Skunk Removal, it’s a stinky business!

Skunks are notoriously known for spraying foul odor and eating plants and vegetables.  They dig in your backyard and ruin your garden. In other words, skunks are smelly trespassers. So if these creatures do nothing good, what should you do to keep them away and prevent them from harming your beautiful yard? Homeowners around Nashville and Middle Tennessee must remember that preventing them to enter your garden or home is the best solution. If there is a skunk in your garden, do not try to shoo it away to avoid being sprayed; a mother skunk will attack if she thinks you will harm her baby skunk. Call Absolute Pest Control for immediate help with skunk removal from your home. Our technicians are specially trained for safe and effective skunk trapping. Shield your family from little destroyers by following these helpful guidelines:

Skunks love food, plants, and insects. In most cases, plants and bugs are typically found in your garden or backyard. The most important thing to do is to keep your yard clean. Homeowners must not leave garbage and trashcans outside, but if you need to leave them outside make sure that they are locked. Keeping your garbage cans locked and your whole yard clean won’t give them any reason to enter your yard. It is also important to check your garden for insects and spoiled fruits or vegetables. If so, remove rotten fruits and vegetables and treat your garden for insects. This will ultimately discourage skunks from entering your garden. Some gardeners use skunk trapping to help keep their garden skunk free. That method often backfires; do not try that without proper training.

Skunks are nocturnal and hate bright lights. Keeping your garden and yard well lit will help solve the problem. It is best to put on some good amount of bright lights, (motion sensor style) especially at night to help drive the stinky skunk away. Install some lights on poles near the gate for a bright surrounding perimeter. Use halogen lights in pink, yellow or orange colors because these would also help drive mosquitoes away. Think of it as a way to save money in a “pre- skunk removal” defense.

Skunks are not good climbers. Unlike cats or rats, skunks cannot climb very well. Installing chicken wire would be ideal for your garden and will help shield your family from unwanted skunk visitors. Line the chicken wire at the edges of your garden so that they won’t be able to get in. By doing this, skunks would have to find another yard or house to go to and hunt for food. Chicken wires would also prevent rabbits from destroying your plants. In outlying areas of Nashville, the wildlife activity is very high. If a skunk gets trapped in your fenced in garden area, call Absolute Pest Control to assist in your skunk removal.

Skunks hate the smell of mothballs. Skunks are known for its notorious stinky smell. However, they also hate strong scents like that from a mothball. Putting some mothballs around your garden will help keep the skunks away. This would also prevent rabbits, moles and chipmunks from entering your garden. However, mothballs are poisonous so be careful when placing them around your yard. Make sure that you keep them out of reach of children to prevent accidental poisoning.

Skunks’ feet are easily irritated with pointy leaves. Some vegetables, like squash, contain sharp pointy leaves that irritate skunks. Other plants that have pointy sharp hairs are stinging nettle or urtica dioica. When you step on it, the sharp hairs tend to break off and produce a liquid that creates painful burning and stinging. These plants are not hard to find and can be located in garden centers in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Homeowners may place these plants around the garden like a barrier to prevent skunks from entering your home.

Skunk hunting laws vary from state to state. In Tennessee, it is legal to hunt the spotted skunk from November 16th to February 28th. Tennesseans may hunt striped skunks all year around and there are no limits on either type of skunks. If you are an experienced hunter, skunk trapping may be a good alternative for you. Always use extreme caution when hunting any animal.

Some homeowners set their own traps for skunk trapping. Do-it-yourself skunk removal is something we do not recommend. It can be very dangerous and leave you in a bind. Think about how you would get the trap moved without being sprayed? Where would you take the skunk to be released? What happens if you get bitten? Our trained technicians can do all of the steps for a safe and smell-free skunk removal. Call Absolute Pest Control for a FREE estimate on skunk removal and rid your home or garden of a nasty smelling skunk today.