I live in an older (1920's) house that is up off the ground. About 4am I'm in bed and start hearing some banging around under house, then hissing and snarling. I assume a couple of the neighbors "house cats [roll]" are fighting under there, so I make a mental note to find the opening they're getting through. About 3 seconds later I start to smell this horrific odor....and it gets worse, and worse, and worse.....
Thats right folks, a skunk sprayed right underneath my bedroom! make the beast with two backs make the beast with two backs make the beast with two backs make the beast with two backs!!!!!!!!!
I can't even hardly walk through my house without throwing up [puke] [puke] [puke]
I called animal control....they said its easiest to just wait it out...and they won't come trap for the skunk because he is outside in his natural habitat. FINE. Leave him in his natural habitat, just move him a couple miles out of town! [bang]
Anyone have any sort of smell relief ideas? please?
I'm on my way to Academy sports to buy some .22 rounds....I've got a muthamake the beast with two backsin skunk to "relocate" tonight
If you shoot them in the head, most of the time they don't spray. If you miss they will spray. Make sure your close enough to where you won't miss and if your using a scope compensate for the difference in line of site from trajectory. What I've done before is crack a door or window open and stick the barrel out. That way if they do spray, you can shut the door quickly. Better take care of it quick before they nest under the house. Animal control is useless when it comes to skunks.
+1 to the high velocity lead poisoning.
major suckage
first
(http://stores.northcoasthydroponics.com/catalog/WBOZ7.jpg)
I've used this to kill the smells in peoples nasty ass cars. it works pretty good.
second
(http://www.midwayusa.com/midwayusa/staticpages/highres/199998.jpg)
they work well.
still might have been the neighbor's cat.
maybe she rejected the skunk's advances....
(http://dirtymartini.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/pepe-le-pew.jpg)
Post up the solution if there is one.
At my hunt camp, we have skunks living under the cabin. On my way to the outhouse at 3am for a rather unpleasant and urgent gastrointestinal event brought on by wayy too much tequila, I stopped dead in my tracks by 5 skunks congregating at the bottom of the stairs (outside). Turns out the rookie cook of the evening threw the leftovers out the door intead of over the hill. I almost charged the gauntlet but decided against it when I noticed them noticing me.
That SUCKED!
The best thing I've found for getting the smell off dogs is mixing baking soda and hydrogen peroxide with a little dish soap. You should be able to make a few gallons of that pretty cheap and hose out under the house. After that, yer on your own. If the little stinker hasn't left on his own, I agree, lead poising is your best shot. [thumbsup]
Let your fingers do the walking.
Some times you can find someone (private company) in the phone book that specializes in relocating Cats, skunks, possums etc.
What you need to do is wait antil about midnight, he should be out looking for food at that time. Close up any entry points to his harborage. But before you seal them up, dump at least a box of moth balls around the places they were getting in. I recently had a problem with these guys and sealing off where they live and dumping the (smelly, but not skunk smelly) moth balls have kept them away for months...
Quote from: NAKID on February 20, 2009, 10:53:49 AM
What you need to do is wait antil about midnight, he should be out looking for food at that time. Close up any entry points to his harborage. But before you seal them up, dump at least a box of moth balls around the places they were getting in. I recently had a problem with these guys and sealing off where they live and dumping the (smelly, but not skunk smelly) moth balls have kept them away for months...
+1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD89Z0_Rav8&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD89Z0_Rav8&feature=related)
i never give logical solutions, just the best solutions to a problem without thought to anything else. in other words, dont do this without seriously considering fire insurance. [thumbsup]
Update:
I have every window in my house open, and all the ceiling fans on. Anything that is cloth, and was exposed is in bags waiting to go to the laundry (I've heard oxyclean helps get any odor out)....luckily I thought quick and pulled all the clothes I found out into the living room where the odor wasn't nearly as bad. I talked to a animal control guy who was actually helpful. He said any of the Petrotech brand odor eliminators work very well....and they have.
I've sprayed down everything....covered my carpets in baking soda, then vacuumed a couple hours later...and moped down the floors in the bathroom and all the walls.
for under the house...I got a couple of the Petrotech misters (spray cans)...I opened my crawl space, duct taped the sprayers down, and tossed. I would of thrown more, but I bought everything I could find in town. after that sat for a while, I bought a box fan layed it over the crawl space opening facing out and flipped it on high. I'm hoping this is sucking the air out from under the house, and blowing the smell out (it seems to be working...i,e. it's blowing skunky air out into the open.
I also found the hole they came in and have screened it in....I have also bought 100 rounds for my .22 [evil]
I used to trap fur bearing animals as a teenager. Muskrats, Raccoons , Fox, Mink, and occasionally I caught a Skunk in a Fox of 'Coon set.
Like an ealier poster said , you must shoot the Skunk in the head so that it doesn't spray. I generally would sneak up from behind and at about 10 yards shoot the Skunk ( usually trying to shoot it in the ear area ). If you can get a clean shot from the front without the Skunk being aware of your presence and there is nothing in the line of sight down range that would make firing a rifle risky then go ahead and squeeze one off. It will possibly take more than one shot but from the front aim for the center of the head.
Quote from: DoubleEagle on February 21, 2009, 04:08:25 PM
I used to trap fur bearing animals as a teenager. Muskrats, Raccoons , Fox, Mink, and occasionally I caught a Skunk in a Fox of 'Coon set.
Like an ealier poster said , you must shoot the Skunk in the head so that it doesn't spray. I generally would sneak up from behind and at about 10 yards shoot the Skunk ( usually trying to shoot it in the ear area ). If you can get a clean shot from the front without the Skunk being aware of your presence and there is nothing in the line of sight down range that would make firing a rifle risky then go ahead and squeeze one off. It will possibly take more than one shot but from the front aim for the center of the head.
sneaking up on a skunk from behind kinda scares me [laugh]
Careful LP..I was just at the Vet 's office this week and saw the rabies report for different animals around TX. Skunks were high on the list.
I'll have to respectfully disagree with some of the previous posters, I've had much better luck shooting them in the lungs, if you've seen video of skunks spraying, it takes internal pressure for a skunk to spray, and if you shoot them in the lungs, they can't build pressure to spray, I've tried the head shots, and about 50% of the time they still sprayed at least some, where with the lung shots, it's more like 5-10% depending on the shot. I've shot dozens of skunks, and this technique has worked for me.
How about 00 buckshot. Head, lung, heart and tail all in one pull of the trigger. Instant inside out stinky meatball.
Quote from: rgramjet on February 21, 2009, 07:32:48 PM
How about 00 buckshot. Head, lung, heart and tail all in one pull of the trigger. Instant inside out stinky meatball.
But then the stink gets out, right?
(Though I'm all for finding another use for 00 shot)
Hell, I dont know...... Only one way to find out! Lemme know how it goes!! :-)
get yourself an OC fogger -- the pepper spray. fog the entire foundation area. skunk will come out. at that time, nail him. if he sprays then, who cares.
you might need 3-4 depending on the can size. we got a big one for rats.. works great, they come out after a few minutes of huffing it.
Quote from: rgramjet on February 21, 2009, 07:32:48 PM
How about 00 buckshot. Head, lung, heart and tail all in one pull of the trigger. Instant inside out stinky meatball.
that right there is your best bet! and the pepper spray does work! when i was a bit younger me and the neighborhood kids would "hunt" for possum and skunk and just about any other small furry creature that digs thorugh garbage cans and that makes them come out of hiding good luck!
I've put a live trap out the last 2 nights....but all i've caught so far are neighborhood cats [laugh]
Sounds like target practice to me...
Quote from: Le Pirate on February 22, 2009, 09:22:29 AM
I've put a live trap out the last 2 nights....but all i've caught so far are neighborhood cats [laugh]
LMAO!
So you catch a skunk in a live trap......then what?
Quote from: DesmoDiva on February 22, 2009, 11:29:45 AM
Drive it to a new location.
Skunks can/will not spray in a trap.
Why can't they spray in a cage? It's just putting pressure on an excretory gland...
Leave it in the trap and drop it in a trashcan full of water. Assuming they really cant spray whilst trapped.
Quote from: rgramjet on February 22, 2009, 01:10:36 PM
Leave it in the trap and drop it in a trashcan full of water. Assuming they really cant spray whilst trapped.
man, that's mean!
I used to work at some duplex condo's and this 80yr old woman would catch chipmunks in a trap.......
.......and drop the trap in a bucket of water.
thy this to help get rid of the smell:
Place a plastic tarp in the crawl space and put 25 pounds of charcoal on the tarp. The odor in the air will be soaked up by the charcoal.
After futher consideration:
Hire a professional:
http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/Professional-Trapper/nationwide-trappers.htm (http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/Professional-Trapper/nationwide-trappers.htm)
http://www.unitedwildlife.com/index.html (http://www.unitedwildlife.com/index.html)
Also read make sure there are still not skunks under your house. It will take up to a year before you smell decaying bodies. [puke]
Quote from: cyrus buelton on February 22, 2009, 01:17:05 PM
I used to work at some duplex condo's and this 80yr old woman would catch chipmunks in a trap.......
.......and drop the trap in a bucket of water.
Chipmunks are cute....I wouldnt drown them. Skunks are nasty, especially when they block your way to the outhouse during a lower GI emergency....
Quote from: cyrus buelton on February 22, 2009, 01:17:05 PM
I used to work at some duplex condo's and this 80yr old woman would catch chipmunks in a trap.......
.......and drop the trap in a bucket of water.
I trap shitmunks around my house (they dig around the foundation the garage). If one doesn't get dead from the trap, I "release" him into a bucket of water. No firing off guns in town... >:(
Quote from: rgramjet on February 22, 2009, 01:10:36 PM
Leave it in the trap and drop it in a trashcan full of water. Assuming they really cant spray whilst trapped.
My buddy used to catch stray cats on his property (acre or so), put the traps in a plastic bag, then run a hose from his WR450 to it....
Quote from: rgramjet on February 22, 2009, 11:09:17 AM
LMAO!
So you catch a skunk in a live trap......then what?
Animal control won't come catch skunks....but if you have trapped them, they will come take them. Borrow the trap, trap the skunk, let animal control deal with the problem.
Supposedly if you throw a blanket over the trap, the skunk won't spray because it can't see what it wants to spray at. So says animal control....I'm definantly going to be watching from a distance when it goes down though [laugh]