Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Skunks In Your Neighborhood?

This is the time of the year when many animals come out of hibernation and start roaming about looking for a new (or old) home. One of the nastiest ones to deal with are skunks.  So our question today is, "Do you and/or your subdivision have a skunk problem?"

Please click on COMMENTS below and give us you thoughts.

One county resident said they had skunks under their front porch about 4-5 years ago. They called St. Louis County and were advised they only deal with cats and dogs.  They then called Missouri Conservation and were told they do not have the resources to deal with wild animals across the state. They suggested either shooting or drowning the skunks.

What's your problem? And what's your solution?

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:25 PM

    Skunks are not agressive unless rabid. They will not spray unless they feel threatened. The best thing is to politely ignore them - unless you have a pet dog which will be sprayed if it approaches a skunk. If you really need to chase one away, direct onto it a strong stream of water from a hose nozzle from a distance of 25-30 feet. They do not seem to like getting soaked and run without trying to retaliate.

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  2. My name is Angel and I am the skunk specialist for the Wildlife Rehab Clinic, a non-profit rescue group in High Ridge, MO. I know that a lot of St. Louisans are experiencing some problems with skunks this year, and years past and I'm hoping I can help. It's such an issue right now that Fox 2 News came out to our clinic yesterday to do a segment on the issue. Skunks are nocturnal and really don't want to bother people in any way. Right now, May, is when they start having their kids and they seem to like to do so under people's porches, driveways, patios and crawlspaces. They don't mean any harm and usually pick homes where food is readily available and close by. They love grubworms, frogs, and dog and cat food. So if you have a pet and you feed it outdoors, pick the food up and place it at least a couple feet off the ground or take it inside. Skunks tend to not 'see' anything above their eye level and they are terrible at climbing. If you have nuts/bird seed or berries around your home, they'll eat that too. The best way to keep them away is to remove the food source. Don't poison, it's illegal and you'll just end up with a very smelly dead skunk in a really difficult spot to get to in order to remove it. If you absolutely have to remove the skunk before baby season is over, be aware that they are tenacious critters and will do just about anything to get back to their babies if they are shut out. Best method is to wait until skunk goes out at night, then keep him from getting back in. If there are babies left behind, I'd be happy to help with that...because it's what we do at our clinic. If I can be of any other help, you can reach me at awintrode@gmail.com or 636-492-1610. Good luck to you and the skunks. :)

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