ORIGINAL: Coastie

The North Carolina Extension Service Animal Damage Manual (available on line) states that moth balls (Napthelene) is sometimes effective but that no repellents are registered. That means that while some will work some of the time, there are no guaranted products available. Your best bet is to make your home as unattractive to Skunks as possible. Insure that garbage or pet foodsare not available for them to eat, seal off all entry points to buildings with hardwear cloth or other fencing small enough so they can't get through. Clean up all brush and wood piles close to your dwelling or out buildings. If you live on a farm, particularly a poultry farm, this may be a bit difficult to accomplish. You can trap them in live traps draped with canvas or camo cloth and baited with a can of cat food or other goodies, then, when captured, ease up on the trap and cover the entrance and quietly move it to a safe distance and release it. If you decide to shoot them, most Wildlife control operators will shoot them once in the spine to avoid a spray then immediately in the head to kill them. Some use euthenasia chambers or lethal injection but I personally find this to be a bit cumbersome. Some states may mandate this method so check with your DNR or county animal control folks before getting too involved. Good luck.