When wild animals invade dwelling of backyard, act fast to eliminate infestation and avert further problems. How to get rid of skunks smell in house and its source – the animals wandering in your garden or backyard? Here are seven recommendations that guarantee total removal of little stinky pests and the stench they leave.
Contents:
Trapping: Humane and Simple Approach
Experienced people prefer fully enclosed containers to wire cages, because is a skunk sprays, you will suffer from it considerably when driving a creature away from your territory. The following cages are recommended:
- Odorless Skunk Trap from wildlifecontrolsupplies
- Dura-Poly Plastic Catch Trap
- Tomahawk Plastic Trap
All of these containers protect from animals’ attacks, keeping unpleasant smell inside. They feature handles, which makes transportation easy, and are sold together with instructions. Moreover, tube-style enclosure minimizes stress and damage for an animal.
Before using this cage, learn how and where it should be placed:
- It should be installed in areas where pests appear most often (burrows, porches, hollows in trees, under house foundation, branch piles, near trash bins, etc.).
- Place a trap on plain earth surface to stabilize it. Thus, it won’t close all of a sudden.
- Since skunks are active in nighttime, put traps before sleep. Close or take them away in daytime to avoid catching a pet or another wild animal by mistake.
- You can put some attractant for the pests. Buy special skunk lure, or place peanut butter, jelly and other sweets inside.
How to get rid of a skunk that has been caught? Take the cage and drive it away from people’s dwellings. Ideally, set an animal free somewhere in a forest that is far enough from your house.
You can use Dura-Poly Plastic Catch Trap.
Repelling
If placing traps is too complicating for you, try using skunk repellent. Top-notch products keep pests at bay and make them go away in a week. There are tens of various products present on Amazon and other sites. The principle of works is almost the same in all cases: remedies contain bio-active ingredients that repel pests on contact. There are lots of repellents that prove to be effective: both homemade and special ones. Sprays are preferable, because they reach discreet areas, and can be applied directly in pests’ dens. Here is what you should consider for repelling:
- Since it is contained in urine of many other animals, skunks smelling it may assume that their territory is dominated by someone else, and leave. You can either spray it around your house, or leave rugs soaked in it. But mind that it should be reapplied after every rainfall to ensure effectiveness.
- Predator urine. You can buy coyote or dog urine in special outdoor stores, or take your pet’s urine. It can be sprayed near skunk’s den. But it does not guarantee 100% result, and should be reapplied every 24 hours, or after rains.
- Another productive solution is cayenne pepper. Just dissolve it in water, strain and sprinkle the liquid around a den. It will irritate pests, and soon they flee from your territory. Apply again after rainfalls.
- A product that should not be reapplied is citrus peels. Just place them near skunk’s burrows, or at the perimeter of dwelling, and their aroma will repel animals. Peels will repel different animals until the product decomposes.
- Make a broth from 2 liters of water, chopped onions, and several jalapeno peppers, let it cool down, filter, and spray around the backyard.
Instead of creating a home-made remedy from pepper or lemon, skunks can be repelled by special remedies. Such items are usually sold in home depots and online stores.
A product that should not be reapplied is citrus peels.
Establish a Barrier
To protect your territory from skunk invasion, place a fence all around. Ideally, it should be made of metal wires so that rodents and pests would not gnaw through it. Also mind that skunks and many other wild animals are skilled diggers, which is why they can make holes under barriers. So if a fence is slightly buried underground at least on 15-20 cm, it will reduce the chances of unauthorized access to your zone.
Mind that this measure should be undertaken while you are struggling against infestation. Fence should be better installed in nighttime when skunks leave their dens. How can one know that an animal is out its shelter? By spreading flour around the den you will see the traces of stinky creatures.
Exclude Any Source of Nutrition
What do skunks eat? They are almost omnivorous, and feed on anything nutritious they can find. If you own a garden, harvest ripe vegetables and fruits in time – a hungry animal may feast on what has felt. Some vegetation should also be discarded, including what contains seeds. If you have a bird feeder, place a tray under it to prevent scattering of food around it.
Skunks like to eat vegetables and fruits, so hide products.
Leave No Shelter For Pests
These little creatures may hide not only in dens and burrows, but other hidden places, too. They tend to dig under house foundations, may also live in:
- Piles of logs or building materials (keep them in shed or bin).
- Big bushes and high, dense grass. So if you see an animal hiding there, trim vegetation down.
- Holes made by other animals. Check your backyard for such places. If you notice someone’s den, fill it with concrete while there is no one inside.
Don’t forget about enters to your house. Block every ventilation outlet, and protect foundation from skunk invasion. Check every corner to make sure that smelly creatures stand no chances of trespassing!
Frighten Them Off
You have spotted skunk in the backyard, and cannot kill it? Try the following device to keep pests at a bay. A motion-activated sprinkle will work wonders! Just install it in areas where skunks are noticed often. When it approaches a device, it will direct water stream that repels animals.
Not that this is a 100% warranty of your security, but such gadgets prove to be effective when several animals invade human territory and wander all around.
How to Get Rid of Skunk Smell in Your House?
What if you didn’t manage to avoid skunk’s attack, and it sprayed you, your pet, or rooms of your house? This disgusting smell is impossible to ignore, and you should act fast to eliminate it as quickly as you can – the more it stays, the harder it is to liquidate. In fact, the musk emitted by the pests may last up to six month, or even more! So don’t wait until it fully evaporates, try these solutions: they have proved to be very effective.
Bathe Pets
If you have a cat or dog sprayed by skunk, bathe your pet, using one of these home-made remedies:
- Leave your dog for 10 minutes in a bath full of water with 1 cup of vanilla extract diluted in one gallon. Then bath and shower an animal.
- Mix apple vinegar and water in 1:2 ratio. Apply this solution onto dog’s coat, avoiding eyes, leave for 5 minutes, and wash away.
- Mix together a quarter of hydrogen peroxide, 1 tea spoon of bleach, and a quarter of cup of baking soda. Then wet pet’s fur and work this solution in coat avoiding eyes, leave it for five minutes. This recipe will work well for cats and small and medium sized dogs.
There are special pet shampoos and sprays that eliminate odors, including skunk musk.
Leave your dog for 10 minutes in a bath full of water with 1 cup of vanilla extract diluted in one gallon.
How to Eliminate Smell on People?
How do you get rid of skunk smell? First, let’s debug the myth about tomato juice: it does not remove the cause of smell, it only masks stink. Secondly, you should better try the above mentioned method with hydrogen peroxide. Mix the components in the same proportion, and take a shower with such scrub. Concentrate on the affected area. If entire body was sprayed, wash thoroughly and try to reach all body parts. Rinse it after each scrub to eliminate the smell totally. If needed, repeat the procedure. Do not leave this solution in hair for too long – it has bleaching properties.
There are all-purpose skunk spray removers that may also help considerably. They break oils down, absolutely liquidating stink.
You can use a special spray skunk smell.
Obviating Smell In House
If you feel the smell in the air around, place several bowls with vinegar around the house. Keep out of the reach of children and pets! Boiling vinegar does the same wonders. To make stench evaporate faster, turn fans on.
But if these variants do not satisfy you, just buy some versatile skunk spray remover and sprinkle it on surfaces, textiles, and in the air. These work quickly and are quite safe for your health and the environment.
Place several bowls with vinegar around the house.
Skunks are not as cute as they seem: they transmit diseases, create huge mess all around, and, the worst of it – produce awful smell that irritates enormously. If you see a stinky creature near your house, do your best to avoid infestation and any contacts with the animal. Follow these recommendations, and you will prevent skunk’s attack and damage caused by them.
