For Release February 29, 2004

Don't Get Skunked!

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

Once the weather warmed up and the snow melted away, I knew it wouldn't be long until love was in the air. Sure enough, it's happening and you can periodically smell it in the form of skunk scent! I suspected that I'd start to have some questions coming in on skunks and the first phone call came last week.

Skunks will be breeding from now through the end of March. So with all that activity going on, it's no surprise that there has been a recent increase in the number of road killed skunks! The normal home range of a skunk is one half mile to two miles. But in breeding season a male may travel four to five miles each night! Gestation usually lasts seven to ten weeks, so baby skunks will be born starting in early May. In the meantime, females are going to be looking for a good place to bear and raise their young.

Skunks normally live in clearings, pastures, and open lands bordering timber areas. They would normally establish dens in hollow logs or hollow limbs in standing trees, However, skunks have learned that there are many areas around our homes that make wonderful den sites also. Skunks are notorious for establishing nesting dens under out buildings, decks, and mobile homes not to mention many other locations close to our homes.

Skunks are classified as carnivores, but in reality they are more properly called omnivores; they'll eat almost anything. Some parts of the year they'll eat equal parts animal and plant material. They'll eat small rodents, even larger mammals clear up to the size of rats and even rabbits. They will rarely eat chickens and other birds, but are quite fond of eggs. They prefer insects when they are available and really enjoy crickets, beetles, grasshoppers and especially white grubs. They can create lots of divots in your yard in a hurry going after grubs. But they'll eat whatever is easy to obtain including dog and cat food that is placed outside.

Once the female skunk has her babies she is going to be difficult to move. So if you find a skunk nosing around a likely den site it would behoove you to get her moved out of there as soon as possible. The first step is exclusion. Make it as difficult as possible for her to settle in under any kind of structure. While skunks can climb, they rarely do. They are much more inclined to dig under then to climb over something. If you feed your cat or dogs outside, you may want to bring their food in at night so as not to attract skunks nor encourage them to stick around.

There are no effective repellents registered for use against skunks. Some sources do report success using moth balls or rags soaked in household cleaning ammonia. But these need to be placed in large enough quantities and replaced regularly to maintain an odor level high enough to discourage skunks.

If worse comes to worse and you, a pet or your property get "skunked" there are some pretty effective odor eliminators. One that I've used with success involves one quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, one fourth cup baking soda and a few drops of liquid soap. Mix this up fresh and spray it on whatever was sprayed or in the case of a pet, give it a bath in the solution rinsing well with fresh water.

Skunks are native residents of Kansas that have adapted well to human encroachments. We'll always have them around us and it's best to learn how to live with them yet discouraging their taking up residence too close!

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