Written by techteam@sicurobrands.com• July 30, 2020• 10:41 pm• Home Production

Methods to Safely Catch a Skunk With out Getting Sprayed – The Provident Prepper

Dwelling on slightly homestead, we now have all types of adventures. My least favourite journey is having to take care of the skunks that love our rooster eggs. Chickens are extremely priceless to us and value defending.

What’s the easiest way to seize a skunk? We like to make use of a stay entice that has been baited with meals that skunks can’t resist. Best skunk bait contains eggs, crispy bacon, cat meals, rooster or turkey, canned tuna or sardines, peanut butter on bread, marshmallows, or any meat-based, oily meals with a powerful odor.

We wish to bait a stay entice with rooster eggs as a result of that’s what initially attracted them to our dwelling. The final skunk we captured dug up a lifeless rooster and a few lifeless child bunnies that had been a couple of weeks outdated from our little critter graveyard. Pungent works.

On this put up, we’ll focus on how we maintain our chickens and eggs secure from predators, and the way we captured and safely disposed of a skunk utilizing a stay entice.

Fortify Homestead to Cut back Predator Temptation and Entry

Among the finest methods that you would be able to shield your chickens and eggs from skunks and different predators is to fortify their coop. Take the time and assets to ensure it’s impenetrable from any rooster predator which may be in your space together with skunks, raccoons, canine, weasels, rats, foxes, coyotes, mink, snakes, and birds of prey.

These are steps that we now have taken to assist guarantee the security of our birds.

Critter-Proof Nesting Field

We’ve constructed a number of totally different nesting packing containers over time, however my absolute favourite is the Best Nest Box. The eggs roll out from beneath the rooster and wait to be collected in a predator-proof tray. The eggs are all the time clear. Better of all, we by no means have issues with chickens growing the dangerous behavior of consuming their very own eggs.

The Best Nest Box will be set as much as accumulate eggs from the entrance or the again. We designed our coop in order that we accumulate the eggs from a closet space on the surface in order that we would not have to go within the coop to gather the eggs. I really like this setup!

You should buy these improbable nesting packing containers on Amazon. They’re well worth the funding.

Excessive Roosting Bars

Regardless of what number of roosting bars your chickens have entry to they’ll struggle for the very best place. They naturally do that as a result of it’s the most secure place to be. You’ll be able to assist your chickens be slightly safer by giving them an possibility for a excessive roost.

Maintain Coop Closed Tight at Evening

Closing the coop at night time is a little bit of a ache however it may possibly assist you sleep higher realizing that your birds are secure till morning. You should buy automatic coop doors that may robotically let your chickens out within the morning and tuck them in at night time. That is one other layer of safety on your birds.

Know Your Enemy

Okay, so actually skunks are usually not my enemy. They’re uninvited friends that aren’t welcome on my homestead. Understanding the skunk higher will make it potential to securely catch and relocate the creature with out getting damage or sprayed.

We’ve associates which have a pet skunk that they maintain of their dwelling. It has been enjoyable for us to get to know skunks from the time they’re little infants till they’re adults. They aren’t as docile as a family cat, however will be fairly attention-grabbing pets.

Pet skunks have their mercaptan-emitting scent glands surgically eliminated. As soon as a pet skunk, all the time a pet skunk. They don’t have the power to outlive within the wild with out their pungent weapon.

Looking Habits of Skunks

Skunks are nocturnal however are typically lively and hunt within the morning and night hours. Typically, that signifies that your chickens can safely free vary in the course of the day. Wintertime is perhaps an exception as a result of skunks don’t hibernate and will be extra lively in the course of the day.

Skunks have very sharp claws and are fairly efficient at digging. More often than not, skunks hunt alone.

Meals that Skunks Prefer to Eat

Skunks are omnivorous. That signifies that their weight loss program is comprised of each meat and crops. Skunks are identified to eat birds, moles, snakes, frogs, rodents, bugs, beetles, grasshoppers, lizards, and grubs. In addition they get pleasure from vegetation equivalent to berries, fruits and nuts, and will be harmful to a vegetable backyard. Skunks love rooster eggs.

Finest Bait Choices for Baiting a Reside Lure to Catch a Skunk

The most effective bait choices for capturing a skunk embrace however aren’t restricted to the next:

Eggs
Crispy bacon
Cat meals
Rooster
Turkey
Canned tuna or sardines
Peanut butter on bread
Marshmallows
Any meat-based, oily meals with a powerful odor

Skunk’s Tremendous Smelly Weapon

Skunks are hardly ever preyed upon as a result of their capability to emit an extremely pungent odor. Only a few skunks are killed by predators. A skunk won’t hurt you in the event you depart it alone.

A skunk can spray a number of ft with unimaginable accuracy. They won’t normally spray if they can not visualize their goal. When a skunk feels threatened, it can warn you earlier than spraying by stomping and hissing. It additionally will flip its hind finish towards you earlier than spraying. As soon as the skunk sprays it’s too late. Something or anybody within the path of that liquid is doomed to odor horrid for a while to return.

Skunk Spray Treatment

It has occurred at our home. The youngsters went out to gather eggs, and one of many women final phrases had been, “Oh look! What a cute fluffy tail!” There was no sympathy to be discovered once they got here working into my kitchen. They had been despatched again outdoors to stripped right down to their underwear, then despatched to the showers.

After the direct hit, the garments and footwear had been a complete loss. After a number of scrubbing and a while, the children had been bearable as soon as once more. It took so much longer for the rooster coop to odor regular.

When you or somebody you like, get sprayed by a skunk chances are you’ll wish to strive these concepts to neutralize the skunk odor.

Scrub with a combination of 1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide, ½ cup baking soda, and 1 teaspoon dish cleaning soap. Let sit for five minutes, then rinse effectively.
Soak in a heat tub with 2-4 cups of baking soda.
Rinse in a powerful vinegar answer for persistent odors.
Wash garments in laundry cleaning soap and baking soda, then air dry outdoors.
Nature’s Miracle Skunk Odor Remover breaks down the oils and claims to completely take away all traces of the odor from folks, pets, and surfaces. It won’t be a foul concept to maintain available.
Mold Monster Stink Slayer is an all-natural skunk odor remover that works effectively on carpets and surfaces.

Tomato juice, oatmeal, and beer baths don’t assist to neutralize the skunk odor.

Choose a medium sized stay entice. Ideally use a 17” entice that has a 7” x 7” opening. They make stay skunk traps with stable sides to assist cut back the danger of being sprayed.

Both of those stay traps needs to be efficient for trapping a skunk. It’s a very good concept to have one earlier than you suppose you want it.

Received the Skunk – Now What?

When Jonathan introduced that we had a skunk within the entice early one morning, I attempted to drag the “lady” card.” In our home, there aren’t any jobs which might be gender particular. Everybody works and they’re all simply jobs that must get executed. Nonetheless, the considered relocating a skunk had me scrambling for excuses to let “the boys” maintain this one.

I squared my shoulders and went outdoors to satisfy our naughty little predator. It was an lovely creature and regarded fairly wholesome. It didn’t appear bothered by our presence, which implies he had in all probability been hanging round our place for some time.

Keep Calm and Maintain the Skunk Calm

We spoke in smooth reassuring voices and averted doing something to frighten our little captive. It may be calming for the skunk to be coated with a darkish tarp. We didn’t wish to do something to upset him. He might have been the one within the cage, however he was additionally the one with the facility.

Courageous, Cautious Skunk Relocation

Now we needed to resolve if we had been going to dispatch the creature, or courageous relocating him to the close by mountains. One have a look at these large eyes and we knew that we needed to danger relocation.

We drove the little pickup as near the situation of the cage as potential. We positioned a big tarp within the again to wrap across the cage as soon as it was efficiently within the again.

Sam was elected to do the soiled work. He coated the cage with a plastic tarp and grabbed the highest deal with, rigorously putting it on prime of the plastic behind the truck. We coated the cage with the tarp and used 2x4s to maintain the tarp in place.

Sam and Ben very slowly took the backroads into the foothills to search out the suitable place to launch the skunk. Jonathan and I adopted behind.

Sam positioned the coated entice in an open space, dealing with away from us. He tied a fishing line to the latch of the entice and opened it from a distance. It took the skunk a minute to determine that it was free, however quickly took off to make its a brand new dwelling.

Celebration and unimaginable reduction. Nobody was sprayed and the skunk obtained to stay.

We Have Not All the time Been So Fortunate

There have been some skunks that haven’t had the chance to go away our place alive. A number of years in the past, there was one which obtained into the rooster coop and mutilated a rooster to get the eggs out from inside the stay chook. It was enormous and by no means pleasant. It was capable of squeeze its enormous physique in by means of a tiny opening within the nesting field.

I a lot want to catch and launch any undesirable critters. We initially bought this entice to catch squirrels that had been killing my fruit bushes. We captured 13 squirrels earlier than we had been executed.

Generally the predators pose too nice of a danger and relocation isn’t sensible. Sadly, some critters have to be eradicated. Wild animals will be unpredictable and harmful, regardless of how lovely they’re. Hope for the perfect, however all the time be ready for the worst.