# Collateral damage from skunk spray **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910 "2001-09-05T19:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910/1 "2001-09-05T19:18:17Z")
The window below my bedroom was the victim of a devious underhanded skunk attempt. When I woke up, my bedroom reeked. My bathroom a little less and my living room even less so. I showered this morning and all that, but I still have some skunk smell on me. It’s not enough to annoy my coworkers, although I find it a bit annoying. So, what should be my plan of attack once I get home? I assume that the smell will have dissipated by the time I get home. Should I use tomato juice on myself to remove any lingering odors? Should I soak my clothes in a vinegar solution as I have seen recommended? Should I import coyotes into my neighborhood to get rid of the skunks? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910/2 "2001-09-05T19:20:13Z")
I meant skunk attack. It was not an attempted skunk. It was an actual skunk spraying on the outside of my building. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910/3 "2001-09-05T19:23:15Z")
Nature’s Miracle makes a skunk-scent remover. You can get it in pet stores, or even some large discount stores with a good pet section. I have to warn you that the smell will linger. After our basset hound got sprayed, he still smelled skunky whenever he got wet, for months afterward. So did our house, on damp days. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910/4 "2001-09-05T19:38:25Z")
My cat seems to be unaffected by all this. I suppose the key is whether or not it’s my clothes that smell or me. ---
**Author:** ![NotMrKnowItAll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910/5 "2001-09-05T19:50:28Z")
Is you cat black with a stripe of white paint on it’s back? Just curious ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910/6 "2001-09-05T20:39:07Z")
Just a regular old calico. I don’t own Pepe Le Pew. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910/7 "2001-09-06T00:51:08Z")
Bee stings can be treated by making a paste from meat tenderizer. (The enzymes in M.T. break down the venom.) Since skunk stink is probably a protein, wouldn’t tenderizer work to get rid of it too? See if it works, **BobT**. In the Intrests Of Science, of course. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/collateral-damage-from-skunk-spray/79910/8 "2001-09-06T01:04:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > **Since skunk stink is probably a protein, wouldn’t tenderizer work to get rid of it too?** If only it were so. I believe [skunk stink](http://granicus.if.org/~firmiss/m-d/skunk-chem.html) is made of a number of chemicals, but nary a protein among them.