Help!! I've been skunked!
 

Need ideas on how to rid my place of skunks. They have been spraying underneath my house and I can't get rid of the awful stench. I've been splashing ammonia around under there but I think it just makes them mad. As soon as I know they're not trapped under there, I can and will close up any holes that they can get thru but I can't have them dying under there.

Put a radio under the house and turn it up loud. They will leave. They don't like the noise.

I heard where tomato juice is suppose to get rid of skunk smell. I'd sure be careful....they could be rabbid. I think I would be calling animal control to see if they could trap them and move them away from your house. Good luck in getting rid of skunks and their smell.:(

Our county's animal control will NOT have anything to do with skunks. I've already tried them. At best, they will bring out traps if available, but it's up to the homeowner to dispose of the skunk. I've got a spare radio, I'll try that and let you know.

My stand by to get rid of most any animal you don't want around is to sprinkle moth balls.

Mothballs are benzene based- a carcinogen. However- they do work. Never use them where a child or pet can get them or near a garden, food or water. Maybe use the flakes instead so they will evaporate more than soak into the soil. A loud radio on a wireless remote helps. You can set it off at varied times. See if you can find a hunting store with coyote or bobcat oil scent. It Really stinks so use it sparingly- maybe put it on a rag tied to a rope. Push it under the porch a bit Very slowly with a pole. Leave it for a few days after the last time you notice the skunks. Then put a drop or two along the entrance to keep them away til you can pull out the rag and close the hole. Hot pepper flakes will get into their eyes and mouths causing them as much distress as it causes us. However- they may spray. Good Luck!

Check with your feed store. They were able to recommend a product that we sprayed under the house to get rid of raccoon. They were gone within 2 days.

Last summer my dog got skunked twice in one week. I used a large bottle hydrogen peroxide and about 1/2 cup baking soda. Mix in a dish pan. It will foam. wash any affected areas then rince. It should reduce any odor left on the house, ground, your self. We have alot of skunks here too. You cant leave windows open in the summer because of the odor. They spray almost every night. I have only lived here 2 summers. This year if it is as bad I plan on going to the Township and see what can be done.

google it to find out if there is anything to get rid of them and then the smell

My mom has a lot of problems with skunks getting under her house. We have to trap them in the live traps then call Game and Fish and they'll come remove them. We live far enough out that when my DH sees one in the field, it becomes a dead skunk pretty quick.

moth balls, throw them under the house...

We throw the contents of a box of moth balls under our porch a couple of times a year. It does seem to work. We convinced neighbor to put it under the pool deck...now he doesn't get visited either.

I hope you are getting your problem taken care of. not too long ago some sort of animal was trying to dig under our cement patio steps at the back door and then the front door. my husband wasn't worried about any kind of animal living under our house. Well I was. I pushed dirt back in place and then put some heavy flag stones next to the cement area they were digging under. That stopped them. never did find out what it was. Colorado living.

We have noticed a large increase in the skunk population this year. Many of them have been rabid so that is a concern. Fortunately, we are not bothered with them near the house. You can use moth balls but expect to have your house and everything in it to smell like moth balls. My friend had a squirrel in her attic and used them. When she entered the room you could smell moth balls. There are so many skunks that end up "road kill", and the smell is awful. If you find a cure for them, many will be thankful.

I agree with CherryPie. I've always heard about tomato juice for that, too. I think a better solution would be to call animal control.

I worked in an office that put out poison for mice. stupid because one died within the walls and talk about smell. No one wanted to relive me because the whole reception area smelled putrid. I would be nauseous after an hour but put up with it over a month. sigh. even the environmental specialist there told me decaying body odor was bad for my health. so call some companies and see what they can offer. After the smell had gone we happened to call in someone for an ant problem and he said they had something that smelled like bubble gum they could have used. Wish I'd known that earlier!!

Great ideas for sure ..!

Where do you live? If there are no restrictions - get a potbelly pig - we never had a skunk stay more than one day when we had our pig, pigs nose' are sensitive and they hate skunk smell

The only thing I would use on a dog to remove the skunk oder is tomato juice. I have always heard that is what removes the smell. We don't have skunks.

Plant mint around your house .... it keeps out a lot of critters. Only thing is it grows like crazy, almost like a weed and very difficult to eradicate.

Keep in mind that skunks come out at night and do not like their bedding area to be wet.

Call your insurance company, after the pest are caught, you may have to have things professionally cleaned, new paint carpet etc.

Planting mint in a pot to prevent it spreading like a weed is an idea to consider.

Most animals do not like lavender either. Before I found this out, I used the moth balls to rid us of the skunks. Haven't had anymore problems for several years now. We not only put them under the house, but also around our property line. The other animals never bothered them at all.

I will testify that the radio works for racoons. We had one in the chimney. DH put talk radio real loud right next to where he saw the coon. After the coon left he put a topper on the chimney. It is one thing to evict the critter and another thing to let the critter come back. SIL saw a skunk in the chicken house last spring and went after it with a board - well the skunk was too quick - but SIL did get the skunk... SIL's coat went in the burn pile...

Reminds me of a funny story, my mom had a plumber under her house and he knew she had cats. While he was on his back under the crawl space, a baby skunk came up and sniffed him. He just talked to it. It wasn't until he turned his headlight on him that he realized it was a skunk. He didn't get sprayed but he did finish the job and get out of there. Her's would parade past the window at dusk and walk down the sidewalk. But they never sprayed. Eventually, they moved on and we fixed the broken vent that allowed them in.

I saw in one of your early posts that you said you were going to give the radio a try. I hope you did and I hope it worked. Skunks are very shy and solitary animals and noise will almost certainly send them on their way.

I would discourage the use of moth balls. Even if they work, they are poison to the soil, a danger to kids and your pets and not pleasant to breathe in either.

If you or your animals do get sprayed, the best treatment is tomato juice. Very safe and super effective.

Make mint tea.

How do you get rid of Rock Chucks and Woodpeckers???

get an owl?

Marey Mo: I had a huge patch of mint by my house and still had possums, raccoons, and skunks right up next o the house. I have killed a couple of possums with a ball bat, but wouldn't mess with a coon or skunk. Usually had to call my husband to come and shoot them, so the mint doesn't always work either. We had enough mint around there we should never have and any varmits anywhere close.

I am so sorry about your situation. Animal control would do NOTHING about these pests where I lived. I had skunks and raccoons partying under my mobile home. Used the tomato juice and that killed the smell. Don't miss either of those creatures since I moved!!

Call wildlife control. They will usually come out and take care of "wild" animals that local animal control refuses. At least they do here. I had a sick skunk take up on my deck and they were right out.

My girlfriend got raccoons in her attic and they were told to play a radio. Said if you have one that you can find a station and then turn it one click off of it so that there is a lot of static, it works even better. It worked for her - raccoons gone in one night!

1 pound box of baking soda, 1 qt. hydrogen peroxide and 2 tsps. liquid dish soap, shake well. Do NOT try to bottle this for future use as it will explode. Its safe to use on pets and people.

does it repel or does it clean up the smell?

put out a little antifreeze... but watch out for cats and dogs in neighborhood.

My son and family just moved into their new house when a skunk went into an egress window in the basement ... they had to have it killed... ( the shot it with rubbing alcohol and died immediately)... but what a mess. cost them a bunch to have the house cleaned.... had big fans and I don't know what all.. vents cleaned, etc. a real mess. good luck , PM me if you want more info.

We had one get in our back room at work and take up residence under our soda machine. Animal control loaned us a live trap. We put a can of fish flavor cat food in it and caught it within two days. Not sure what our machine technician did with it after it was caught.

Try calling a person that sprays for termites. They usually have knowledge about getting rid of unwanted orders. We had sewer pipe come disconnected under our trailer and our sprayer had a deodorizer that he sprayed and took the smell away. Just a thought

I wonder if a vet or wildlife rehabilitator could recommend a solution for the odor problem? I know if you have pet odors in the house from"accidents" you can buy a enzyme type cleaner that will really works and remove the odors. Maybe there is one for skunk odors or maybe the pet odor one would work.
Don't know if I would use antifreeze; it is highly poisonous and causes a very painful death. I don't think it is too good for the environment either. It can also cause liver damage, leukemia and fatal blood anemia in humans.