REQUESTED SEASONAL WILD SKUNK INFORMATION
Need a rehabber?? http://wildliferehab.virtualave.net/contact.htm
While Skunks As Pets deals with Domestic/Pen-raised skunks, we are frequently
contacted by people with wild skunk problems. Here is some information that
should be beneficial if you're bothered by unwanted, wild "visitors".
Make the area as inhospitable to skunks as possible. Remove all animal foods,
such as dog and cat food or farm animal feed. Move and elevate the garbage cans
as much as is feasible. A garbage can is to a skunk, what a refrigerator is to
us!
Place stereo speakers directly on a bare floor such as kitchen or bathroom. Play the loudest, thumpingest, bassline music (?) that you can find. (We suggest that you warn your neighbors first!) Skunks do not like loud noises or vibrations and will usually beat a hasty retreat!!!
<< While loud music will work great for older skunks it should NOT be used
in the Spring of the year when young skunks may be under the home as well. Young
skunks do not know the power of their spray or may not know how to control it
well, Any loud noises may scare them into releasing under the house. They've
been known to become scared and spray just from the sound of boots on a hardwood
floor. Odorless removal of young skunks cannot be guaranteed, they are just too
unpredictable. >>
Elevate firewood piles. Burn brush piles. Remove rock piles. Garage unused cars.
Trim all shrubs underneath to eliminate denning areas. Secure all "under
areas" such as decks and crawlspaces under the house. Be sure to use long
SCREWS, because skunks are extremely strong and can pull out nails. If using
wire mesh, be sure to bury it at least a foot into the soil. Skunks are superior
diggers and VERY hardheaded!! Mothballs may be scattered under NON-LIVING
SPACES. DO NOT USE UNDER AREAS WHERE PEOPLE OR ANIMALS LIVE. THE FUMES
ARE DEADLY!
To eliminate odor, close all windows and doors and turn off ventilation. Boil white vinegar for a couple of hours. Open windows and turn on ventilation. When the vinegar smell dissipates, it should take the skunk musk with it. White vinegar can be sprayed under the house as well. It can be added to the wash and rinse cycle for washable clothing, curtains and linens. White vinegar can also be added to carpet shampooers and water used to mop floors.
An excellent odor removing shampoo for sprayed pets is made by mixing the
following:
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon liquid dishwashing detergent (such as Dawn, Joy, etc)
1 quart Hydrogen Peroxide 3%
REMOVE ALL HAND JEWELRY BEFORE USE. Some sensitive skin can be irritated by
chemical reaction between the solution and metals!!
Apply while foaming furiously. The oxygen released by the foaming neutralizes
the Thiols (the odor part) and the detergent removes the oily part (that holds
the odor in the animal's fur)
A wonderful deterrent spray can be easily and affordably made. Mix thoroughly 8
ounces of Castor Oil, 8 ounces of a liquid dishwashing detergent, such as Dawn
and 1 gallon of water. Spray the entire area, especially the perimeter. This
concoction is unpleasant to wildlife and is quite beneficial to plantings.
The Skunk Who Came To Dinner
by Pastor Steve Ballinger
One thing my wife and I always try to do when we have people visiting our home
is to see that they have an entertaining time. If not entertaining, at least
enjoyable. If not enjoyable, at least interesting. If not interesting, at least
unusual and unique.
Actually, it's not always us that do the entertaining. Sometimes, we allow our
friendly little 4-footed creatures to provide the entertainment for us, and not
necessarily by choice.
I can remember vividly one night in particular, where not only did this
certain little mammal enter our home without an invitation, but she also had the
audacity to take it over for close to 2 hours.
What, pray tell, would cause me, the ruler of my domain, my wife, and our
guest to flee from our roost? Well, I'll give you just one little hint. It's
black and has a white stripe down its back. That's right! And its name wasn't
Flower. Allow me to tell you the infamous tale about the―Skunk Who Came To
Dinner.
"Pray without ceasing"
(1 Thessalonians 5:17)
As my wife and I were standing outside by the street, saying good night to our
guest, we observed what appeared to be a cat walking across our front lawn and
toward the opened front door of our home. To our amazement, the cat was not a
cat, neither was it a big rat.
Sonja peered intently at the creature as it strolled across our yard, she
suddenly grabbed my arm, looked me in the eyes, gasped for air and shrieked, "Oh
my, oh my, it's heading for the front door. Please don't let it go inside the
house." As usual, I immediately came to the rescue. I quickly dashed around the
side of the house, scaling the block wall in a single bound, and bolted for the
back sliding glass door.
My plan was to run through the house and close the front door before Pepe`
could step inside. It was a great plan! It was a terrific plan! It was a failed
plan! To my surprise, the sliding door was locked. Real bummer!!! With my eyes
wide open and my face pressed against the windowpane, I watched helplessly as
this 4-footed visitor took hostage my home, and decided to set up camp in my
habitat.
You're probably saying to yourself, "No way, Pastor Steve. I don't believe
it!" That's ok! My wife, Sonja, kept saying those exact same words to herself
for nearly 2 hours straight. In fact, those words are still echoing off the
walls of our home today, many years later. Sonja kept praying, without ceasing,
and asking God, "God, how are You with skunks?"
As soon as the "professional" from the Humane Society arrived, and we informed
him as what the situation was, the very first words from his mouth were "I
guarantee you that it will spray." I thought to myself―Thanks for the word of
encouragement. He continued, "I have never been on one of these type of
incidents where it did not spray." All I could think about was―Ca-chink! If this
little guy does his thing, the cost of tearing down my home and rebuilding will
be astronomical.
"Pray without ceasing"
I decided to enter the home with the "professional" to look for the skunk, but
before I did I played it smart. I went into the garage and found all kinds of
old clothes to put on. I dressed up in 6 pairs of pants, 12 shirts, and 4 pairs
of shoes (not quite) and then re-entered my home in search for our uninvited
guest.
As I walked around the inside of my house, visions of furniture sales, carpet
sales, and drapery sales, flashed across my mind as I pictured a pungent odor
slowly filling and penetrating every inch of my dwelling. I kept wondering how
much tomato sauce it was going to take in order to clean myself of the stench
once my furry little friend lifted her tail.
I kept hoping that she wouldn't get into the peach cobbler pie that was
sitting on the kitchen counter. I mean, taking over my home is one thing, but
getting into my pie is, well, that's just going too far! And of course, I could
not help but wonder how would I explain this to the guys at work? I just knew
they we're going to nickname me Stinky (or something similar) until the day I
retire.
"Pray without ceasing"
As we low crawled through the house, our search for this little critter was
unsuccessful. We looked everywhere. In closets, under furniture, we even went as
far as to open up the kitchen cabinets and drawers. We could find nothing. In
fact, I even put my fearless cocker spaniel on a leash, and took her inside to
search out the enemy. Just my luck, her nose wasn't working. I knew I should
have gotten a cat.
"Pray without ceasing"
I thought to myself―Maybe it snuck out of the house when we weren't looking.
No way was Sonja going to buy that one. After the "professional" left, with
instructions to call him back if we needed him, my wife absolutely refused to go
to bed until that critter was found. Softly I spoke, "But honey, it's getting
late." Sonja didn't speak quite as softly.
In fact, she spoke more demandingly, "Don't 'But honey' me. I know that skunk is
in this house and I want you to find it and get it out of my house." "Yes dear",
I replied. Sonja, with the wisdom of God, questioned me, "Did you look under the
sofa in the living room?" Half-heartily I responded, "I shined a flashlight
under it and I didn't see anything. Besides, the sofa is too low to the ground
for a skunk to crawl underneath."
Guess what? I was wrong! As I very cautiously moved the sofa away from the
wall and peered behind it, I observed a fuzzy little tail rising in the air.
Ever so slowly did I back away, and then indicated to Sonja in sign language,
"It's behind the couch. Quiet!"
I immediately called the "professional" once again. While waiting for him to
return, I began to quietly remove as much furniture from the room as I could,
and I blocked off all entrances into the rest of the house. Pretty smart
thinking, huh! The only place that that little fella could go, if it decided to
run around, was outside.
"Pray without ceasing"
When the "professional" finally arrived, he immediately reminded me that it
would spray. This guy was really starting to get under my nerves. Anyway, he
brought in a steel cage and an incredibly heavy blanket, and then told me his
game plan. He stated to me in a very experienced voice, "Ok, here's the plan. I
want you to slowly pull the sofa away from the wall when I tell you to. When the
entire skunk is exposed, I will throw this blanket on it, wrap it up in it,
shove it in the cage, and then I'll quickly take it from the house. But! I
guarantee you―it will spray."
"Pray without ceasing"
Well! I did do my part. I pulled the sofa away from the wall, just as I was
told, until the cute little miss was exposed. Unfortunately, the "professional"
didn't quite do his part. Oh yes, he threw the blanket down, but he missed the
skunk. No wonder they've always sprayed!
Needless to say, the skunk didn't stay still. We had not only disturbed her,
but we also perturbed her. Suddenly she started running all over my living room
with her tail up. I hadn't moved so fast since my high school days (yes, they
had high school back then). While backing and tripping over furniture, I was
able to keep my eyes on her the entire time. I kept repeating, "Please, put that
tail down. Please put that tail down." I thought to myself―This is it! It's all
over! And it was such a lovely home too.
All of a sudden the creature spotted the front door, then slowly and
matter-of-factly walked toward it and to the outside, waddling her tail behind
her. She hurried out the door into the darkness of the night, never to be seen
again. And guess what? She did not spray until she was outside the house. Praise
the Lord!
"Pray without ceasing"
This earthly "professional", though he certainly meant well, failed in his
performance. The real "Professional", our Heavenly Father, didn't fail. He
didn't let us down. He didn't disappoint us. He was true to his Word.
We had each been praying as He commanded us to, and at the same time putting
feet under our prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Hebrews 4:16; Matthew 7:7; 1 John
5:14; John 15:7), and He indeed answered our prayer. Praise the
Lord!
After the excitement was over, Sonja and I were mentally exhausted, and ready
for a good night sleep. As we hit the sack, I kissed her goodnight, rolled over,
and as I closed my eyes, I simply mentioned to her, "I hope that our friend
didn't have babies." God is so good. He can take care of
anything and everything―including skunks.
"Pray Without Ceasing"
God bless you,
Pastor Steve
Inland Police Officers Coalition, Inc. Website
http://www.linkline.com/personal/billrhetts/non_fiction_stories.htm
YOGURT CONTAINERS DANGEROUS TO ANIMALS!!
Every year, we see in the news and newspapers about skunks with their heads stuck in yogurt containers. The LUCKY ones find someone not afraid to help them. The unlucky ones.........don't.
PLEASE STOMP YOUR YOGURT CONTAINERS FLAT TO PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE!!!!!!
