A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 How do I keep a skunk away???

At night a skunk is coming into my yard. Is there anything I can do to keep him away? I put moth balls around some of my plants as someone suggested. This doesn't seem to work....or I didn't put enough.
Will the moth balls harm the plants if I put out lots of them?

Well, I obviously can't answer THIS one!

Skunks!

Drunk Skunks!

Cheyennne certain moth balls are poisonous to breathe....and most likely to eat...so be careful if you have pets/kids.

Can I ask why you want to get rid of them?
They eat grubs and other bugs in your yard. The grass can usually just be placed back and then gently pressed back and watered.
I personally like having wild life around.

When I was younger living at home we used to have a big sliding door and watch all the wild animals walk right past the window late at night. A pack of pet dogs decided to get together and attack one of the skunks one evening....well ...lets just say we had to call animal control in the morning because it was still alive and dragging itself up our hill....was time for school kids to start for the bus the next morning....it was just overall

Hi Cheyenne,
How ironic, I was just looking over some old recipes,
last night, in the recipes' sections (I was looking for Chicken recipes I thought I posted in there) and you had posted a recipe and I had wondered where you were?????
How have you been???? Well, besides the skunks in your yard!

Are the skunks going to anyone place in particular, or just all over in general???
If it's a specific spot, try something that they would have to walk on to get where they have been going, that would be "foreign" to walk on, like chicken wire flat out on the ground or some tule *(the stuff used for wedding veils?) When they come acrossed it in the middle of the night, it may freak them out enough to go find somewhere's else to go???
Also, they are good grub getters...it may be dry around where you live and are coming in closer to homes to get there grubs where people tend to water thier lawns more..and a moister evironment??

Are they spraying or anything?

Weezie

Why do I want to get rid of them?...
They stink! We can't open the windows.

Why do I think they are coming?
(1)There is a creek in front of our house and it has been really, really dry so I think they come for water.
(2) They are coming close to the house foraging for 'critters' to eat.

I'm hoping the problem is solved. About 9:30 p.m. I heard a gunshot. I looked out the window and saw nothing. The next morning our neighbor said he killed a skunk in his driveway.

Now, could we be lucky and that be our problem critter? Hope so, but even so he may have a family....... ;-)

Cindy

here my cousin lives next door and his dogs keep the skunks run off. I don't care for wild life being in my yard. Bambi and thumber might be okay once in awhile, but 2 years ago when the water was up I had a den of wolves move in close by. I didn't care for that at all. I was afraid to go out after dark and scared to death to let the my daughter out in the yard in day lite alone. Still am, I was driving to my mother in laws a week ago and a huge bob cat ran across a busy highway right in front of me. He stood as tall as the hood of my car. An animal that size can take down a grown man.


Weezie,

are they spraying??? In Arkansas???

I don't know if they are spraying in Arkansas where Chey is but here they spary every day all day long. they have a boll weevil program going to kill out the boll weevil and will spray til all cotton is picked and the stalks cut down. It's a 5 year goverment funded program and it's been running here for 2 years now.

plus the defoilation the make the leaves drop sooner and what ever they spray on the soybeans to make them turn sooner and on and on and on for every crop they grow here. They bust their butts to do a 2 crop year here.

If left alone they won't hurt anything....."if" you don't feed them they are scared of you.
Catlover




Said truely like someone who has never been sprayed by one.

Sorry Catlover. If you ever got nailed by one you would hate them for life!
Personally I totally approve of inducing lead poisoning for skunks. I don't know of anyone who has ever been sprayed, who does not either.
The trick is, is to nail em in the head, that way they don't spray!

True ....I have never directly been sprayed...for 18y.growing up they were in our yard every night....never ran into a problem...they just ran away when we opened the door. I lived by a ravine recently for 14 yrs. and never had a problem their either....until my neighbors dog decided to go after the purdy kitty....wouldn't of been a problem if I had put the dog on a leash.....so that was my fault.

I worked in a vet hospital for several years and have washed many a dog/cat that had been sprayed...no I didn't wear gloves...yes, it stunk but we are washable.

plant Doc, I am very sorry you feel the way you do about skunks!
Catlover