I've had them get caught in a live trap afew times. Got all kinda of advice as to how to shoot them so they wouldn't spray. My advice is that that advice is worthless. But what did work fairly well was to have a garden hosed constantly spraying on the skunks rear end while you shoot. It still sprays but the spray is washed to the ground and isn't near as nasty to deal with.

My daughter worked in nuisance wildlife. She claims skunks, to her, smell like garlic!
Once, she trapped a young skunk, left it in the cage and wrapped it a tarp. When she stopped for gas and a snack, the clerk told her someone was at her truck. Rushing out she found a tree hugger. He proudly announced he was freeing the animal she had so cruelly trapped. Her reply was that he was breaking several laws and was in danger of being hurt.
He didn’t listen.
Opening the tarp, the skunk nailed him in the face.

 
My boss in the millwork shop where I worked in the 70's and 80's was an old man who had grown up during the Depression, on a farm in rural southwestern VA. Apparently there was a market back then for skunk pelts, and he used to catch them to sell the pelts. How do you catch a skunk? Pick it up by the tail, and it cannot spray you. This always left me wondering how one got close enough to pick one up.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: henryaz,

Prefontaine, do whatever you want. You have to live with yourself, but you keep that shit out of this forum. Killing domesticated animals is unacceptable. Don't ever again post anything like that in this forum.

quote:

It’s already put small scratches on the roof and in my tonneau also.

You've made sure that no one here gives the first fuck about your automobile.

I have a new found (well, known for a while so maybe not really new) love for Skunks,

see then regularily, but rarely smell them in our yard,

they are almost like a black hole when headlights hit them, like little 4 legged shadows with eyes,

anyway,

they apparently find yellow jackets tasty, and have dug up a few nests in the yard over the past few years,

2 that were much closer to an area we walk or cut grass in to be comfortable,


they get a pass around here

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:

anyway,

they apparently find yellow jackets tasty, and have dug up a few nests in the yard over the past few years,

2 that were much closer to an area we walk or cut grass in to be comfortable,


they get a pass around here

That’s a tough call, I hate yellow jackets with the fury of a thousand suns. Can they take each other out?

quote:

Originally posted by Icabod:
My daughter worked in nuisance wildlife. She claims skunks, to her, smell like garlic!

It's the sulfur.

Never had a problem with skunks. A few times while walking home after last call I've walked right up to one. You just slowly back away. Never got sprayed. They don't *like* to spray, you really have to do something foolish to get it.

The main problem with skunks, and the thing that kills them, is rabies.