# Skunks



## fivemoremiles

for the last three years i have had a running war with skunks. 
In 2016 i trapped 4 skunks I had a trapper tell me to hold a tarp up in front of me and drop it over the skunk. Bet he laughed all the way home. i was gullible and had to take a tomato bath.
2017 I trapped 5 skunks I got a 22 pistol what was i thinking i am a long gun guy. the first skunk i trapped i emptied the pistol twice put holes in the gate the trap pulverized the rocks around the skunk before i killed it.
2018 i killed the biggest skunk i have ever seen i had friends call me and tell me they could smell the skunk 1 1/2 miles away in the Walmart parking lot. i heard the smell reach the school about the time it let out causing quite the stir some one told me there eyes were watering.
then last night i caught 2 more skunks in traps set just 24 feet apart. 
Will the skunk smell penetrate the eggs? the coop was so bad i couldn't collect the eggs tonight.
one last question is will i ever win the skunk war. i just cant believe how many i have had to kill in the last three years.


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## ksalvagno

I wouldn't eat those eggs. Good luck on the skunks.


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## spidy1

when I trapped skunks I used an old blanket the same way the tarp is used, but you have to be sneaky and super fast, they cant stand the smell ether so they shouldn't spray in tight spaces, now there is still the young gun that will spray no mater what, the tarp isn't flexible or quiet enough so a blanket works best, then put the whole thing trap, skunk, blanket in a large full water trough to drown it, dont try to shoot it it WILL spray, live traps work best, leg holds are no better than shooting it, they spray when they think they are attacked by a predator, I trapped many skunks and they never sprayed if I used the live trap, blanket and water trough, if I used a leg hold they sprayed every time. my suggestion, put something next to your live trap that will cover you approaching so skunk wont see you, sneak up quietly with a blanket, drop blanket over trap covering whole trap, pick it up wrapping blanket over it to hide all of you, then place in full water trough that fits trap all the way to the bottom, leave in for 30-40 min then do what you want with dead skunk, that is how I did it and never got sprayed. hope this helps


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## groovyoldlady

I don't have any chickens, so this is just a curiosity question: Do skunks kill chickens? Do they steal the eggs? Or are they just stinky pests?

They sometimes roam around the perimeter of our goat pen, but so far we've had no issues other than a little digging in our yard for grubs.


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## catharina

Why are you killing skunks? & do you know that drowning is a very painful way to die? Why not just block off the holes they are using to get into the roosting area or under your house or wherever they're causing trouble?


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## spidy1

skunks are omnivores, they will eat anything they can get wether that means foraging, hunting or in some instances killing smaller critters, your chickens are larger so they may be safe but no guarantees (they will eat the eggs). if you dont mind getting sprayed then by all means kill them some other way, but if you dont like getting sprayed, drown them, they wont spray under water.
blocking them doesn't always work, they will just dig under, climb over, or chew through, if they are after something you have you wont be able to keep them out, they are known to have rabies and LOTS of other bad nasties you DON'T want anywhere near your other critters, they are compatible with cats so cats will get all skunk nasties from flu to BBBBBAAADDDD issues, they are more compatible than goats and sheep. so protect your kitties, get rid of the skunks!

I have a skunk skull if you want a pic to see the teeth, they have more than a dog, sharper than a cat, molers more like a goat, K9s a bit longer than a cat, front insizers like a rabbit but shorter, there is not much they cant chew through or eat, almost like a miniature wolverine.


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## SalteyLove

Do you have any dogs?


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## fivemoremiles

I do not drown them that is cruel that is why i have a pistol. i have gotten very good with the pistol since i first got it. yes i have dogs yes the skunks have and are killing my chickens and eating my eggs
we have rabies in the area so they are a health hazard. this the main reason that i am trying to eradicate them. My question is where are they coming from?


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## New-goat-mom

Is anyone else around you having the same problem? That is incredibly strange. The only time I have ever had more than one or two it was a mom with babies and once the babies grow up a little they move on. Never have I seen a bunch stay in one area.


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## SalteyLove

I think it is strange too, especially since you have dogs. The skunks sometimes move back into the area if we take the dogs away camping for 2 weeks but they are quickly killed or move back away when we return to the farm. You've got some super skunks. 

Thank you for not drowning them. 

Have you ever tried leaving a dead one outside the coop to deter the others?


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## spidy1

unfortunately dogs dont discourage them, when I was trapping them I would see 4-5 skunks a night and we had about 12-18 hunting dogs in kennels not 100 yards from them and a few dogs tied out much closer. skunks have no fear of predators as they have no natural predators do to there stink bombs, it is not uncommon for large families to share the same territory.


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## groovyoldlady

Thank you for educating us - and for making me thankful that sightings on our property are few and far between!


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## Lstein

Interesting with the blanket/tarp, I also read that when I had a skunk living under the hen house for a couple days; thinking of what I was going to do once/if I actually caught it. 

Luckily it moved on. Thankfully. For awhile, it was just terrible smelling in there and he didn't even get inside! That was just from him being under it.


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## ksalvagno

Are people trapping and dropping them off around your place?


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## fivemoremiles

I never thought of relocates I am totally puzzled on why I have so many skunks


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