Skunk Removal

Skunk Removal

About skunks

While skunks don’t hibernate in the traditional sense, they will often burrow underground in the winter to stay out of the cold. Like squirrels, skunks can be powerful diggers and can use their claws to take advantage of small openings in your property. Here’s what you need to know if you have a skunk on your property. 

Skunk habits

While many animals tend to live inside your home, skunks actually prefer the area underneath your home in most cases. They’ll commonly find or dig into open spaces below your building, although they also like other areas that are low to the ground like basements or porches. These dark, protected areas make a great den for skunks to settle long-term.

Skunk damage

Although we most often associate skunks with their spray, skunks don’t typically spray in the same space they live. However, the risk of spray when attempting to trap a skunk does increase exponentially if the skunk can sense that it’s in danger. If the skunk does spray, the scent can linger and even absorb into fabrics and carpets in your space, leading to a long and costly deodorization process. 

Skunks are also a primary carrier of the rabies virus across the US, including in Connecticut. You may also notice damage to your landscaping or garden as a result of skunks’ exceptional digging abilities. If you’ve noticed holes popping up in your yard, a skunk is one of many animals that may be to blame. Consider checking any underground spaces for signs of a skunk, or call our team right away to help assess the culprit.

Our skunk removal process

At Gray Brothers Wildlife LLC, we’ll begin our removal process with a thorough inspection of your home (or commercial building) and the surrounding area. Our goal is to identify any potential entry points so that we can later seal them off. 

Once we’ve located all of the potential entry points, we’ll either trap and remove the skunk or seal off all but one entry point to force the skunk out. In most cases, trapping the skunk is the most effective approach. Here is a great resource to learn how to trap a skunk at wildliferemovalusa.com. We’ll also make sure to address any food sources that may be lingering in your space to improve the odds of success long-term. If there were any dead skunks left behind, we’ll take care of that removal process as well. 

Our final step will be cleanup, including removing any skunk droppings that may be left in your space. This step is important to prevent any contaminants from spreading disease. 

Rest assured that our entire process is designed to be both effective and humane for the animal involved. Our state-of-the-art technology, including drones, field cameras, borescopes, and thermal imaging allows us to gain a more thorough understanding of the problem before we begin, helping to ensure success and a smooth process for everyone involved. From start to finish, we carefully follow all applicable laws and regulations that govern the skunk’s removal. 

How to Keep Skunks Out of My Home

Skunks have quite a reputation in the animal kingdom, thanks to their unmistakable scent. The black and white creatures are among the least attacked in the entirety of the animal kingdom, not because of their size, but because of the potency of their spray. Visit pestcontrolskunk.com to learn more about skunk removal.

And yet, people also seem to have a bit of a mistaken impression about skunks, in general. Although it’s common for skunks to spray other animals or even human beings when they feel threatened or cornered, they usually do this reluctantly. Skunks only have a finite amount of spray in their reserve, and exhausting that reserve leaves them vulnerable for days to come. 

All of that being said, we at Gray Brothers Wildlife have decided to show you some common and efficient methods of keeping skunks out of your home.

Fence your property.

Skunks are notoriously good diggers, so you’ll want to install your fence a few feet into the ground, to make sure it doesn’t get uprooted or bypassed by skunks. But when installed properly, fencing can be a particularly useful method of keeping skunks and other wild animals off your property.

One of the best things about fences is that they work for other animals, as well, so really, you’re not just investing in a skunk prevention method, but so much more.

Beware bugs and rodents.

Skunks, like pretty much any other wild animal, are coming to your property looking for food and shelter. And among their favorite snacks, we’ve got all sorts of bugs, and even rodents. So a common issue we see in skunk-infested properties is that they also have bugs or rodents, which explains the problem.

Now, of course, nobody wants rats or mice on their property anyway, and if you’ve got this problem, you’re probably taking steps against it, anyway. Still, you need to keep in mind that rats and mice are often preferred prey for skunks, snakes, and other larger animals, so not doing anything about your rodent problem will eventually lead to larger issues.

Don’t leave food out.

This is a common issue for homeowners with pets, as they tend to leave pet food outside overnight, or unattended for long periods of time. This, of course, attracts wild animals like skunks, because at the end of the day, it’s free food. This is why we recommend that you always bring pet food leftovers inside overnight. Similarly, if you’ve got fruit trees or bushes in your backyard, make sure you pick up fallen fruit before locking your doors, as that too can attract skunks.

Clean up your yard.

Unlike other wild animals, skunks have got no issue living in your backyard. Favorite den sites include log piles, tall grass, overgrowth, and so on. This is why you should keep a close eye on your backyard. Make sure you trim the grass, bushes, and trees regularly, and also that you minimize rock or log piles, so as not to attract unwanted house guests.

Call a professional.

If you’re seriously worried about skunks on your property (either because of some local issue or previous experiences), you can always reach out to a professional wildlife removal company like Gray Brothers Wildlife. Aside from the removal process itself, we also specialize in inspecting properties and figuring out the appropriate prevention methods to ensure that wild animals are kept at bay.

Furthermore, a professional wildlife removal company can spot issues before they become a real problem. Things like a loose board in your fence can easily become a wild animal concern, and we’re here to help with that!

skunk removal

How to Remove Skunks From Under The Porch

Skunks are generally shy animals with the unpleasant habit of spraying a very smelly liquid from their anal gland. At first glance, these black and white animals may look appealing, but they are nothing short of pesky animal pests. From tunneling into the ground in search of grubs, crickets, insects, and beetles, to raiding gardens for fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Every homeowner knows that skunks are unwanted guests. 

However, skunks themselves do not know that and will often show up on your property, especially under the deck. In the wild, skunks love to live in dens, burrows, tree cavities, under brushes, and in hollow logs. However, as the natural habitat of these animals continues to shrink, they are forced to move into urban areas and cities in search of suitable alternatives. This is why skunks find under decks and porches very attractive living spaces. 

Skunks will frequently crawl under the deck or porch with their young family and make the place their home. And when they do, expect them to spray their very unpleasant liquid to mark their new territory with their characteristic smell. 

New mothers will also find under the porch an attractive option to give birth to their young and hide their babies away from predators while feeding and caring for them until they are old enough to care for themselves. 

There is no denying that skunks are unpleasant animals, and if you ever find one on your property, you would want it out right away, and this brings us to the big question; how do I remove skunks from under the porch? 

If a group of desperate skunks has unfortunately converted under your porch or deck to their den, you sure do have a real problem on your hands. If this is happening during the summer months, then you may have a mother skunks and her young nesting on your property because these animals reproduce during the summer.  And it takes about 8 weeks (a total of 2 months) for the skunk babies to grow and leave the nest. 

By the end of the nurturing stage, the mother skunk, and her kits will willingly leave your property and go elsewhere. But 2 months is certainly a long time to wait, and if you can’t wait it out, then here are a couple of ways to encourage the skunk to peacefully move out:

Don’t feed them

Animals are generally attracted to places with an abundance of food and water. If you intentionally make sure that skunks have nothing to eat, then they will leave and never return. But this can be quite tricky, because skunks are omnivores, and they eat a wide range of things from insects, grubs, grasshoppers to rotting food in the trash. You can start by making sure that your garbage can is completely inaccessible to them. Then, ensure that your yard is completely clean and free of berries, fruits, nuts, etc. 

Install motion lights

Skunks are nocturnal animals, and they actively avoid bright lights. You repel them by installing motion lights. Skunks move around at night, and motion lights will come on if it detects any skunks moving around, these are effective since skunks do not like lights, they will be forced to look elsewhere for a more conducive den. Similar to motion lights, motion-detection sprinklers will scare animals away by bloating them with water if they wander too close.

Try commercial skunk repellents: there are certain mixtures that repel skunks such as predator urine, castor oil, peppermint oil, citrus peel, hot pepper solution, and ammonia. The problem with these repellents is that they are not very effective, and they don’t work all the time. 

Want to keep skunks away?

DIY skunk removal is not something we advise, because skunks do not hesitate to spray their trademark foul-smelling liquid once they feel cornered. And this can temporarily blind the attacker for a while, plus the smell is very awful. The best way to deal with skunks is to leave it to the professional. At Gray Brothers Wildlife LLC, we have a team of skunk removal experts to get rid of this nuisance wildlife from your property, saving you a lot of time and trouble. 

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