I was just out back cleaning up in the service area.Pots & stuff stacked up out of sight for the most part.This is feet from the hydrant & table where I have plants that are to be planted.Not some out of the way spot visited infrequently. I was moving some pots,looking for certain size. Heard a rustling noise,listened & heard it again. Moved in for closer look & there it was .I could just see a little bit of it but no mistaking that white stripe on black on the back.Let me tell you,I wasted no time getting to the house & dog is staying in here,too. Hubby is working until 7.I called him & he said he isn't sure how to handle this. Sure don't want it spraying where we go all the time. sewNsow
Don't let the dog out. The skunk is out after his evening stroll after breakfast, as long as he doesn't live near you he will probably go elsewhere for food. Jerry
He shouldn't pose a problem unless he's frightened so Jerry's advice is the best one. He'll soon move off to pastures new.
Doris, Jerry is right. Skunks only spray as a last resort. I came face to face with one just the other day and slowly backed away and let him go on his way. pretty quickly it waddled down the row and I didn't worry over much. I just don't want to startle one too close up. Usually they don't bother people and only spray dogs when they are threatened. JUST in case though, I just read a good way to get rid of skunk smell is to use peroxide. I haven't tried it, so if you do let us know.
Gal on another site had some living under her potting shed . Told her they sell critter be gone. In most part they leave you alone. But I have a BIG young yellow lab. Tomato juice got spray to get stink off pets.
Skunks are pretty much nocturnal, so he may have been looking for a nice spot to take a nap. If you put a bowl of dog food out, away from your buildings, skunk will go for a snack and vacate your shed. For some reason they really love dry dog food!
ew, I have had 2 skunk encounters... The first one was in NH , I went up to pat a wolf chained in a friend's backyard. He jumped up and gave me a big hug, I heard everyone behind me screaming "No!" but I knew this wolf, so I ignored them. The reason they were yelling and why the wolf was chained out back was because he had been skunked! I had a bad cold and didn't notice but a few days later, my leather jacket was awfully stinky! I did and tried everything and finally gave up. One of my sisters was always trying to permanently borrow it (a sister-thing) I gave her the jacket. A few years later she told me that it sounded silly but every time it rained when she wore that jacket, she smelled skunks, I said: "huh!" And the high school girl inside of me said: "score!" The second time was in Boston, my greyhound got sprayed one morning in the park. Everyone said use tomato juice but she was so skinny and it just ran off her... I had the brilliant (not) idea to use tomato paste and massaged it into her fur... perfect! The smell was gone and I was very please until she shook herself! My bathroom was completed splattered with tomato paste -even the 12 foot ceiling! It looked like a grizzly murder had occurred. LOL Took forever to clean! Of course, I had recently painted the bathroom a pale lemon yellow! Carolyn, I wish I had heard of peroxide!
here's a recipe for de-skunking. Worked great on my dog. Mix one quart (32 ounces) of Hydrogen Peroxide with one quarter cup of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid. Use it rather quickly while the peroxide is still acting with the baking soda.
By the time my hub got home,skunk was gone.No nest there.Nest is likely in neighbor's barn nearby.Possibly under our garden shed.I think he was getting a drink out of our water feature & dog or us surprised him & he took cover. Griz,had to laugh at your skunk story. I've had experience with them before. Had a Siamese cat named Herman who was a real hunter. Could bag a full grown rabbit.Herman got sprayed twice.Must have been a slow learner.Herman was an inside cat except for daily forays. He became an outside cat for the rest of the summer. I think the skunk is responsible for digging into a spot where I've set out a plant & watered well.Coons make much more mess.Sprinkling red pepper works for this. Once,Hubby got one in the live trap.He covered trap with old blanket.Carefully propped open the door & got out of there until skunk took off. sewNsow
Dh car pool hit a skunk on way home. Dh was glad he was the first one off. It got wrapped around drive shaft. Owner of car was on fire-team. So had gas mask he could wear. Took couple weeks for smell to go away.
sewNsow, lol not really my name LOL I think we avoided getting married for so long because I wasn't thrilled to be a Gasser -you can butcher it all you want. When I saw it I thought: I have felt like a Griz all day!
Thanks for not hurting 'Stinky'! She was probably looking for breakfast for a brood of kits. Many times nocturnal critters with babies will hunt for food at off times, late afternoon or early morning, so that they can stay with their babies at night when the other hunters are out and about. Somewhere I had a photo of me sitting in the yard surrounded by kits (skunklets!), feeding them. There were at least 15 of them, they are so cute. I know I am one weird gal.
