I’ve reason to believe that we are hosts to at least one skunk who has decided to take up residence under our deck. When I was up early one morning and outside looking at the sky, I was slightly disturbed to smell eau de Skunk somewhat close to me. I turned around and saw a rather large one crawling out from under the deck on which I was standing.
Are there any experiences amongst everyone with respect to these most malodorous and (in some cases) dirty animals? How might I discourage any further occupancy by these most unwelcome critters, without risking locking in a couple under the deck to die and further depreciate the value of our home?
Also, is my opinion of these animals well-founded, or are they useful to any extent? Thanks.
I know mothballs work to keep cats away from where you don’t want them, maybe they would work for skunks too. I have no idea about dogs. They’re toxic, so you don’t want kids to see them and pick them up. Cats think they stink enough to stay away, dogs just might think they’re the best thing ever, I really don’t know.
If you can get a few mothballs under your deck where they’re not accessable to kids or (just in case) dogs it might be worth a shot. We had a terrible feral cat problem…they thought the area under our front deck was a wonderful litterbox. I set a couple mothballs in a glass dish near each entry point and they never came back again.
You should give serious thought to calling your local animal control center and telling them of your situation, as they no doubt have much more experience in handling skunks then you do.
Plus, it’s a good thing to keep in mind that the skunks were probably there before your house/neighborhood/development was even thought up, let alone built, so in reality you are the one trespassing on their turf.