Skunk problem

[VTDragon]

Skunks have been tearing up my yard digging for grubs. I know the long term solution is to treat the lawn to kill the grubs and I plan on doing that. In the meantime I wanted to get rid of the skunks but didn't know how. A friend suggested that I bait a hav-a-hart trap with peanut butter on bread and then when the skunk was caught, cover the trap with a blanket to avoid getting sprayed and submerge the whole thing in a trash can full of water thus drowning the skunk. Sounded simple.

I borrowed a trap, filled a 32 gallon trash can with water, set the trap on a piece of plywood in the backyard and baited it with stale bread spread with peanut butter.

No results night one.

Caught a racoon on night two. Good, I think this will be a good test for me in the whole drowning method and this beast has wrecked some havoc in our garage in the past when we have neglected to close the door. I admit that the prospect of the actual drowning made me very nervous - both because of the potential for skunk spray and for the act of drowning the pest, so practicing on a racoon should be good.

I approached the trap carefully holding a blue tarp in front of me, (this will be necessary when I actually have a skunk) and quickly toss it over the trap. Ahh.... I think, now I'm good to go. I carefully lift the covered trap and dunk it in the water filled trash can. I submerge it all the way to the bottom. There is a brief struggle. Hmmm... that was easier than I thought. I lift up the edge of the tarp and take a peek....The racoon stares back at me. The trash can is too shallow and the water does not completely cover the trap. Now what?

This is the deepest trash can I have. I no longer own any guns. We tore down our above ground swimming pool a few years ago. There are no nearbye ponds or rivers to utilize and I've got this critter in the trap.

I search my garage for something with which to dispatch the pest and come up with ... nothing.

Deciding that I have no other alternative, I transport the caged pest about 3 miles away, further into the country and release it.

I hope I took the racoon far enough away so it doesn't bother me any more.

I still have the skunk problem. I'm thinking of buying a bigger trash can.