Skunk

This critter is not a stranger to my home; about five years ago we had a stinky encounter. A SKUNK!

One day in my side yard at two in the afternoon, there it was.

So I called our local wildlife animal control guy. He told me given the time of year that it was it was not normal for me to see this critter when I did.  Not a good thing to hear, even though a large part of my back yard is fenced I was still concerned about my dogs; maybe this critter could get in. Oh great now what?

At this point I was told I had a couple options; he could come out and trap and remove, or for less money we could trap and he would just remove the critter from our property. We opted on the latter. I asked my oldest son to set out our live trap in the side yard.  He said he would.

Well he didn’t.

Two nights later when I let the dogs out for the last time that night, I heard a large commotion in the back yard. I ran out back to find Molly (my English Springer Spaniel) and Chance my (pit/lab mix) attacking the skunk.

My only thought at that time was to call in the rest of my dogs so there wouldn’t be pack frenzy over a kill.  The smell in my back yard was so over powering words can not explain. What was I thinking when I called the other dogs in?  The SMELL came with them YUCK!

I was able to get Chance and Molly in the house as well after they had killed the skunk. Chance got sprayed right in his eyes and Molly had a bite on her front leg. With all the other dogs out of the way I was able to tend to them. I repeatedly rinsed Chance’s eyes with saline solution as well as cleaned Molly’s leg.

In the midst of it all the commotion I called my son to tell him what had happened  and that  he needed to come home because he didn’t put the trap out. It was now his job to give all the dogs baths to get ride of the smell.

Of course I helped, but we had our work cut out for us with five dogs to de-skunk and the house to air out cuz I let the stinky dogs in.

What a night.

Even after all the baths the smell still seemed to be everywhere. It was now us who smelled! Off to the shower. Afterward my son when back out to hang with his friends.  A few hours later my son was calling me saying all his friends were complaining he stunk!

The next day at work my fellow co-workers told me they could smell SKUNK!

How could that be, I showered twice and washed my hair 3 times! We used all the remedies they say to, or did we?

Before I tell you what remedy really work to finally get rid of the smell, I want to share some facts with you about the skunk.

FACTS:

• They are able to spray their nauseating musk stink with the accuracy to about ten feet; this odor is expelled from two scent glands near the anus. But if left along they will not spray unless thy feel threatened.
• They are a primary carrier of rabies. Rabies is transmitted by the bit of an infected critter. [I was so glad that all my dogs were current with their vaccinations at the time of their encounter since Molly had been bitten. Another good reason to visit you vets regularly to protect our beloved pet family members.]
• 65% of skunks tested in California in the/ past 5 years tested positive for rabies. They also can carry canine distemper, leptospirosis, listeriosis and canine hepatitis.
• There are many different kind of skunks; most of which are native to the Western Hemisphere, with the majority of then living in the United State, Mexico and Canada. Found in a variety of habitats such as urban areas, they prefer open or forest edges areas.
• Several skunk species also live in the Caribbean islands and in the entire South American continent. The exception is the Oriental Stink Badger which is found in parts of Indonesia and the Philippines.
• Skunks are also heavily infested with fleas, mites and ticks; know transmitter and carriers of disease.
• The striped skunk weighs 4-10 pounds, about 10-18 inches long about the size of your average house cat. They have long black fur with two white stripes down their back.
• They are nocturnal, which means they prefer to hunt or forage only at dusk, or dawn, or during the night. So me seeing one during mid-afternoon is not normal
• They are opportunistic omnivore’s eaters and prey on small rodents like mice, carrion, eggs, poultry, insects, fruit, nestling birds, bees, wasps and their hives, larvae and honey as well as garbage and pet food left outside.
• They can be found living in other animal burrows, culverts, wood piles or even under your decks, sheds or house just about any sheltered place to make their dens.
• Skunks coexist with foxes, raccoons and coyotes, groups of skunks often using the same burrows as these species, but at different times of the year.[i]
• Skunks do not hibernate.
• They can breed as early as January but, usually in February and March.
• Gestation is about 9 weeks after breeding. Giving birth to 4-8 young.
• The young will stay with their mom for several months, but will leave by mid to late summer.
• Confrontation with this critter and our pets is not good as I can attest to, right along with the porcupine.
• Skunks can cause damage to our lawn, and gardens with their digging while searching to uproot subsoil insects like grubs But even thought they can be destructive they are valuable because of the vermin they destroy, like mice.

Now there are a lot of other facts out there on all the different species of skunks, so if you wish it learn more visit some of the sites I have listed or just surf the web. I have also listed some sites you might want to visit when it comes to the removal of your smelly encounter. I have found like with some other things not every thing will work for everyone, it all depends on your own individual situation.  I found the peroxide, baking soda, dish soup solution worked well with my dogs that had the least amount of contact.  The bleach solutions outside worked as well. Febreeze and Simple Green worked well in the house along with laundering the things that smelled.

The director and one of my bosses at the time told us to use regular Massengill douche. I had to laugh as I am sure you are too at this time, but it was the one thing that my son and I found that worked the best for us, as well as for Chance and Molly who got the brunt of the stink. A bit odd but what ever is in that stuff we found after we bathed both the dogs and ourselves with it the smell was gone! It worked. YEAH!!

It took the combination of several different remedies to finally eradicate the stink. I hope to never have to deal with that again.

Sources:

http://www.animalcapturewildlifecontrol.com/animal_skunks.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk

http://www.rodentproofaz.com/animal-facts/skunks/

Other sites to visit:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/skunk.html

http://fohn.net/skunk-pictures-facts/

http://fohn.net/skunk-pictures-facts/

http://www.vickifox.com/skunk_facts.php http://fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/livingwwildlife/skunks/sku_facts.html

http://pleasebekind.com/skunk.html

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/skunk.aspx

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/skunk.html

http://visitthefarm.com/animalfacts/skunk.php

http://www.kness.com/skunkfacts.html

Smell remedies sites to visit:

http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-skunk-smell.htm

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_remove_skunk_odor

http://dogs.about.com/cs/generalcare/p/skunk.htm

---

[i] http://www.vickifox.com/skunk_facts.php