How can you tell if you have a skunk den near you? They have moderately elongated bodies with relatively short, well-muscled legs and long front claws for digging. Contributions to the HSUS are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. [22], Most predators of the Americas, such as wolves, foxes, and badgers, seldom attack skunks, presumably out of fear of being sprayed. [19] Their chemical defense is effective, as illustrated by this extract from Charles Darwin's 1839 book The Voyage of the Beagle: We saw also a couple of Zorrillos, or skunksodious animals, which are far from uncommon. At ABC Home & Commercial Services, we take pest removal very seriously. However, the stink badger is a recent addition to the Mephitidae family. If you have bees, a skunk is likely to go to your hive for the delectable honey on the inside. As a matter of fact, if theyre wandering around your property, skunks are more likely to be looking for either food or shelter, and if they find either or both of these things, theyll be sticking around for a while. Cutting back on overgrown bushes and shrubbery. Dont be concerned if you see an adult skunk in the daytime unless they are also showing abnormal behaviors: Dont approach the skunk yourself. Its kind of like making sure you were home before the streetlights when you were a kid, except these skunks have to get back before the sky light comes on. Although the most common fur color is black and white, some skunks are brown or grey and a few are cream-colored. Once the skunk enters and begins to dine, carefully tilt the can up a bit, raising it elevator-style out of the window well, then gently tip it on its side again so the skunk can amble out. Skunks are omnivorous in nature, so they feed on a wide range of foods and arent overly fussy. Spotted skunks (genus Spilogale) live from southwestern Canada to Costa Rica. Do not try to seal up your foundation or build a stronger fence unless you are sure that the skunks have left your property. They are mostly found in the United States and Canada. However, once skunks find a den, someone will more than likely always be staying in it. In 1634, a skunk was described in The Jesuit Relations: The other is a low animal, about the size of a little dog or cat. While skunks dont necessarily hibernate, they do stay relatively inactive and arent hunting for food during the winter. No sewer ever smelled so bad. But their most preferred choice is an oily musk spray from scent glands located near their anus. They are similar to, though much more developed than, the glands found in species of the family Mustelidae. You should especially be on the lookout for skunks trying to make your property their home when its starting to cool down. By nature, dogs tend to ignore these warnings, so it is important they be restrained for their own good. This is because some mother skunks will create a communal den with her babies and if you wake the mama skunk and she sees you as a threat, she will spray you. This can be as simple as loosely repacking the den hole with leaves or straw or other material to see if the skunk gets the message and moves elsewhere. Starting with where Skunks are found in the world. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon and other companies linked to on this site. Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World, Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz, University of California - Integrated Pest Management Program - Skunks, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife - Living with wildlife: Skunks, skunk - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), skunk - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). If you are on the lookout for signs of a skunk,you may see their tracks all around. Azara says the smell can be perceived at a league distance; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video, the wind being offshore, we have perceived the odour onboard the Beagle. You may already have something in your home capable of solving your pest problem! Above the ground, skunks live in hollow logs, brushes, or woodpiles. If you leave food or water out for your pets at night, you might just be inviting a family of skunks to live in your backyard. In Southern United States dialect, the term polecat is sometimes used as a colloquial nickname for a skunk,[6] even though polecats are only distantly related to skunks. Heres some more information on whether skunks hibernate. Rabies is a virus that generally infects wild mammals, such as bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes, but it can also infect pets too. Larivire, S., & Messier, F. (1998). One early sign of a skunk in your immediate area is your dogs are barking at night. It has black fur, quite beautiful and shining; and has upon its back two perfectly white stripes, which join near the neck and tail, making an oval that adds greatly to their grace. Although a skunks spray is known mostly for its robust smell, it can also cause intense discomfort if it gets into a person or animals eyes. Heres What To Know, skunks probably wont leave on their own after building a den, 15 Scents That Skunks Hate (And How To Use Them), 10 Best Skunk Repellents (And How To Use Them), Seeing A Skunk During The Day: Heres What It Means, Skunk Off Ready to use Skunk Odor Remover. Skunks' natural habitat. These tracks are also staggered, whereas if you were to see a cats tracks, they would be over the top of each other. They have short legs, bushy tails, and a small head. In Canada, striped skunks can be found in ever province except Newfoundland and Labrador. Skunks are largely native to both North and South America, including the Bahamas. Skunks are placental, with a gestation period of about 66 days.[11]. Zack is a Nature & Wildlife specialist based in Upstate, NY, and is the founder of his Tree Journey and Pest Pointers brands. Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment. 2023 The Humane Society of the United States Privacy policy and terms. Two species of skunk are found in California, the spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis) and the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), which is the species most commonly found around homes. They will typically bark if they can detect the smell or see their eyes glowing. Their scat is about 2-4 inches long and has blunt ends. While they share dens in the winter, if there is a new kit, they will not share the natal den with another family of skunks. Is it true that tomato sauce will get rid of the smell of a skunk? In forested areas skunks den in rock piles and under the roots of blown-down trees, or they use their well-developed claws to dig a den in the side of a bank. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. [15][16] A skunk's spray is powerful enough to ward off bears and other potential attackers. The entrance is usually smooth and free of grass or leaves, except in the winter when they cover it for warmth. The tail is bushy and well furnished with hair, like the tail of a Fox; it carries it curled back like that of a Squirrel. Exercise extreme caution when dealing with any animal that could potentially carry rabies. Skunks in fact are less prominent than raccoons as vectors of rabies. Any suspected skunk den should first be checked to determine if it has residents. (However, this varies regionally in the United States, with raccoons dominating along the Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, while skunks instead predominate throughout the Midwest, including the western Gulf, and in California. Skunks are one of the primary predators of the honeybee, relying on their thick fur to protect them from stings. Its important to catch skunks and close off any potential dens before breeding season, as male skunks will travel up to five miles looking for females, and whats worse than one skunk? Often, when a skunk has the choice to spray or run, they will run. They look a lot like a cats paw print except they have one extra toe and their claws do not retract like a cat, so they show 5 claws as well. Bad news for you and your pets. Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity, 1 quart of 3-% hydrogen peroxide (available at any pharmacy). This includes securing trash, covering window wells, feeding pets indoors, or if fed outdoors, removing food immediately after pets eat. When looking for skunks during breeding season, the first place to check is under your porch or patio. A skunk cannot just spray an unlimited amount of times. This is, unfortunately, far easier said than done. 1 Install lights in your yard. ", "A stink in the tale: Why Britain is swooning over the pet with a pong", Skunks and the management of skunk damage, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Skunk&oldid=1163233295, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from September 2014, Articles with text in Algonquian languages, Articles containing Proto-Algonquian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, This page was last edited on 3 July 2023, at 18:00. As bee keepers are well aware, skunks have a fondness for bees and will consume honey, larvae, and adults. They eat fruits, vegetables and also look for food around beehives. Another method of placing the board is to tie it to the end of a long pole and lower it by holding the opposite end of the pole. Skunks are most commonly found in thick, brushy areas in uplands and rocky, riparian canyons and are less common in the low desert. If you have chickens or bees, their eggs or honey might disappear as well. A lot of skunks are friendly in cartoon portrayals. I would not have believed it if I had not smelled it myself. link to Top 10 Fastest Animals on the Planet and Their Speeds, link to Do Coyotes Eat Foxes: No, Why and What Actually Happens. The spotted skunks prefer woodland settings, perhaps because of their adaptations for tree climbing. Skunks live in dens. [20], Skunks carry just enough for five or six successive sprays about 15cm3 and require up to ten days to produce another supply. The striped skunk is highly adaptive and shows little discrimination to habitat. Driving the news: A new exhibit from HistoryMiami, " Mythic creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids ," explores local tales of the chupacabra and skunk ape. of Fish and Wildlife, Will A Skunk Chase You? [14] Mother skunks are known to teach this behavior to their young. While they might be helpful in some ways, their spray can make it hard just to exist in the same area. If you have sod, it will not deter them. When born, skunk kits are blind and deaf, but already covered by a soft layer of fur. American Midland Naturalist,100(2), 424. What are some nocturnal animals that live in Pennsylvania and on the West Coast of the United. Terms and conditions. These are from skunks looking for bugs close to their homes. Almost everyone has smelled a skunk before and knows the very distinct smell. Part of a skunks diet is mde up of grasshoppers, mice, poultry, rabbits and small pests that may wreak havoc on a garden. ), Mephitis mephitis, the striped skunk, is the most social skunk and the one most commonly kept as a pet. He has a vast experience with nature while living and growing up on 50+ acres of fields, woodlands, and a freshwater bass pond. Here's how to identify skunks and deter them from your yard and garden. Both options make your property unappealing to skunks, and theyll go find somewhere else to call home. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. They eat insects, larvae, earthworms, grubs, rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, moles, and eggs. Leave the door in place from two or three nights to a week to be sure the skunk has left. Either which areas they populate in the world, or what kind of habitat suits them best?