animal control service to take care of the problem. Usually, a pest control staff would show up at your doorstep to deal with the animal and remove all the risks entirely. However, as an alternative you can also take your newfound prisoner to a far off place, away from civilization, to release it there so that the skunk does not find its place back to the town or city.

5. Using Guns to Rid of Them (Not Recommended)

Let's face it, nobody likes to resort to violence to solve a pest situation. However, using weapons to kill skunks where it is both legal and safe can prove to be the most efficient method of elimination. Using a .22 caliber rifle can take natural care of the job if you shoot them in their brain, heart, or spine. But be careful, because sometimes shooting the animal may lead to them spraying instantly; therefore it is always advised to resort to shooting if the pest problem is away from human settlements or at a remote place. When you're done getting rid of it, either contact the local waste removal service or pick it up from the ground to bury it yourself, safely.

Where Do They Live?

In the wild, skunks normally live in bushes or underground dens either made by them or other animals. Meanwhile, when they are residing in urban areas, they usually live under porches, houses, garages and even buildings. 

the habitat of the skunk

These animals have a high tolerance for humans as they are built to ward of any incoming danger with their defensive mechanism, which is their foul smell that shoots out of their rears. 

How to Prevent the Pests from Coming Back? (Skunk Repellent)

Now that we have talked about skunk removal, there are also many ways you can deter skunks from your area using certain chemicals and fences. If you haven't heard already, there is a spray available in the pest control industry that is known to act like a skunk repellent. Using this chemical in certain areas will ensure that the pest does not come around looking for food due to the foul odor. These animals may be terrific diggers, but they are plain bad in climbing over obstacles. You can use a fence to create a barrier between your property and the outside so that the animals cannot climb over it. Just make sure that the fence is tall enough, and there is no structural gaps bigger than 3 to 4 inches.

If you want to buy some skunk repellents, click here. And, if you have gotten sprayed by a skunk and want to know how long the skunk smell will last on you, click here to learn more.

If you want to learn more about pest prevention then head over here : ​www.atticpestauthority.com/preventing-pests

How to Get Rid of the Foul Smell?

taking out the smell

Skunk spray is considered hard to remove. While there are various ways which you can brew up a concoction at home to eradicate the smell as fast as possible, buying an industrial grade stench remover works better than anything else. Remember, you may need to have a lot of patience while dealing with the spray smell despite using a strong odor remover due to the unique combination of sulfur thiols in their anal gland.

The Verdict

Obviously, obtaining preventive measures is better than having to find a cure. But now that you know about various pest elimination methods, you can at least be ready when the situation calls for drastic action. Remember to adhere to all the safety precautions while dealing with a skunk or you may have to deal with more than just one problem. As much as we may hate killing of pests, sometimes it is the only way to protect ourselves from their danger.

If you want find more pest removal tips, go back to the homepage and find out how these pests have gotten in your home as well as tips to remove them safely without the hassle.