I've been skunked, and not in the cribbage sense (2 Viewers)

[Benjaminotaur]

What started as a gas leak scare (small, now patched, leaks) is now turning into a downright comical situation.

After the gas company gave the all clear, they said the lingering smell in the house was not a gas leak, but coming from another source. My dad confirmed the source when he saw a skunk waddle across the backyard and crawl under our deck in the middle of the day when he was watching our kiddos.

Had someone come to set up a trap to catch the culprit, and after a couple days of playing cat and mouse covering up holes the dug, we trapped “one of the biggest males we’ve seen in a long while”

Awesome.

That night, I look go into our conservatory to check the trap around 1am, and what do I see stroll up? Another skunk. So I watch it for 30 minutes try to get into the original entrance to the deck before giving up and digging a brand new hole just to the right of the trap.

Luckily, skunks aren’t winning the Nobel Prize anytime soon. Checked the trap this morning to find another skunk in the trap, this time confirmed to be a female after the trapper came out. Cool. Male. Female. We’re good now for sure.

Just went out to the conservatory to check the trap before bed and what’s sniffing the trap from out in the yard?

Yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh. And not in the good Usher/Ludacris/Lil Jon way. Watched yet another hole get dug right under the deck. Thankfully, the previous owners lined all the garden beds with bricks, so I’ve got plenty of options for plugging those holes.

The Google machine tells me there can be between 6 and 20 living in one shelter during the winter months. Twenty? TWENTY!?!?

So who wants to come along for the ride? Something tells me I’ll need moral support by the end of this. Or at a minimum, some comic relief. And at $85 per removal, I can only hope they have a buy 5 get one free special. Or at least make me a cool hat when it’s all done

 

[BGinGA]

You need to rent an owl, hawk, or eagle.

Or maybe a badger.

 

[Benjaminotaur]

You need to rent an owl, hawk, or eagle.

Or maybe a badger.

Pretty sure I can scrounge up one of the latter

 

[Gunnar]

Looks like an inspiration for a new custom set! Good luck!

 

[FordPickup92]

Yikes. It's all fun and games till somebody gets sprayed. Hope you get them all moved out soon! My dog got sprayed by a visiting skunk a few times, worst stench ever... and it lingers for months

 

[surfik]

 

[WedgeRock]

At $85 each, just buy your own trap.

 

[MrBoosh]

A couple years ago, my mom had skunks that had burrowed under and up into her shed. The cameras caught 5 skunks on video coming out one night. We were never able to catch them but we did eventually catch a racoon in the shed as well before we finally patched the holes in the floor and fortified the surrounding area around the shed from future creatures.

 

[Budha]

At $85 each, just buy your own trap.

I’ll pay the $85

 

[Benjaminotaur]

Yikes. It's all fun and games till somebody gets sprayed. Hope you get them all moved out soon! My dog got sprayed by a visiting skunk a few times, worst stench ever... and it lingers for months

Yep. It’s a bad feeling like you can’t even go in your backyard without feeling like you’re begging for a shower

At $85 each, just buy your own trap.

I’m thinking about it. If I had a reliable way to dispose of the problem without getting sprayed, I’d be all over it. Being in the middle of the city cuts my options down considerably

 

[Benjaminotaur]

The count ticks up one. Three all together now

This time it’s a little guy. We’re just getting to mating season, so it’s got to be from last years litter. The size of this one is what gives me pause about trapping them myself. He could definitely lift his tail if he wanted. Risk goes waaaay up. I lived through the 90s. I know what Juveniles are all about

 

[WedgeRock]

I’m thinking about it. If I had a reliable way to dispose of the problem without getting sprayed, I’d be all over it. Being in the middle of the city cuts my options down considerably

How do they dispose of them? I assume they put a blanket over the cage and drive them to a wooded area? Do that.

Borrow/rent a pickup truck and keep the cage int he bed of the truck.

 

[Budha]

The count ticks up one. Three all together now
View attachment 1272739
This time it’s a little guy. We’re just getting to mating season, so it’s got to be from last years litter. The size of this one is what gives me pause about trapping them myself. He could definitely lift his tail if he wanted. Risk goes waaaay up. I lived through the 90s. I know what Juveniles are all about

Yup - catching’em is easy. Transporting them to a new location without getting sprayed (or your car sprayed) is what the $85 is for - lol.

 

[Benjaminotaur]

How do they dispose of them? I assume they put a blanket over the cage and drive them to a wooded area? Do that.

Borrow/rent a pickup truck and keep the cage int he bed of the truck.

Yup - catching’em is easy. Transporting them to a new location without getting sprayed (or your car sprayed) is what the $85 is for - lol.

It is a humane trapper, but this is the one animal they don’t catch and release. There’s nowhere around here that is suitable to take them without creating a problem for someone else. They euthanize them in the trap and then remove them.

If I remember correctly, whatever they’re using to sedate them would be considered a controlled substance, so there’s no way for a non licensed individual to get their hands on some. Even with myself being a pharmacist

 

[Tonysquander]

Worth every penny if the skunk is the reason you learned of, found, and fixed the gas leaks.

 

[Benjaminotaur]

Worth every penny if the skunk is the reason you learned of, found, and fixed the gas leaks.

Hard to argue with that! One of the leaks was found on inspection before we bought the house. We were told it was repaired as one of our only contingencies to the sale. We’re working with our realtor now to find out if we have any recourse to have them cover the costs of repair.

Fortunately, all three leaks the gas company found were only 0.1% on their meter. He said the leaks have likely been there for years and no one noticed because they were so minor. On the other hand, we just replaced all the windows, so there’s a much better chance the gas could have built up if one of the leaks shifted for the worse

 

[Budha]

It is a humane trapper, but this is the one animal they don’t catch and release. There’s nowhere around here that is suitable to take them without creating a problem for someone else. They euthanize them in the trap and then remove them.

If I remember correctly, whatever they’re using to sedate them would be considered a controlled substance, so there’s no was for a non licensed individual to get their hands on some

Yeah, that’s unfortunate but also unavoidable I guess.

Definitely not something you want a whole nest of living under your deck, that’s for sure.

 

[WedgeRock]

We had a ground hog in the fall. We caught a couple birds, a couple cats, a possum (twice) and a couple squirrels. We let them all go on our own. We paid the $80 when we caught a skunk (and of course when we caught the ground hog).

 

[Budha]

Possums are scary (and ugly) AF - lol.

Never run into a groundhog before.

 

[WedgeRock]

Possums are ugly, but good to have around, especially if you have a garden. Grounds hogs are destructive.

 

[Benjaminotaur]

We had a ground hog in the fall. We caught a couple birds, a couple cats, a possum (twice) and a couple squirrels. We let them all go on our own. We paid the $80 when we caught a skunk (and of course when we caught the ground hog).

The guy we hired has a pretty good set up. Trap is set right over the hole, so if they go out that way they're not going back in. Then it's just the cat and mouse game of plugging any holes they dig in the meantime to limit their options for exiting. So far (Knock on wood) It's only been the intended perps that have been trapped

 

[Highli99]

I had a possum take up residence under my home in Delaware where an hvac system was located. The pest companies in lower slower will set a dozen traps to catch one possum and then 11 local cats, and try to charge you $800. Not falling for that nonsense I got my own trap for $25 and caught the possum first night. Then, I looked into relocating and discovered in Delaware that is illegal. So my only option was to shoot it or drown it since releasing it on my property was not going to work.

Neither option made me happy, and my home is literally on coastal highway next door to a hotel and 4 neighbors within 20 feet. After making sure I was exactly 50 feet away from the highway, I set the trap on it side so the possum would climb and give me a clear shot. One round of .380 and it was over quickly. Interestingly none of my neighbors even noticed the shot.

I came back 20 minutes later to dispose of the body and discovered a dozen babies that had crawled onto the body. I guess I killed a mother and they were inside the pouch. That was a horrible day. I regret what had to happen.

To make myself feel better I watch this video once a week. Ms. Pearl is my possum therapist.

 

[ekricket]

It is a humane trapper, but this is the one animal they don’t catch and release. There’s nowhere around here that is suitable to take them without creating a problem for someone else. They euthanize them in the trap and then remove them.

If I remember correctly, whatever they’re using to sedate them would be considered a controlled substance, so there’s no way for a non licensed individual to get their hands on some. Even with myself being a pharmacist

1. Fill a large trash can full of water
2. Catch skunk in trap
3. Throw trap with skunk into water filled trash can, submerging completely
4. Wait 10 minutes, then remove trap and dispose of dead skunk

 

[FordPickup92]

 

[Benjaminotaur]

I had a possum take up residence under my home in Delaware where an hvac system was located. The pest companies in lower slower will set a dozen traps to catch one possum and then 11 local cats, and try to charge you $800. Not falling for that nonsense I got my own trap for $25 and caught the possum first night. Then, I looked into relocating and discovered in Delaware that is illegal. So my only option was to shoot it or drown it since releasing it on my property was not going to work.

Neither option made me happy, and my home is literally on coastal highway next door to a hotel and 4 neighbors within 20 feet. After making sure I was exactly 50 feet away from the highway, I set the trap on it side so the possum would climb and give me a clear shot. One round of .380 and it was over quickly. Interestingly none of my neighbors even noticed the shot.

I came back 20 minutes later to dispose of the body and discovered a dozen babies that had crawled onto the body. I guess I killed a mother and they were inside the pouch. That was a horrible day. I regret what had to happen.

To make myself feel better I watch this video once a week. Ms. Pearl is my possum therapist.

She is very soothing.

"No one wants to mess with a possum's chi"

And if there was ever a video entry into the Out of Context thread, this one would be top of the list!

 

[BGinGA]

The count ticks up one. Three all together now

The Google machine tells me there can be between 6 and 20 living in one shelter during the winter months. Twenty? TWENTY!?!?

What's the current over/under, and where's the betting thread?

 

[Benjaminotaur]

Right here

Been at 3 for a couple days now, but I see signs of disruption around the deck. Not sure if it's something trying to get in to safety or for hunting. I've seen foxes running around the neighborhood. Cats too. I'm sure there are other predatory/opportunistic creatures roaming around. Turn's out the Forest Park neighborhood really lives up to it's name

 

[BamaT8ter]

Removing skunk smell:

https://wildlife.unl.edu/pdfs/removing-skunk-odor.pdf

 

[BGinGA]

Right here

Been at 3 for a couple days now, but I see signs of disruption around the deck. Not sure if it's something trying to get in to safety or for hunting. I've seen foxes running around the neighborhood. Cats too. I'm sure there are other predatory/opportunistic creatures roaming around. Turn's out the Forest Park neighborhood really lives up to it's name

Coyotes and wild dogs will also hunt skunks, but usually only if other meals are unavailable.

Birds of prey are your best option.

 

[Tony_M]

We had all sorts of creatures taking up residence at my old job. One time it was a bunch of opossums. We caught two of them one day and the animal control wasn’t responding so I put them in a five gallon bucket, placed into my saddle bag and rode home where there is a very large park nearby.

Well, the pitiful look on their faces peering up at me when I took the cover off the bucket was priceless.
I’m not sure what they thought was going on during the 15 minute motorcycle ride but they had shit and pissed all over themselves. Took a whole lot of coaxing to get them to leave the bucket but they eventually waddled into the woods.