How Can I Ward Off Skunks?
- 1). Eliminate ground cover from your property to ward off pesky skunks. Rake up dead leaves, pick up fallen branches and dispose of yard waste in plastic garbage bags. In addition to reducing the number of potential nesting spots, cleaning up dead leaves and grass cuts down on the number of bugs for skunks to feed on.
- 2). Lock up pet food in metal garbage cans. Skunks are opportunists and will gladly steal a quick meal from open pet food containers, so set the bags in garbage cans and secure with tight-fitting lids.
- 3). Close off crawl spaces and window wells with chicken wire to prevent skunks from sneaking into your home. Lay a piece of chicken wire over the hole and staple it to the wall with a staple gun. Fill in smaller cracks with expanding foam to keep your home skunkless.
- 4). Spray the perimeter of your property with a skunk-deterrent spray. Add one 8 oz. bottle of lemon dish soap and 8 oz. of castor oil to a gallon sprayer and top off with water. Spray the mixture around your garden and foundation to chase off skunks. They find the overpowering scent of detergent and oil unbearable and will find other places to invade.
- 5). Set up motion-activated sprinklers to soak smelly invaders. Hook the sprinklers up to a garden hose and turn on the water. The motion sensors on the sprinklers will blast intruding skunks with water and send them packing.