Can I shoot a skunk without it spraying? Is there a particular area of the body to take aim at (i.e. head shot might prevent the defense tactic of spraying with an immediate kill; gland area shot might release stink, etc)? I’m a good shot (trained and licensed CCW holder) and have a safe area to take aim in. (please no animal rights lectures!)
Should I attempt to trap it instead? If I did, wouldnt I or the animal control guy get sprayed?
Whats the best option to get rid of the stinky critter(s)?
The stinky fluid is usually released soon after death (usually seconds or minutes, or possibly whenever Murphey says it would do the most harm), just as most bodily contents are. It doesn’t always spray at death. Sometimes this means a release as the body is being moved.
We get plagued by skunks and animal control basically says we’re on our own.
My neighbors, through trial and error, came up with a good system. They cover a live trap with a tarp. When they catch a skunk, they can safely pick up the covered trap, as skunks usually don’t spray without a target. At first, they tried to relocate one, but it wound up spraying in the vehicle (big mess). Upon further research, they also discovered that local wildlife agencies really don’t want you relocating wild animals (because of rabies and such), and people really don’t want you dropping off skunks in their backyards. So, the method they use to send the animal on to great hereafter is to place a tube underneath the tarp and hook the other end to a car exhaust. They have yet to have one spray, and it’s probably one of the more humane methods.
I was trapping and shooting skunks every spring because they were tearing up my lawn digging for grubs. Duh! I bought grub control stuff and the skunks took a hike. Anyway, with a little vanilla extract on a piece of bread, placed in a trap, I had one in the trap every morning. In the beginning, I had a lot of trepidation. I got one, now what? Cut a slit in a rubber tablecloth and dropped it over the trap and grabbed the handle through the slit. Walked him back in my woods (they are heavier than they look…they ain’t like squirrells in a cartoon) Yanked the tablecloth free and jumped back. Well, after 3 or 4 kills, I realilized that the only concern of the skunk was to get out of the trap. He would pay NO attention to me. just endlessly circle looking for an out. Barrel of my .22 pistol into the trap and when his head came around, end of skunk. Not once did thay spray. I’d get a slight odor when I dumped them out of the trap, but, that was all. Over the course of the day, some predator or crow would remove the body. From a few websites on skunks, I found that they will never spray if there is a chance that they’ll get nailed in return. They don’t like it either. They also have to have their rear legs on the ground to activate the spray…kind of like bearing down when we go to the toilet. I watched an animal control guy quickly lift one and no spray, but teeth are another problem if you do that. Also, if they are getting ready to spray a predator (that’s a human, also) they whip there body around with the tail along side their face and look straight at you and aim for the eyes. Yikes.
This is all very interesting. We got rid of six skunks this past winter. My son shot them and it was hard to hit a vital spot, until he used a shotgun. We trapped 1/2 of them and then shot them, two were caught in the yard with a spotlight and the last was so busy eating crawfish in the backyard that he/she didn’t see what hit em.
The problem for some of us is we don’t live in a rural area, and shooting them is not an [legal] option.
A couple years ago when I was having an insane problem with squirrels I set out one of those “Have-a-heart” traps which traps the rodent but doesn’t kill it (#$@%ing stupid idea I later realized). I trapped over 2 dozen squirrels, and 1 skunk. Because I couldn’t get away with shooting it (and I wasn’t about to drive it somewhere) my only option was to throw it into a barrel of water and drown it. Not humane, I know, but even the animal control officer from the department I work for told me to get bent. Skunks are mean, vicious bastards, even in death!!
Oh, yeah: the DNR told me to that I should have set the trap up so that the trapped animals drowned with me moving the cage.
Legal I guess, but a gruesome death even for a skunk.
WITHOUT moving the cage. WITHOUT. The pamplet they sent me explains how to trap an animal so it dies in water. The problem is, I have no streams or rivers here, so the barrel had to do. I didn’t notice any scent, but after it died I threw it in a hole I dug and baried it ASAP.
One of my neighbors tried the drowning thing using a barrel. We all agreed it was a bit creepy. Try the gassing method. They don’t struggle or anything and it seems a lot more peaceful. If you have a newer car, the emissions can be rather low so it can take a while.
Grubs were also attracting them to my yard, so we eliminated that, but my neighbors’ yards have all kinds of fruit trees which becomes a skunk cafeteria.
For the past couple years, we’ve been rather vigilante. This year we haven’t had a problem, except for the occassional wanderer, which is okay (we’re not trying to wipe them out, we just can’t tolerate 10 skunks in our backyard on any given night).
Be sure your animal control guys are going to show before you trap one!
The problem I had was, the MPD animal control people never showed up, after 2 days! I work part-time for another department, and even our animal control guy said he wouldn’t pick up a skunk. The DNR put me on some recorded info line that talked about setting traps in water so the animal drowns. I guess what I did was no less inhumane than shooting it, because it did die instantly.
My only other option was to let it starve to death, which is not only inhumane, but also ran the risk of having it spray during that time. I wanted to release it, but it went crazy whenever I put my hands down by the catch lever. When I trapped squirrels I would transport them to a park. But they didn’t try to bite me when I released them. And I didn’t want to put a live skunk in the back of my car!:eek: I was in a very bad situation with nobody to really help me out!
I accidentally trapped a skunk. I would urge you to have everything planned out completely before you intentionally trap one.
We had one in our attic once (many long years ago!) My papa lined up on it with a .22 rifle, prayed, and shot it right in the head. It died without making a stink.
From the smell of things, if you run over a skunk with a car, the stench is fully released…
Yes, a head shot as I said above. If the dude is in a trap. all he wants is out and he’ll be turning in circles looking for the out. Put your barrel in the trap and See Ya! Can’t guarantee some smell won’t escape, but the head shot will ensure that he won’t be bearing down.
Someone forgot to tell that to the skunk that nailed a buddy of mine back in 8th grade.
We were at the Mississippi River. He had a .22 derringer (dumb, I know). He saw a skunk and decided to get close enough for a shot. He got about 10 -12 feet away, and the skunk did a handstand! Brad fired and missed. The skunk didn’t miss. (I think it fired from the handstand position, but I was busy finding another place to be.
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As rysdad points out, this is false. The spotted skunk, for example, does do a handstand. AFAIK, no species must have their feet on the ground before spraying. In any case, you would be foolish to bet on it.
What is true, however, is that skunks tend only to spray when they, a) feel threatened and b) have a target. That’s why the tarp over the cage trick works. Since they can’t see anything to shoot at, they don’t.
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This isn’t true, either. Skunks are actually quite docile. “Disarmed” skunks are popular pets. Most skunks will simply walk away from live traps once the door is open without attempting to spray. Skunks are, however, a very significant repository of rabies. If you do run across an agressive skunk, you may have a lot more to worry about than getting sprayed. Run, do not walk – and call your local animal control officer. Animal control may not be concerned about your garden getting dug up but they will care about a potential outbreak of skunk rabies in a populated area.
Sorry, but it is true. I spend a significant portion of my summer at a local state park (in fact, I’m going there today in about an hour), and I’ve seen quite a few skunks be aggresive, both towards humans and other animals. One time one of them actually chased after a friend of mine! And my observations of them at the golf course is the same. Perhaps these skunks were rabid which might explain their aggresive behavior, but I still stand by my statement that they were being mean.
How relevent is this for a thread that’s been running for the last 4 days. About 3 hours ago (it is 5:30 PM Eastern right now) I get a frantic call from my across the street neighbor, that there is a skunk rolling around on my front lawn (acre area) and sure nuf, I have what appears to be a large adult, dis-oriented, walking in slow circles, unaware of my presence and just generally screwed up. Back to the house for my pistol, and I got within 10 feet of him…feeling like Atticus Finch with the rabid dog, neighbors aplenty behind their windows, and I popped him with one shot, neighbors appreciative with applause. Scooped him up in a snow shovel and took him for a long walk into my back woods, where I hope a predator will have a nice Fathers day meal.
