Leecy thought she had sealed up any holes in the fence so that the Skunks could not return. and also spread around this “supposed” Skunk deterrent. Guess what?
I don’t think it slowed them down a bit. As usual, right before we were letting the Dogs out for their final potty break of the night, two Skunks were feeding on the fallen bird seed. By the time my camera lens adjusted to the humidity, only one remained, the baby Skunk (Leecy named it Petunia).
On one hand, I kinda don’t mind the Skunks, they’re just eating fallen bird seed. However, I also know that Skunks carry rabies, only second to Raccoons. Of course, they also smell bad and if I keep trying to get close up pictures of these critters, there’s a good chance that tail is going to pop up and I’m going to be in the line of fire.
I didn’t hear any ideas from anyone on how I (or someone else) can humanely trap them and move them (there are 3) to a new location, but of course I heard some suggestions about just shooting them (you know who are you:-).
Well I can’t shoot them, or won’t, so I need other ideas. As you’ll see from the pictures, they have very long claws, so I’m guessing they are just digging new holes under the fence. They also have some pretty good sized teeth, as the picture of this baby Skunk will show. To give you a perspective on size, this baby Skunk is no bigger than a kitten.
Keep in mind, these pictures are taken in complete darkness, just me, the camera, and a flashlight aimed at the Skunk.
This first photo is for those of you who may want a close up Skunk shot for your desktop background:-). Notice the size of the claws?
.jpg "Skunk Head Shot")
Skunk Head Shot
In this second shot, you can see the teeth, so this is not an animal I want to tangle with. By the way, the showing of the teeth is not directed towards me, it was just chewing some bird seed.
.jpg "Baby Skunk Showing Teeth")
Baby Skunk Showing Teeth
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by texdr
5 comments
Syracusian - Please be careful then.September 7, 2010 – 9:06 am
texdr - I’d prefer not to have to spend several hundred dollars on removing these critters but I guess I may have no choice.
Oh, and by the way, your sister is not close to getting sprayed or bitten. Only I am stupid enough to walk up within a couple of feet of them to take picturesSeptember 1, 2010 – 10:57 pm
Syracusian - HIRE A PROFESSIONAL!!!! Or you can stop filling the bird feeders for a week or so until the skunks find a new food source. Their digging capabilities are quite amazing. I even tried driving about 50 nails in a board and covering the space under the fence where they had dug thru. They just dug under the fence approx. 4 inches to each side of the board. I did wonder how many times they got their little feet pinched on the nails before they figures out to dig in another spot.
I’d hate to see one of your dogs or yourself, or MY SISTER have to go thru the rabies vaccination process.September 1, 2010 – 2:37 pm
texdr - I’ve seen those skunk traps where they just allow them to go in, but not turn around. That’s my problem, if I don’t want to kill the things, what the heck am I supposed to do with them? Can you see me driving down the road with 3 skunks in my car:-)?August 31, 2010 – 9:54 pm
Valerie Evanson - Our yard isn’t fenced, so we just let them be if they visit the compost pile. My Dad has a friend who has trapped them without being sprayed. The trap needs to be small enough so they can’t turn around and spray you. Approach from the front and toss a blanket over the trap. As for getting the skunk out . . . well, let us say they didn’t make it out of the trap alive. Maybe your animal control (our police dept has that division) or the place you take your wounded birds could help with the getting them out alive part. When I was a kid I met some pet skunks. Cute, but not my cup of tea.August 31, 2010 – 11:59 am