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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