Skunks

Skunks will eat just about anything, from insects to worms, eggs, fruit, nuts, and more. Garbage provides a ready source of nourishment.

For shelter, skunks dig burrows (sometimes under porches and decks) where they raise their young in summer and live in semi-hibernation during the winter months. Skunks are poor climbers, so you needn’t worry about finding them on a roof or other high place.

1. Keeping skunks off your lawn and out of your garden

• Make sure your lawn is treated for white grubs.

• If a skunk is feeding in your vegetable garden, spray a commercially available pepper-based repellent, or one that you’ve prepared yourself.

• If necessary, put a metal fence around your garden. The Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks recommends using wire mesh with openings of 5 cm or less, and stakes between 1.5 and 1.8 m high.

2. Keeping skunks away from your garbage

• Put plastic garbage bags in a hinged wooden or metal bin.

• Use a garbage bin with a lid that is difficult to remove. You can also attach the bin to a nearby fence to keep it from being knocked over.

• Clean your garbage bin often to eliminate the odours that attract skunks.

• Another strategy is to wait until the morning on garbage day to take out the garbage.

Here are actions you can take to remove a skunk from its den underneath a shed or porch:

• Shine a work lamp into the den. If possible, put a radio on the floor above and turn it on, with the speaker pointed toward the ground. 

• Block the opening to the den with rags soaked in an animal-repellent liquid. Do this during the day while the intruder is asleep; after nightfall, it will push them to the outside. 

• Repeat this operation patiently for 10 days or so. By that time, the skunk should have left. If, early in the morning, you see that the rags have not been disturbed, this means the “tenant” has vacated the premises. 

• Once the skunk is gone, block the access hole to the den using chicken wire, sheet metal, etc.

As a last resort, it is also possible to capture a skunk outside its den using a cage that is low enough to keep it from lifting its tail once it is trapped. It can then be transported to a remote location and released. These cages can be rented from pest control specialists, some of whom will also come and pick up the trapped animal and release it in a more suitable environment. See our tips on how to choose an exterminator wisely.

Contrary to popular belief, tomato juice is not the most effective method of eliminating the persistent, unpleasant smell left by a skunk.

1. To get skunk odour out of clothes or furniture

Use a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water. To rid a car or garage of a skunk’s smell, place an odour-absorbing sponge, which can be found in pet stores, in the space.

2. To wash a pet that has been sprayed by a skunk

Prepare the following solution. Wash your pet, taking care to avoid getting liquid in its eyes, and rinse thoroughly.

• 1 litre (4 cups) hydrogen peroxide

• 60 mL (¼ cup) sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

• 5 mL (1 tsp) liquid soap

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