# first skunk trapped



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

How do you get the skunk out of the trap without getting hit?


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

he's nose first in that long tube. the back door raises up. my understanding is that you raise the door, and as he's wiggling out backwards, you have time to get away, take cover, or take the safety off and aim, before he gets his head out and can see you.


----------



## Joebee (Nov 28, 2011)

I have a cord tied on my trap that will unhook the latch and then open the door. Always release near a tree line, thats the direction they will run.....well, most of the time. Don't try it in an open field or they will head for your truck everytime! But if your too close to the trees you won't have time to take a shot. And don't forget to consider the wind direction! Please don't ask how I have learned these things....:doh:


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

fortunately for me by buddy gets to do the honors as part of a barter deal we made. it's his first time. can't wait to hear the story......


----------



## Daddy'sBees (Jul 1, 2010)

Here's my answer: Get your 22 rifle, get up wind. Double tap it. Come back in 2 days with gloves, useless clothes, and a shovel. Take the dead skunk to the burn pile on the shovel and burn it. They carry rabies!!!


----------



## Guest (Dec 20, 2011)

Tie a rope to the trap. Toss trap in closest creek. Drink beer. Retrieve trap.


----------



## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

Pole syringe or drown to avoid getting sprayed.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

just heard from my buddy, looks like we trapped a 'possum, not a skunk. just in time for some Christmas dumplins too, yum yum! it was a big un too, and interestingly he was able to turn around in the tube so he was head first coming out, hmmm. thanks shannon for the drowning idea, we'll go that route when it's the real mccoy.


----------



## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

I'd always heard drowning in a running creek is the way to go with skunk. That way, you can harvest the pelt for a real nice cap. -james


----------



## tommyt (Aug 7, 2010)

Here is the trap for all to smell 
I mean "See"


----------



## dirt road (Jan 4, 2011)

Trapped and drowned 23 of the nasty things this last spring and early summer. All but one were adults, and all with the trap set in the same place. Since there were definitely not that many living here when I started, it's obvious that they move around a lot. If you must release them alive, make sure you're not transferring your problems to someone else.


----------



## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Roll the trap down a hill
He will be to dizzy to spray when you let him out!
Never tried it but I think it might work. Hehehehe!
Film, it will make a great YouTube video.
Say "Hey y'all watch this" just before you release him.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

I drowned four wood chucks last spring and it wasn't as easy as you would think. The want to live and they can swim like crazy. You have to make sure the water is deep and the trap will sink or you could get a surprise when you reel the trap back. Maybe this type of trap confines the animal enough so it can't swim, maybe.


----------



## David W. (Jul 10, 2010)

I have read that if you must shoot them don't shoot them in the head that will make them spray,it's best to shoot them in the mid area of the body.I have had good luck doing this.


----------



## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

I know it is illegal to relocate them here. Nothing against trapping them but once you have you have to dispose of them. Can't use firearms in the city limits, can't drive them to the country where firearms cannot be used. drowning or gassing them are about the only options and nobody will come get them. Luckily I have a ditch full of water just over my back fence. Just be careful if you relocate them you might get a nasty surprise from fish and game or department of wildlife.


----------



## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Yep, shoot them in the middle of the back, head and tail goes down at the same time. If you want to shoot them in the head, do it on the second tap. If you shoot the head first you may get a “flopper” sometimes, just an ugly stinky mess. You mean there is not a hole in the trap for a barrel to fit in? 
Let me know if it works, I will send one to my dad for xmas. Some places do not count a pellet rifle as a fire arm, other places do.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

i can't believe that no one has been begging me for my 'possum dumplin recipe, (post #9). good thing though, 'cause it was just a joke. ya'll knew that right?


----------



## jtow (Mar 30, 2011)

squarepeg said:


> i can't believe that no one has been begging me for my 'possum dumplin recipe, (post #9). good thing though, 'cause it was just a joke. ya'll knew that right?



Uh, yeah, we sure did! Joke right??


----------



## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

squarepeg said:


> i can't believe that no one has been begging me for my 'possum dumplin recipe, (post #9). good thing though, 'cause it was just a joke. ya'll knew that right?


Your from Alabama, I didnt see anything wrong with Possum dumplin's!!!LOL

About the trapped skunk thing, I love that tube trap, very simple and cheap to make!! Also, I drown all the skunks I have trapped in a Havahart, no spraying from them and they are done after I am done drinking a full beer! I shot one skunk I trapped...................head shot....................never again........................took some time for my sense of smell to comeback!!!


----------



## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

I just figured it was enough of a staple that everybody knew how to make P&D. You figure out a way to cook a Canadian goose (other than jerky) you post it here ASAP. :lpf:


----------



## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

minz said:


> I just figured it was enough of a staple that everybody knew how to make P&D. You figure out a way to cook a Canadian goose (other than jerky) you post it here ASAP. :lpf:


Suprisingly I've heard they are great fried whole. The theory is that it pulls the grease out of them kinda like rendering!!!
Grind them and make sausage!
Pressure cook and shred... Tacos!


----------



## Sully1882 (Jul 18, 2011)

dr.buzz said:


> Tie a rope to the trap. Toss trap in closest creek. Drink beer. Retrieve trap.


now that's a great idea!!! perfect for those little vermin


----------



## whiskers (Aug 28, 2011)

If you like to garden a skunk isn't an entirely bad thing. Although they will sometimes taste your produce they will also happily eat things like slugs and many garden bugs.
Bill


----------



## wadehump (Sep 30, 2007)

Try placing carpet tack strip in front of your hives a skunk can not nor will he stand on the tack strips to eat. no trapping and no smell to deal with.


----------



## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

minz said:


> You figure out a way to cook a Canadian goose (other than jerky) you post it here ASAP. :lpf:


Can you say sausage pile!! At the end of season grind up goose, add pork atleast the weight of the goose breasts if not more!! Grind up again and mix in some seasoning............excellent stuff!! I do this with honkers, snows, spoonies, divers and gadwall. The Mallards, teal, woodies, sprig and specks are treated to hot and fast cooking and served medium rare!! MMMMMMmmmmmm!!

Or you can cook the goose breasts on a pizza box in the oven...........heat oven to 350 degrees, place breasts on cardboard on top rack, cook for 15 minutes, pull out carboard with breasts, pull off breasts and throw them in the garbage and eat the cardboard...........hey, it does taste better than honker meat!!LMAO


----------



## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

We trap in a cage and shoot them dead inside of the trap. Wait an hour and then transport the skunk out behind out property (all BLM land). The coyotes will consume it during the night. We very seldom have a gland release. It we do then I neutralize it 100% by oxidizing the juice. No lingering scent or reactivation with rain. Here is the recipe and you can use a garden sprayer to apply.
1 quart of hydrogen peroxide
¼ cup baking soda
1 teaspoon of liquid soap or dishwashing detergent
one quart of warm water can be added
Needs to be mixed and applied immediatly or the peroxide and soda dies on you.

Or easier use oxyclean.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

just wanted to update ya'll on the skunk trappins.

well, since my last post we got another possum. problem was this one was a few inches short of the legal size limit so no dumplins from him. 

i woke up this morning with a hint of skunk odor getting blown into the house. got up and went outside to find our two border collies alerted on either side of the culvert at the end of my driveway.

surenuf, they had trapped mr. skunk in there.

thanks to the great ideas posted here, i decided to close off both ends of the culvert, and fill it with water.

worked like a charm.

thanks all.

ps: i offered to make my wife a hat out of it, but she declined.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

If you closed it off how did you fill it with water?


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

just left a small opening on the high side for the water hose.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

golly goober! it was buy one get one free.

when the water didn't drain out of the top end properly i looked way in and shownuf, there was mrs. skunk.

man, the wife and i could have had his and her hats, but we already got rid of the first one.

bad news is that this was a mated pair with kittens on the way.

good news is that this *was* a mated pair with kittens on the way.


----------



## Joebee (Nov 28, 2011)

Last week my brother noticed some digging under the slab of our farm shop. He grabbed his rubber boots, 22 rifle with 4 shells, and the garden hose. After a few minutes of irrigation, up came a head, bang bang. Then a few seconds later a second head popped up, bang bang. When he started to pull the hose out a third skunk came to the surface. The rifle is now empty, so in an effort to avoid spray he attempted to drown the third one with his foot. That strategy worked well until the fourth and fifth showed their heads. After a short dunking match he said there was a film of bright yellow oil come to the surface, they will spray underwater. At this point his only option was, RUN! After a quick reload he was able to drop skunk number 3, 4, 5, and 6! Who would have thought there would be 6 full grown skunks in the same den. Amazingly, since the spray was never airborne the odor dissipated within a few hours.
We have all seen the game Whack a Mole, well this was Dunk a Skunk!


----------



## Daddy'sBees (Jul 1, 2010)

HA HA HA You should have filmed this! LOL I'm still laughing just imagining it all. I'll bet there was some fun language going on too!!!


----------



## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

Yeah, I bet that would have gone viral on youtube. -james


----------



## Joebee (Nov 28, 2011)

No kidding! I wish I had been there...well, at a distance.


----------



## Edcrosbys (Oct 26, 2010)

You folks are doing this ALL wrong. Don't you know there are animals lovers out there that want to save all creatures? 

Next time, take Mr. Skunk, the Mrs and all the little ones and box them up. Make sure they can breathe now! Go ahead and send them overnight (we don't want em to die!) to:

PETA Headquarters 
501 Front St
Norfolk, VA‎ 23510


----------



## seal62 (Apr 17, 2011)

I use a live trap with bbq fritos for bait . Cover the trap with a sheet . Skunk gun fight ? With a montey python run away .Hey Ed.. im one of thoses guys that want to save all creatures including bees . This aint tg but there are just so many things to say about that tude. Do you eat what you shoot ? Skin the hide for a hat ? Myself if i had shunks to ship i would send them to your state , where i lived for 8 yrs . I didnt forget the signs ,,,no dogs or saliors on the grass . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent_University


----------



## soupcan (Jan 2, 2005)

A number of years ago I was unloading hives at at a yard early in the morning and looked up a mother and I quit counting after I saw the 6th younging walking with her come down the lane with her & went into a cave on the property near the bees.
Went to town bought a can of cat food & added a little bit of " skunk helper " to it & tossed it into the cave.
A few days later we counted 21 victims in the cave from the feeding.


----------



## New Ky Beekeeper (Jun 27, 2011)

I used a "flexible fence" and hooked it to our cattle electric fence. The first night, you could smell just how effective it was.....


----------



## New Ky Beekeeper (Jun 27, 2011)

Joebee said:


> We have all seen the game Whack a Mole, well this was Dunk a Skunk!


Thank you for sharing. That was funny!!!!


----------



## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

soupcan said:


> <snip>...went to town bought a can of cat food & added a little bit of " skunk helper " to it & tossed it into the cave.<snip>


Is "skunk helper" found in the noodle aisle or the pet food aisle? Funny stuff. Good thing the mods aren't PETA members. -james


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

OK I will bite, what is "skunk helper"?


----------



## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

Acebird said:


> OK I will bite, what is "skunk helper"?


My WAG would be antifreeze. -james


----------



## soupcan (Jan 2, 2005)

It starts with a " C "


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Great thread. And yes, I have to do something about skunks and possums. The dogs keep them out of the backyard, Only had to douse them with vinegar and peroxide once (cool recipe with the baking soda). But since all of my dogs are black, (rescues), I can't have them near the bees. Actually couldn't anyway, 2 out of 3 eat bees, and the 3rd might. 

I am an animal lover - I love bees and chickens and dogs and cats and fish.... 

But I draw the line at critters that are stealing my dinner. I didn't eat the snake I killed, even though I'd promised to. Guess I will get the lot fence/gates finished, then use a live trap out there. Good thing about living in city limits? If it is a skunk, the city will come and remove it from the trap. I have traps. I have considered relocating the possums to a nice city park about 13 miles away. 

I am NOT drowning a skunk in the ponds I raise fish in, which I built. No other water handy.


----------



## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

"I have considered relocating the possums to a nice city park about 13 miles away."

This would be illegal in some states (such as AL). The state game/wildlife people do not want wildlife transferred from one place to another, even within the same county. I was going to trap squirrels getting into my attic then release them at a wildlife management area just a couple of miles away. They said no. -james


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Guess I'll need that possum & dumpling recipe after all. I sure don't have a problem catching possums, I'd been re-releasing them when trapping for feral cats. Got 3 different possums in one night.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

way to go gypsi!

aint those possums 'bout the purdiest thangs you ever seen?

i'll have to get permission to share that recipe, it's been a closely guarded secret on my wife's side of the family for generations.


----------



## New Ky Beekeeper (Jun 27, 2011)

Gypsi said:


> Guess I'll need that possum & dumpling recipe after all. I sure don't have a problem catching possums, I'd been re-releasing them when trapping for feral cats. Got 3 different possums in one night.


What did you use for bait??

Phil


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

>What did you use for bait??

not sure what gypsi's magic weapon is, but dry cat food works pretty good.


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

dry cat food is my usual bait. Unless I've got some tasty leftovers that haven't found a dog stomach...

I put the trap near where I feed dry dog chow to the feral cats, so the possums routinely check my porch if they are hungry, I suspect. Chased one out of the cat's "house" the other night.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

>haven't found a dog stomach...

you would think those dogs would earn their keep and keep the possums and other critters away from the porch.

don't feel bad, one of our border collies adopted a baby possum this summer. he would find it in the evening, and bring it up into the yard so he could curl up with it at night, like it was his little teddy bear or something.


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

squarepeg said:


> >haven't found a dog stomach...
> 
> you would think those dogs would earn their keep and keep the possums and other critters away from the porch.
> 
> don't feel bad, one of our border collies adopted a baby possum this summer. he would find it in the evening, and bring it up into the yard so he could curl up with it at night, like it was his little teddy bear or something.


My dogs don't let anything in the back yard, but in the interest of not getting sued when one of them bites a teenaged boy, I don't let the dogs in the front yard. And my dogs do not adopt possums, they do a good job of keeping them and the skunks and ***** away from my chickens. Even coyotes, when they hear my rott bark, are not too interested in seeing what is over that privacy fence. If I could teach them not to eat bees - they'd bee good bee guard dogs. Except they are black...


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

sound like mine could take a few lessons from your rott!


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

My rott doesn't bite people, (at least not yet), but my german shepherd/border collie mix bites people, especially young men, courtesy of a former neighbor with a pellet gun who was shooting at my dogs when I was at work. This is before the Rott. The rott just barks. If there is a possum, if there is a squirrel, if I'm playing ball instead of tug. HUGE bark. He's actually safe around the chickens. But he's a great barker. And at 100+ pounds I don't worry much about burglars, the dogs sleep in at night. (do me no good in the back yard, if someone comes in the door.)


----------



## T.J. (Dec 17, 2009)

i hope i dont give part of anyones secret recepie away but, if anyone is really thinking about cookin' one up you need to put 'em in a cage and feed them cornbread for 3-4 weeks.  cleans & fattens them up at the same time 

edit to add: i'm talking about possums....not skunks


----------



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Gypsi said:


> a former neighbor with a pellet gun who was shooting at my dogs when I was at work. This is before the Rott. The rott just barks.


Could be the reason for the shooting. You'll get fined here if your dog is allowed to bark outside for very long.


----------



## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

Barry said:


> Could be the reason for the shooting. You'll get fined here if your dog is allowed to bark outside for very long.


15 minutes here. I know we have lots of neighbors with yappy dogs. I am not sure how shooting woudl be accounted for due to a dog that was not around yet. I have several neighbors that like to let their dogs just wonder the neighborhood. they come into my yard and leave presents all the time. I am going to get a live trap and set it in my front yard. The way I see it the neighbors do not really care to much what I want. The trick is to influence what they want.
Last Friday and Saturday night the place three houses up the street was getting shot at. On SUnday I saw the kids that live their. I asked them what they where doing that woudl get them shot at and they got all huffed up and tried to be intimidating. Telling me how it was not my business blah blah blah. I jsut looked at them and said. It's my business because I was making it my business. and my problems was guns being shot in my neighborhood. As I see it I can stop the shooting in two ways. get rid of the shooter, or get rid of the target. It didn't really matter to me which and since I had no idea who the shooter was.. well. They where packed up and out of the house within an hour and I have not seen them since. We have filed public nuisance complaints against the property owners and have spoken to three other people in the neighborhood that are doing the same. Truth is if things can happen that I don't like. things can happen that they don't like. And I excel at not being liked.


----------



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

My guess, if the Rot was allowed to bark, the other dogs barked as well.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/ToyDog2.jpg

If you really want a dog for guarding the house these are the kind you want in combination with a big GENTLE dog. The small dogs hear everything and alert the big dog that will normally sleep through a break in. You don’t want a dog that will actually do physical harm to an intruder because that makes you liable. Not every intruder is a criminal and it doesn’t make any difference anyway if they are.


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Barry said:


> Could be the reason for the shooting. You'll get fined here if your dog is allowed to bark outside for very long.


I didn't have the rott at the time, I had Spike and his sister Val - shepherd/border collie.. The only time they barked was if someone was within 5 feet or so of my fence, or a possum or something was up in the fenceline trees. The kid was a drunk, he parked his motorhome 1 foot off of my fence and was shooting at the windows of it. We have double-wide lots here, a full city lot between his house and my fenceline, but my fence would "hide" his motorhome from the city. He would park junk cars next to my fence to work on them. He would drive a vehicle up behind us and next to us when I was walking my dogs, he would pass us on his dirt bike. He was a kid. (mid-20's) It was his property. I eventually made friends with him, mainly to talk sense into him, and to keep him from poisoning my dogs, at which point, I'd have been in prison for shooting him. 

Spike was fully capable of getting over that fence, only the dog never realized it. He now hates tall thin young men unless he knows them. He knows my helpers. 

And my rott only barks at possums, coyotes, etc. He doesn't bark at people so much, but he is good against coyotes. He does not sit in the back yard and bark 24/7. I have to order him to bark if I am the only one hearing the coyotes because they are distant: the command is "SPEAK".


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Acebird said:


> http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/ToyDog2.jpg
> 
> If you really want a dog for guarding the house these are the kind you want in combination with a big GENTLE dog. The small dogs hear everything and alert the big dog that will normally sleep through a break in. You don’t want a dog that will actually do physical harm to an intruder because that makes you liable. Not every intruder is a criminal and it doesn’t make any difference anyway if they are.


If someone breaks into my house, they'd better hope it is my dogs that get him, and not me. I live in Texas. Capital T. My kids know to call, there are no GOOD intruders that are not family, and my dogs know my kids.


----------



## kennedy (Jul 31, 2009)

nice dogs acebird is the one on the right blind in its left eye? if it is it might be more alert at hearing


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

I have a small female lab mix with the best ears in the house, that's as small as I go. She weighs 40 lbs and doesn't yap and snap at small children like little dogs. She's also not a coyote snack. Little dogs in my neighborhood had better sleep indoors, most don't last 6 months.


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

I just remembered - that crazy neighbor was my introduction to how handymen handle bees. I initially started hunting beekeepers because he was working on a house with an attic full of them and I was trying to talk him out of spraying them. Unfortunately, cutouts weren't free, I think he exterminated the lot. But that's how I found my local beek - for good or ill. It was early 2007?


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

kennedy said:


> nice dogs acebird is the one on the right blind in its left eye? if it is it might be more alert at hearing


The one on the left in the photo is a Japanese chin who is blind in his left eye and also does not know that he is not a pit bull. The pekingese is scared of her shadow and usually wakes everyone up (she can hear a pin drop) then the chin and the Golden tear after whatever until they get confronted. The golden then pees herself while the chin attacks. With a lack of teeth the chin can't hurt you but a nip on the butt is more than noticeable. For some reason height doesn't matter because he can climb up the back of your legs like they are a ladder.


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

just what I don't want at 3:30 am when I am putting another log in the woodstove, all the dogs going off! Or when my cat knocks something off a counter. My dogs know my normal house sounds. Door opening is another matter entirely.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

The cats get put out. They are nocturnal. It is better they catch mice at night and sleep all day.


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

You must not have invading prairie voles inside AND coyotes outside.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

We have similar animals on the outskirts of the city but they still don't climb trees. Cats that hunt are not easy to sneak up on. Mice, moles, voles, and birds are practically a daily thing for us in the spring.


----------



## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

You must have trees for the cats to climb! I live in the prairie, few trees. Kitkat broke his paw getting on and off my roof I suspect. I lost Stubby in October 08, Miss Kitty, QT and one other cat in April 09. In summer of 2010 I got 3 surviving feral cats spayed/neutered - they have the sheds across the street to hide in and there is a large tree providing roof access over there. They eat on my front porch. I called them Red, Miss Creamy and Spot. Red disappeared in April 2011, Miss Creamy in September 2011, so far Spot still shows up for dinner. No bodies are ever found.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

well the tuff trap finally caught one. the bait was a little tin of wet cat food placed in the back of the trap, beyond the trigger. no spraying until after thirty minutes in the creek, which was probably a death response.


----------



## New Ky Beekeeper (Jun 27, 2011)

dr.buzz said:


> Tie a rope to the trap. Toss trap in closest creek. Drink beer. Retrieve trap.


I don't drink beer, but I like your method! lol


----------



## New Ky Beekeeper (Jun 27, 2011)

I just use a hot-fence. My current one offer 5,000 volts of reason not to touch my bees. Since I keep a hot fence for my cattle, I just attach on where I need it. You can smell how well it works. After about a month, all skunks learn and stop trying. PS - Where there is one skunk, there are 12.......


----------



## arcowandbeegirl (Oct 11, 2010)

I read earlier that someone here used BBQ Fritos for bait. I have caught 30+ skunks with a quarter of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a small block of cheese. Be sure to tie them down with plastic wire ties, or the little sucker can steal your bait and not get caught. Lately, I have been having trouble catching my cats and no skunks. I think I will try the Fritos.


----------



## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

Maybe you've fished your pond dry. -james


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

>Where there is one skunk, there are 12.......

we've dispatched four so far, and i eyeballed #5 this am.


----------



## funwithbees (Mar 27, 2010)

Hi Soupcan,
What was the skunk helper? i have been overrun with skunks in 10 large yards this week. was using peanut butter and rat poison, but the PB is expensive and slow.
funwithbees


----------



## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

I'm not a fan of poison. It is a slow death and other animals may also eat it. Best to get a trap, put some dry dog or cat food into, and shoot the sucker. It is easy to get rid of the smell. I gladly send you a link for it.


----------



## v45 (Apr 1, 2012)

I have a friend who traps several skunks in his garden every year using a havaheart trap. He said the best way to not get sprayed or have them leak is to tie a long rope to the cage and drag them to a open area with full sunlight. They can't take the heat and die really soon.


----------



## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

Man that is cruel. Just shoot the sucker with a rifle in the trap and move on. Next spray down the trap and area with this recipes, if they leaked some of their nastiness.
http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/skunksmellremovalrid.htm

Oxyclean also works well, but never use it on pets.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

it's called a "tuff trap". you can find them online. in my opinion, the most humane way to kill them once trapped and not get sprayed is to put the trap underwater and let them drown.


----------



## NirvanaFan (Apr 17, 2012)

I've trapped skunks, woodchucks, feral cats, etc. Dry cat food and a bit of bacon grease will attract them very well. Dry cat food doesn't really smell all that much by itself. The bacon grease really helps to attract them. The easiest way to dispatch of unwanted animals is just to throw them in a pond or creek. 

I haven't had a skunk spray in a havahart trap yet. Walk up to them slowly with a tarp or sheet of plastic (hold it in front of you just in case). Slowly and carefully put the tarp over the trap and wrap it around. Move like you do with your bees. Throw them on the back of the 4 wheeler or tractor and drive them to the water.


----------



## dirt road (Jan 4, 2011)

If you use a hav-a-hart or similar trap, you only need to open one end. Once they smell the bait they will circle the trap till they find a way in, if one exists. Put the bait as far back in the trap as possible. Skunks will eat virtually ANYTHING organic, so most anything will work well for bait, from a rotten chicken leg to a pbj sandwich. I usually use an egg. It's one of their preferred foods, and it won't lure in the danged feral cats. You don't need to crack the egg, just set it in whole, they know what it is, and can smell it for some distance. Skunks are the #1 predator of waterfowl nests. The other bait I use is a dead sparrow or starling. As long as they haven't dried completely out, they are very effective.
As far as shooting them in the trap, that's a sure fire way to wreck an expensive trap. I loaned a couple of traps to a fellow once to catch some skunks, and in spite of my cautioning him to drown them, he shot up my traps to the point one was completely ruined and the other nearly so. When you shoot the skunk, you can not see where the bullet will come out. It will break wires, bend rods and put holes in the bait pan.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

How do you throw the trap in the creek without getting sprayed. I drowned some wood chucks in a barrel when we had that problem but I am not about to try that with skunks. I got to say it wasn't easy. They can swim good enough to lift the cage and breath. I had to put skewers in the middle of the cage to keep them down and that even took a second try. They pulled the skewers out under water. Then I had to make longer ones so they couldn't get them out inside the barrel.


----------



## NirvanaFan (Apr 17, 2012)

Skunks don't just go around spraying everything they see. Throw a tarp over the cage slowly and lift it up. Provided you do things slowly, they won't usually spray.


----------



## Tim Stewart (Jul 19, 2009)

Skunk skins are $5-6 apiece if you trap them in the late fall or winter, those dozen skunks can pay for some packages in the spring. If you know some trappers the scent glands are worth quite a bit too.

Tim


----------

