Will Pest Control Companies Remove a Skunk?

While there is less than a handful of pest control companies that will do skunk removals, wildlife or animal control companies and/or organizations usually do the job.



Skunks are physically easy to recognize by their white stripes. However, they are most noted for the scent they spray when startled or feel threatened. A skunk’s odor can best be described as musk laden. There are a variety of products sold through pet shops and veterinarians that are said to neutralize the odor; they, like home treatments generally require 2 -3 treatments. For clothing it is best to throw them away.

Striped skunks are predominately active at dusk, dawn and night, though they are also apt to be out during the day. The skunks eating habits are greatly varied. They will eat garbage, fruit and berries, dog food, small rodents, snakes and given the opportunity birds eggs.

Urban and suburban skunks are most likely to make a den in your garage, under your home and due to their weak eyesight even on a windowsill.

Deliberately feeding skunks will make a skunk and their family dependent on you for their source of food. They are wildlife creatures with long claws that are not retractable. They are natural hunters. Feeding skunks will also decrease their fear of man, and as a result being bitten is often the outcome.

Skunks are commonly rabid. They are also carriers of extra diseases such as leptospirosis, canine distemper, listeriosis, canine hepatitis, tularemia and Q-fever. The disease factor is a primary reason to discourage a skunk and their family from living on your property. The most common removal of skunks generally includes not being placed back into the wild.

Using a trap: A live catch trap is an enclosed cage. A plastic and completely enclosed trap is the best possible type. The primary reasons for an enclosed trap is that the spraying potential is far less due to the fact that skunks are more relaxed in a dark environment. The second reason is that a skunk is less likely to spray in an enclosed area. Use of bait for the trap is usually part of the process. Common baits would be canned sardines, cat food and even fresh insect larvae or marshmallows.

A wire trap however, is often used. When setting up this trap a sheet is generally placed on one end. Once the skunk has taken the bait and the trap door has come down behind it. The wildlife officer carefully covers the front of the cage with the sheet. Spraying is still a possibility. Because of a skunks potential for rabbis they are generally euthanized rather than be let loose back in the wild. Some locations in the United States will provide permits for release in the wild. They are very rarely given.

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