Skunk problem

VTDragon · 09-16-2009, 09:15 AM

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.

Scottw · 09-16-2009, 09:22 AM

put rat poison in the peanut butter. Just hope the family dog doesn't like Skippy.

chippewastud79 · 09-16-2009, 09:29 AM

If you trap an animal yourself, I think there are likely some pest control people that will come and take the animal far-far away rather than killing it. Kind of like what you did with the raccoon.

md4958 · 09-16-2009, 09:31 AM

I hear mothballs are supposed to be a good deterrent.

As far as dispatching, the dad of a girl that worked for me used to be in the business. He used to drown them in a barrel of water. not sure how much I would wanna trap a skunk though

09-16-2009, 09:32 AM

can u eat a skunk ? that is to say will u eat a skunk if i pay you ?

aich75013 · 09-16-2009, 09:43 AM

I'd say call call animal control after you trap it. Let them deal with it.

borndead1 · 09-16-2009, 09:47 AM

I say, befriend the skunks and train them to spray people you don't like.

dunng · 09-16-2009, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

...

Just wanted to point these two fragments out...

Prefy · 09-16-2009, 10:10 AM

I deal with skunks all the time in the summer as I work at a provincial park in Manitoba. We likely trapped 25 skunks and 50 raccoons this summer, it was a bad one.

For the racoons we relocate them and for the skunks they are terminated. Like you have said it is possible to drown them but in reality that is not the most human way of doing things(we have used a big rain barrel in the past). We also have made a gas chamber at work were you can slide the trap into and hook it to the tail pipe of a vehicle up.

That being said others have mentioned that there is likely some form of animal control/conservation that would likely be able to assist you in getting rid of the pest once they are caught.

Finally as for baiting we have found that for skunks the best bait is something fishy Anchovies, sardines and left over fish guts work really well.

Kreth · 09-16-2009, 10:27 AM

Trap them and sell them to Drew Estates for their new Acid Pepe Le Peu line...

Posted via Mobile Device

marge796 · 09-16-2009, 10:34 AM

Have-A-Heart trap.

Chris.....

itsme_timd · 09-16-2009, 10:49 AM

Oh man... do you really gotta drown 'em??? I mean, if you'd treated your yard for grubs in the first place then they wouldn't be there to eat them. So it's all your fault and the skunk is the one that you want to drown?

Come on, bro, let's give peace a chance... take 'em far, far away and let them roam around eating grubbies in the wild.

If you gotta kill 'em, at least 'eat em. Here's a link to a few skunk recipes that might help... MMMMMmm - roasted, deep-dried or baked!!! NOM NOM NOM NOM!!!

WhoDeySchenk · 09-16-2009, 11:01 AM

(long but worth the read)

OH NO, this is a true dejavu story all over again. Years ago when I live with my parents we had a raccoon problem. My father heard about the drowning method and the same thing happend. The trap was longer than the trash can. Only this is where my story gets worse...but hilarious. This first attempt was one of the smaller ones caught, climbs up the side of the cage out of the water and screaming like mad. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were beating the red headed stepchild in the back yard or something...water gets drained. My father proceeds to make some sort of "gate" to stop the raccoon from getting to the back 1/3 of the cage (aka keeping him under water) this gate consisted of 1/2" steel bars (2 of them) soooo, dunk attempt #2....gurgle gurgle gurgle.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh (breath from the raccoon) this little trooper somehow bent the 1/2 bars and broke out of the water. now that's determination for saving one's own life (I would have let him go after that for being such a trooper) Anyhow, I figured there was a more humane way to kill the beast and recommended a "gopher bomb" to my pops and gas the little guy. So we set up the trash can, cage in, I lite the bomb, blow out flame, throw in can, attach lid, 20 seconds later after a few coughs, WHALA! Done deal. (This is where the story gets REAL funny) The next day my dad catches another one, this time he decides to take on the task himself. Trap w/ coon in can, lights bomb, throws in can, shuts lid. Within seconds the PLASTIC garbage can bursts into flames!!!!! (he never blew out the flame on the smoke bomb) So now we have this plastic garbage can w/ 3-4 foot flames sitting on the WOODEN deck that's connected to the house. He runs to the side of the house to turn on the hose hoping to extinguish the flames, only to find out that he's turned the water off for that spicket. NOW he has to run all the way downstairs to turn it back on...BOY I WISH I HAD A VIDEO CAMERA RUNNING! To end this masterpiece of a novel, everything ended up well, the house nor the deck caught on fire. And we ended up eating BBQ'd raccoon for supper that night (ok, not really)

Since this ordeal he has 9 raccoons under his belt. I bought him a Coon Skin Cap for fathers day that year.

VTDragon · 09-16-2009, 11:12 AM

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunng

Just wanted to point these two fragments out...

I used the non-lethal trap in case a neighbors kitty got caught. I have no qualms about killing a skunk

09-16-2009, 11:39 AM

When I knew without a doubt that I had married the right girl....My Dad was driving the pickup with a spotlight going on his side, I was in the bed of the truck with a spotlight on the other side and my wife also in the bed with a gun in one hand and holding onto the headache rack with the other as we drove across the pasture looking for another skunk.

anywho you could try poisoning the little fellow after he's caught and you know that the neighbor's cat won't get killed from it. Throw in some laced food and then you can even set him free back to the wild so you don't have to worry about disposal.

09-16-2009, 09:15 AM	#1
VTDragon Feeling at Home Join Date: May 2009 First Name: Gary Location: Vermont Posts: 627 Trading: (0)	Skunk problem 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. __________________ An expert is a person who knows enough about what's really going on ... to be scared.

09-16-2009, 09:29 AM	#3
chippewastud79 Fatter than you! Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Larry Location: A little place called home. Posts: 5,397 Trading: (44)	Re: Skunk problem If you trap an animal yourself, I think there are likely some pest control people that will come and take the animal far-far away rather than killing it. Kind of like what you did with the raccoon. __________________ If we weren't supposed to eat animals, then how come they're made of meat? You can never have too many cigars, they are like an investment in good times.

09-16-2009, 09:31 AM	#4
md4958 Captain Cannoli Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Moe Location: Suffield, CT Posts: 5,712 Trading: (62)	Re: Skunk problem I hear mothballs are supposed to be a good deterrent. As far as dispatching, the dad of a girl that worked for me used to be in the business. He used to drown them in a barrel of water. not sure how much I would wanna trap a skunk though __________________ "One fart can foul the air for everyone" - Esteemed philosopher "If avoiding the nasty $hit is being a snob, them I am guilty as charged."- Same esteemed philosopher.

09-16-2009, 09:32 AM	#5
adampc22 Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Skunk problem can u eat a skunk ? that is to say will u eat a skunk if i pay you ?

09-16-2009, 09:43 AM	#6
aich75013 Feeling at Home Join Date: Nov 2008 First Name: Adrian Location: Allen, TX Posts: 774 Trading: (25)	Re: Skunk problem I'd say call call animal control after you trap it. Let them deal with it.

09-16-2009, 09:22 AM	#2
Scottw Going Commando Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Scott Location: Sussex, NJ Posts: 2,815 Trading: (6)	Re: Skunk problem put rat poison in the peanut butter. Just hope the family dog doesn't like Skippy.

09-16-2009, 09:47 AM	#7
borndead1 Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Mark Location: Lancaster, CA Posts: 1,364 Trading: (7)	Re: Skunk problem I say, befriend the skunks and train them to spray people you don't like. __________________ None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.

09-16-2009, 10:10 AM	#9
Prefy Connoisseur of Pucks Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Matt Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 549 Trading: (5)	Re: Skunk problem I deal with skunks all the time in the summer as I work at a provincial park in Manitoba. We likely trapped 25 skunks and 50 raccoons this summer, it was a bad one. For the racoons we relocate them and for the skunks they are terminated. Like you have said it is possible to drown them but in reality that is not the most human way of doing things(we have used a big rain barrel in the past). We also have made a gas chamber at work were you can slide the trap into and hook it to the tail pipe of a vehicle up. That being said others have mentioned that there is likely some form of animal control/conservation that would likely be able to assist you in getting rid of the pest once they are caught. Finally as for baiting we have found that for skunks the best bait is something fishy Anchovies, sardines and left over fish guts work really well.

09-16-2009, 10:27 AM	#10
Kreth Ronin smoker Join Date: Jan 2009 First Name: Jeff Location: Oneonta, NY Posts: 3,620 Trading: (14)	Re: Skunk problem Trap them and sell them to Drew Estates for their new Acid Pepe Le Peu line... Posted via Mobile Device

09-16-2009, 10:34 AM	#11
marge796 It Just Doesn’t Matter!!! Join Date: Feb 2009 First Name: Chris Location: Topeka KS Posts: 1,624 Trading: (28)	Re: Skunk problem Have-A-Heart trap. Chris..... __________________ “Don’t talk to me about naval tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash.” -Sir Winston Churchill

09-16-2009, 10:49 AM	#12
itsme_timd Adjusting to the Life Join Date: Jul 2009 First Name: Tim Location: Woodstock, GA Posts: 338 Trading: (3)	Re: Skunk problem Oh man... do you really gotta drown 'em??? I mean, if you'd treated your yard for grubs in the first place then they wouldn't be there to eat them. So it's all your fault and the skunk is the one that you want to drown? Come on, bro, let's give peace a chance... take 'em far, far away and let them roam around eating grubbies in the wild. If you gotta kill 'em, at least 'eat em. Here's a link to a few skunk recipes that might help... MMMMMmm - roasted, deep-dried or baked!!! NOM NOM NOM NOM!!!

09-16-2009, 11:01 AM	#13
WhoDeySchenk Adjusting to the Life Join Date: Jan 2009 First Name: Steve Location: Mason, Ohio Posts: 268 Trading: (2)	Re: Skunk problem (long but worth the read) OH NO, this is a true dejavu story all over again. Years ago when I live with my parents we had a raccoon problem. My father heard about the drowning method and the same thing happend. The trap was longer than the trash can. Only this is where my story gets worse...but hilarious. This first attempt was one of the smaller ones caught, climbs up the side of the cage out of the water and screaming like mad. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were beating the red headed stepchild in the back yard or something...water gets drained. My father proceeds to make some sort of "gate" to stop the raccoon from getting to the back 1/3 of the cage (aka keeping him under water) this gate consisted of 1/2" steel bars (2 of them) soooo, dunk attempt #2....gurgle gurgle gurgle.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh (breath from the raccoon) this little trooper somehow bent the 1/2 bars and broke out of the water. now that's determination for saving one's own life (I would have let him go after that for being such a trooper) Anyhow, I figured there was a more humane way to kill the beast and recommended a "gopher bomb" to my pops and gas the little guy. So we set up the trash can, cage in, I lite the bomb, blow out flame, throw in can, attach lid, 20 seconds later after a few coughs, WHALA! Done deal. (This is where the story gets REAL funny) The next day my dad catches another one, this time he decides to take on the task himself. Trap w/ coon in can, lights bomb, throws in can, shuts lid. Within seconds the PLASTIC garbage can bursts into flames!!!!! (he never blew out the flame on the smoke bomb) So now we have this plastic garbage can w/ 3-4 foot flames sitting on the WOODEN deck that's connected to the house. He runs to the side of the house to turn on the hose hoping to extinguish the flames, only to find out that he's turned the water off for that spicket. NOW he has to run all the way downstairs to turn it back on...BOY I WISH I HAD A VIDEO CAMERA RUNNING! To end this masterpiece of a novel, everything ended up well, the house nor the deck caught on fire. And we ended up eating BBQ'd raccoon for supper that night (ok, not really) Since this ordeal he has 9 raccoons under his belt. I bought him a Coon Skin Cap for fathers day that year. __________________

09-16-2009, 11:39 AM	#15
SchizoFilly Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Skunk problem When I knew without a doubt that I had married the right girl....My Dad was driving the pickup with a spotlight going on his side, I was in the bed of the truck with a spotlight on the other side and my wife also in the bed with a gun in one hand and holding onto the headache rack with the other as we drove across the pasture looking for another skunk. anywho you could try poisoning the little fellow after he's caught and you know that the neighbor's cat won't get killed from it. Throw in some laced food and then you can even set him free back to the wild so you don't have to worry about disposal.