Keep Skunks Away From Your Home

If you have ever had an encounter with a skunk and he got the best of you, you know how difficult it can be to rid the odor.

Thankfully Clear the Air has an easy solution to completely eliminating skunk odor quickly and effectively.  In order to avoid any interactions with skunks in the future, here are some great ways to keep skunks away from your home.

Skunks are scavengers and will eat anything from bugs to garbage. If a skunk finds a tasty morsel on your land, chances are good that he’ll start visiting more often. This section will walk you through some steps to repel skunks from your property.

Eliminate enticing meals for skunks. Skunks are nocturnal, so you’re most likely to see and/or smell them at night and in the early morning when they’re out scavenging for food. Skunks can and do eat anything; bird eggs, bugs and larvae, human wastes, small rodents, you name it – they’ll eat it. Following is a list of the most common foods that attract skunks onto people’s property:

Unprotected garbage. When you transfer your trash outside for pickup, store it in heavy duty metal or plastic trash cans with lids that will stay on even if the can is knocked over. Never place unprotected bags out on the curb.

Grubs and larvae. Skunks love grubs! Grubs are beetle larvae that live underneath of your lawn. Skunks are known for digging small holes in peoples yards as they hunt for them. Luckily, beneficial nematodes also love to eat grubs, and are easily deployed in your lawn and garden to eliminate this attractant.

Pet food. Never leave unprotected animal food outside at night, it’s akin to setting a place at your dinner table for Pepé le Pew. If you leave out scraps for neighborhood stray cats, you may end up attracting the neighborhood skunks as well.

Nuts, berries, and fruits. If you have bushes or trees that bear fruits, nuts, or berries you should periodically walk your yard and remove any that have fallen to the ground. Skunks will happily feast on them, and so will rodents… which skunks will also happily eat.

Other attractants. While the above food sources are the most common culprits that attract skunks, there are more. If any of these exist on your property, do your best to minimize or eliminate them.

• Compost heaps containing bones, fruit rinds and egg shells.
• Large numbers of ground dwelling insects under dead leaves and foliage.
• Easily accessible water sources.
• Bird feeder spills.

Skunk repellents

Many folks swear by this or that for repelling skunks, but there seems to be little that delivers consistent results across the board. Here’s a list of the most effective skunk repellents:

• Bright light – Skunks are nocturnal and prefer to stay hidden, flooding an area with light can be an effective deterrent. Use flood lights in combination with motion sensors.
• Automated sprinklers
• Spicy pepper solutions – Pepper sprays are reported to work well but must be reapplied every few days to remain effective.
• Commercial repellents – There are many available types, people have also reported success with dog and cat repellents.

Skunks will make homes underneath houses, sheds, decks, and other above-ground structures. Seal them off as well as possible – remember that they can fit through holes as small as 4 inches. Skunks won’t burrow underneath them unless they can see that there is space on the other side. Fill in holes and ditches as well.

Enclose large, open areas with a three-foot high wire mesh fencing like chicken wire and it one foot deep to keep skunks from burrowing underneath.

If you do end up getting sprayed by a skunk, immediately sprinkle Clear the Air’s Skunk Odor Eliminator on your, your pet if they’ve been skunked and anything else that may have been touched by the skunk spray.