# Sprayed by a skunk! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2000, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420 "2000-03-09T19:03:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/1 "2000-03-10T06:40:00Z")
My dog got sprayed by a skunk last night and came running into the house. Now my house stinks and my clothes have absorbed the odor. I can find plenty of ways to clean the dog and the floor, but the suggestion for clothes is to use 1 cup of bleach per gallon of water. This will bleach all of my clothes white! Has anyone used any of the products that pclaim to get skunk smell out of clothes? ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/2 "2000-03-10T06:42:00Z")
They used tomato juice on an episode of _The Partridge Family_. That’s the extent of my wisdom on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/3 "2000-03-10T06:57:00Z")
Here’s something: [http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/textiles/nf15.htm](http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/textiles/nf15.htm) That happened to my parents’ dog a few years ago and they tried the tomato juice thing. Not only did it not work especially well, their white poodle had to be a pink poodle until his next haircut. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2000, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/4 "2000-03-09T19:03:00Z")
Thanks for the link! I hadn’t found that one. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/5 "2000-03-09T19:15:00Z")
For anyone who cares, a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is MUCH more effective in eliminating skunk odor on a pet (or yourself) than tomato juice. I head about it from our local farm extension service, had an opportunity to try it when my dog got zapped by Pepe LePew, and it worked amazingly well. Can’t remember the exact mix, but use about an ounce or two of baking soda with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. You’ll have to buy a few bottles of H2O2, but the stuff is cheap. * * * “You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2000, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/6 "2000-03-09T19:19:00Z")
For anyone who cares, a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is MUCH more effective in eliminating skunk odor on a pet (or yourself) than tomato juice. I head about it from our local farm extension service, had an opportunity to try it when my dog got zapped by Pepe LePew, and it worked amazingly well. Can’t remember the exact mix, but use about an ounce or two of baking soda with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. You’ll have to buy a few bottles of H2O2, but the stuff is cheap. * * * “You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2000, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/7 "2000-03-09T19:24:00Z")
For anyone who cares, a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is MUCH more effective in eliminating skunk odor on a pet (or yourself) than tomato juice. I head about it from our local farm extension service, had an opportunity to try it when my dog got zapped by Pepe LePew, and it worked amazingly well. Can’t remember the exact mix, but use about an ounce or two of baking soda with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. You’ll have to buy a few bottles of H2O2, but the stuff is cheap. * * * “You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/8 "2000-03-10T22:01:00Z")
Mr Z.– ALong the same lines of tomato juice (an acid), I’d always heard that a bath of lemon juice would de-stink a dog who had been sprayed. Keep in mind I’ve never tried it. It was one of those things my Grandfather told me. TIFWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/9 "2000-03-10T22:20:00Z")
Mouth, it may work. But it would be tough to get enough to wash a dog. I heard about the H2O2 and baking soda. This is not a UL. The problem is that it isn’t very usefull for cleaning my clothes since they would get bleached. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/10 "2000-03-10T22:35:00Z")
Sorry about the multipost. From Michigan State University Cooperative Extension service, the recipe on the concoction I referred to is 1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide (which I believe is actually H2O3, another boo-boo from above) 1/4 cup baking soda 1 teaspoon liquid soap. * * * “You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks ---
**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:** [March 9, 2000, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/11 "2000-03-09T23:16:00Z")
## Is skunk stink protein based? If so, try a paste made of meat tenderizer, rubbed into the fabric. The enzymes in the meat tenderizer _should_ do the job. “You should tell the lies, live the truth and expose yourself.” - Bill Clinton ---
**Author:** ![Fillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@Fillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fillet)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2000, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/12 "2000-03-09T23:26:00Z")
If you can withstand the stares when you go to the store, try getting a case of Massengill douche powder. My friend’s vet recommended it as safe for her dog, adn I don’t think it would bleach your clothes (but please check the label first). It sounds crazy, but it really did work for her (I’m a nose-witness), and her dog was practically doused in skunk spray before it came into the house. (The dog had shaken the skunk vigorously for close to a minute, with the terrified skunk spraying non-stop.) ---
**Author:** ![Highlander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Highlander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Highlander)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/13 "2000-03-10T14:22:00Z")
Not having the time, or the links, I used the tomato juice method a couple of years ago, when my dog got sprayed chasing a skunk from his domain. It was messy and the bathroom looked like a scene from Psycho, but it worked pretty well. Thanks for the information and the links. I’ll file them under “things you don’t need to know, unless you really need to know them.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kknick34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kknick34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kknick34)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/14 "2000-03-10T14:59:00Z")
Hijack, here. Does anyome know how to get rid of a skunk? I have one that hangs out in my yard after dark, when the windows are open it’s not pleasant. I don’t want to shoot it and I can’t risk putting poison out because I have little kids. I just want to make it leave…any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/15 "2000-03-10T15:07:00Z")
A search on Yahoo will turn up a site from some oddball scientist who has spent a lot of time studying the chemicals in the spray. The smelly stuff is called a thiol. According to this gent, the best deodorant is the hydrogen peroxide, baking soda mixture because it oxidizes the thiols. I tried it last night and it worked very well. The pooch was fresh as a daisey after 1 washing. HEre is the link if anyone wants to know more about the chemicals and the antidote: [http://www.humboldt.edu/~wfw2/chemofskunkspray.html](http://www.humboldt.edu/~wfw2/chemofskunkspray.html) ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/16 "2000-03-10T19:15:00Z")
kknick said Does anyome know how to get rid of a skunk? I have one that hangs out in my yard after dark, when the windows are open it’s not pleasant. I don’t want to shoot it and I can’t risk putting poison out because I have little kids. I just want to make it leave…any ideas Having read several trapping booklets the prefered method seems to be to live trap it. Then cover the trap with a blanket and haul to its new home. The thing they claim is they will not spray in an enclosed area.Makes sence to me but I’ve never tried it. Ps If it does not work remember my name is Manhattan 😉 ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/17 "2000-03-10T19:23:00Z")
Tomato juice did next to nothing on my dogs. We had this happen twice last fall. Dawn dishwashing liquid seemed to work as well as anything. Of course, it’s hard to say if the repeated baths would have reduced the stink no matter what we used. Also, I know that vets sell some type of solution to fight skunk whiff. You might check there. * * * Plunging like stones from a slingshot on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/18 "2000-03-10T20:35:00Z")
“Does anyome know how to get rid of a skunk? I have one that hangs out in my yard after dark, when the windows are open it’s not pleasant. I don’t want to shoot it and I can’t risk putting poison out because I have little kids. I just want to make it leave … any ideas.” Ever see the movie “Sand Pebbles?” Time for a “repel boarders” drill! If you see the skunk in your yard, grab the garden hose and, from a good distance away, aim a narrow spray – distance and higher pressure – at the unwanted guest. It won’t take long for it to get the message that it should move along. 🙂 It won’t do any real harm to the creature and you won’t have to get near enough to it to get sprayed. ---
**Author:** ![Fillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@Fillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fillet)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/19 "2000-03-10T21:04:00Z")
> [@](#): > > “Does anyome know how to get rid of a skunk? I have one that hangs out in my yard after dark, when the windows are open it’s not pleasant. I don’t want to shoot it and I can’t risk putting poison out because I have little kids. I just want to make it leave … any ideas.” If it hangs around consistently, and John Bredin’s water trick doesn’t work to drive it away, then it may have set up a den close by (I know, not a thrilling prospect). If you don’t warm to harm it - just move it - you may need to call on a humane trapper who will capture it and release it elsewhere. If it sprays pretty often when there really shouldn’t be anything to disturb it (like a barking dog), and you begin seeing it at odd hours, then you really need to call a trapper in quickly, because it may have distemper. ---
**Author:** ![\_Df](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/7ba0ec/32.png) [@\_Df](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Df)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420/20 "2000-03-10T21:21:00Z")
Hydrogen peroxide IS H2O2, not H2O3 - unless things have changed since I went to school. > [@](#): > > Does anyome know how to get rid of a skunk? I have one that hangs out in my yard after dark, when the windows are open it’s not pleasant. I don’t want to shoot it and I can’t risk putting poison out because I have little kids. I just want to make it leave…any ideas? According to the excellent Canadian author Farley Mowat, mostly from his book Owls In The Family, the natural enemy of the skunk is the Great Horned Owl. They (the GHOs) have no sense of smell and are otherwise well-equipped to take advantage of an ecological niche in which few other predators are interested. Once your GHO has dispatched the skunk, you might want to remember that the natural enemy of the Great Horned Owl is the Crow (the bird, not the character). As for getting rid of the crows, I dunno…shoot them? Put out poison? In any case, and especially if you have kids who are readers, get the book. It’s a nice light read, often funny. If you think you’ve heard of Farley somewhere, perhaps it was from the Disney(?) movie adaptation of his book Never Cry Wolf. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprayed-by-a-skunk/8420.md?page=2)