The Rev

I’ve been staying at my lake house while I’m recovering from my car crash in June, we’ve have discovered there are a lot of skunks out at night. A neighbor’s dog got sprayed several days ago, I have a several bows out here, but I don’t want to get skunk juice on an arrow. I also have my 40 Cal, but that’s too big and I don’t really want to hit a neighbor with a ricochet, I thought of bringing my 20 ga shotgun when I go home for my weekly take care of business trip, then it hit me. HOW IN THE HECK AM I GONNA PICK UP A DEAD STINKING SKUNK? Any ideas, the best solution I can come up with is holding my breath, and get a shovel, scoop it up and run like the dickens. Dang it I hate freaking skunks.

IOWABUCKHUNTR

If you use a small caliber rifle like a .22 or even a 22-250 and hit it in the head, it will not release its spray. We have a ton of skunks in Iowa, and they tend to invade the corn cribs with the raccoons. You will want to wait for the broadside shot so the bullet will not enter the skunks body, you want to basically shutdown the nerve system fast so it cannot respond with its usual distress response.

IOWABUCKHUNTR

Although, be forewarned. It will still smell a little of skunk, because of the relaxing of the muscles in the dead skunks body; they tend to release small amounts, also, the urine from a skunk smells the same way. As far as I know, there is not a way to completely negate the smell factor.

The Rev

I hate to use a bullet because there are other people around me, not on top but close enough that a ricochet could reach them. Shoot, I just won't let my dog out after dark, I don't think I can handle the stink. Skunks and baby diapers I'm not too good with.

Phil from Maine

No idea huh? First of all if you shot it, it had better be in the back bone or it will stink like crazy.. You could do what we do up here though. We simply live trap them. But first you will need to cover the trap with something like an old rug. Leave the ends open until it is time to take it away. Use the same rug or whatever to drop down over then ends. The skunk will not spray if it can not see you. Then transport to where ever to get rid of it.

LBR

If you can find them, Agulia makes a very quiet low velocity .22, but you have to use a single shot, revolver, or bolt action (not enough gas pressure to cycle a semi-auto). CCI used to make a .22 short "city shot", not sure if they still do--haven't seen those in years.

You might try a larger caliber shot shell (we call them "rat shot"), like a .357 or .44, but those are fairly close-range and I don't know that they would provide the instant kill needed to keep the skunk from spraying, even with a head shot. They are generally quieter than a shotgun though.

There are also some good air rifles on the market that would work with a head shot, and richochet risk would be at a minimum. Those are fun to play with and cheap to shoot once the skunks are gone.

Finally, you could round up some old arrows and tip them with old broadheads or a blunt like the Ace hex-head and aim for the head--should be as quick and clean as a .22 head shot. I wouldn't use regular steel blunts or rubber blunts--they won't do enough damage. Lancasters, 3 Rivers, and Kustom King all carry some good ones. I'll be ordering some stuff for the shop soon--if you want I can get you some--just let me know.

Live traps are an option, but like Phil said, keep it covered. If it's calm and dark, chances are slim the skunk will spray (no guarantee though, and can be tricky to release a live one).

Good thing with skunks is they eat rodents. Bad thing is they eat dang near anything else they can get their mouths around, and carry disease/fleas/ticks.

Their are recipes on the 'net for solutions to kill the stink if something gets sprayed (mix some up before you shoot one). Worst case scenario, you can hold your breath until you get it sprayed down enough to kill most of the scent.

I'm trying to figure out a good raccoon trap myself...saw plans for a homemade one using a 5-gallon bucket, but can't find it now. Figures.....

Chad

The Rev

When my wife and I first got married in 1972 we TRIED living in up state NY where she was from, we had a bad coon problem, I made a homemade coon trap, and all I ever caught was skunks. I just don't remember how I made them.

Several years here we had a bad feral cat problem, the owners of the resort asked to kill all I could. I killed six in one night, the last one I shot ran off with an arrow, it died under the owners house, she had to pay someone to get it out from under her house several weeks later, and asked me to never shoot anything with my bow again. ..

I guess, I'll leave the skunk problem to someone else, I'll be heading home in a week or so and hopefully feel good enough to start building knives again for hunting season. I sell all the knives I make this time of year. I'll take advantage of the time off to do something productive.

Champlain Islander

Like Phil said live trap them then use the blanket or old rug trick to get the trap down to the lake. Toss and walk. Go back later to empty the trap and rebait it. I like the large havaheart traps that work well for skunks and coons. best bait for coons is a marshmello. Not sure if the skunks like it but some sardines would probably work.

JW

With everything I have done with dogs - this is the best I have found.

Foolproof skunk odor remover

Paul Krebaum, a chemist for the Molex corporation in Lisle, Illinois, has developed a foolproof odor remover. This odor remover works on anything including decomposing organic matter, fecal matter, urine and skunk spray.


This odor remover is made from simple household ingredients:

• 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
• 1/4 cup of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap.

Mix the three ingredients together and use immediately. The chemical reaction produced from these ingredients lasts only a limited time. You need to use it right away.

If you use this formula to remove skunk odor from your pet, be sure to rinse him off with water. Do not let the solution soak for more than a few minutes.

Depending on where I am - I do follow this with a Hartz Mountain shampoo product called Clean And Fresh that has a 0.5% Pyrethrum insecticide in it. The fragrance in this shampoo lasts along time in the dog's coat and is quite pleasant. It will re-emerge once the dog gets wet again. That is a real plus to me. Wife hates stinky dogs.

JW

The Rev

Thanks that could come in handy. I had a cat how got sprayed once and it was a mess.