Ways To Keep Skunks Out of Your Garden Fast And Humanely- If you live at a place where there’s a forest nearby, or a vast expanse of green is located nearby, then coming across wildlife isn’t as usual as it may seem. Even though they are quite peaceful and pretty harmless, they have earned notoriety for their stinking smell. Waving them off your property might be urgent but not very difficult. You don’t need to harm them for it. Just follow the below-mentioned steps and you will be just fine, as well as the skunk.
1 . Install A Motion Detection Sprinkler
A motion detection sprinkler can be installed in your garden or backyard. Whenever a movement is detected, these sprinklers turn on. Not only is it harmless but it is also very effective. The sprinklers detect even the slightest motion. When they turn on, they do so with a whirring noise and jet of water. This is more than enough to scare away this little menace.
A good motion detection sprinkler comes with a highly effective motion sensor. It can also be automated and set as per your preferences. This helps in saving up precious water.
2. Install An Ultrasonic Repellent
As its name suggests, it makes use of ultrasonic sound. Skunks can’t see very well. However, they have great hearing which they use to their advantage. They can easily detect ultrasound too. This repellent detects the motion of the skunk and gets turned on. Upon turning on, it emits a high-frequency ultrasonic wave that annoys the skunk.
This makes your property inhabitable for it. Hence, it never comes again. Plus, this repellent also comes with an LED flashlight. It also helps to deter the skunk break-in to your property.
3. Sprinkle Skunk Repellent Granules
Even though skunks emit a bad smell, certain smells can even deter them. These granules emit the very same smell to deter these little creatures. Mostly, skunks dig holes into your backyard to have them a place to live. If you mix thoroughly the granules with the soil, they will never come back.
The reason is that these granules consist of fox urine. Foxes hunt skunks. So, when skunks get a smell of fox urine, they just run away never to return. Some repellents also make use of castor oil to keep them away. But you don’t need to worry. No component of these granules has a poisonous source. They all are made of natural and harmless products and are used only to scare skunks away.
4. Build A Fence Around Your Property
Building a fence can be an effective solution to eradicate skunk break-ins. However, make sure to dig the fences at least 6-12 inches deep into the ground to prevent them to come inside by digging into the ground. You can use PVC fences for that. Or if you want something more reliable, then you can go with electric fences made of aluminum too.
Don’t worry! The shock won’t kill the skunks. It will just give them a short but readily-felt electric shock and will help them stay away from your property.
5. Install Night Lights In Your Yard
You will never find a skunk during the daytime. This is because they are nocturnal creatures that sleep during the day. They naturally aren’t fond of light. So, if you want to put them off your property, just light your whole yard up. Installing night lights will force them to choose a better place to stay and vacate your property.
If there is some poorly lit nook or corner in your home., then you can install a light even there as well. This will disturb their sleep during the daytime and they won’t be a menace to you any longer.
However, this option takes up a lot of electricity and hence costs a lot. You can go for solar-powered lights or those that give high brightness at low voltage input.
6. Remove All Food Sources
Skunks mainly come for two reasons: a place to stay and a place to eat. So, if you are skunk problems in your backyard, then it means that they are regularly getting something to eat there. You don’t need to overthink what needs to be removed from the backyard. This is because they eat anything edible.
From garbage to rotten or fallen fruits, they eat everything to survive. Make sure you don’t leave anything edible within their reach. Buy trashcans that can’t be opened or tripped over by the skunks. Always make sure to collect fallen fruits regularly. If the skunk is getting attracted towards the bird feeder, place something below it to prevent the falling of seeds on the ground.
If you cut their food supply, they will stop roaming around your property.
7. Use Ammonia And Mothballs To Repel Skunks
Ammonia has a very pungent smell that the skunks’ highly sensitive noses hate to the core. Just buy some Ammonia from the store and spray it on strategic locations. You will start seeing the results in no time. To make the effect of ammonia stay longer, so it in clothes and rags and leave them at strategic locations.
Another equally great way to deter them must be in your home. These are nothing but mothballs. Even though they are meant to keep the mothballs at bay, they are effectively used in deterring the skunks also. This is because mothballs cause nausea and dizziness to the skunks.
8. Use Flashing Lights To Scare All Wildlife Away
Skunks fear their predators. It is obvious. But how do they know that a predator is stalking them? It is not that the predator moves while stalking them. The predator’s red eyes are the indicators that help the skunks decipher that they are being hunted.
You can use flashlights to mimic the very same effect and instill the very same fear in the skunks. Lighting your whole backyard with stationary flashlights of different colors will result in effectively scaring them away.
However, make sure to get only solar-powered flashlights, or else you will be broke before you know. Not only that but also makes sure to position these lights so that they receive maximum solar power.
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9. Seal Your Trash Bins
Skunks are omnivores, so they can eat practically anything. A trash can is like a buffet for them. The best choice in such a case is not to leave your trash cans outside during the night. Or else, you might come across a big mess during the morning. Another great way to secure your trash cans if you are not able to take them in is to seal their lid as tightly as possible. Use ropes or buy one whose lid doesn’t open easily.
This will effectively cut off a major food source of the skunks. Also, make sure that your trash can can’t be easily tripped over. Even though skunks are highly unlikely to do it due to their size disadvantage, other animals can. Once the trash is out of the can, there’s no stopping these creatures from barging right into it.
10. DIY Citrus Repellant
There’s no denying the fact that home remedies are the best. Well, there’s an effective home remedy for your skunk problem as well. Skunks and other animals hate the acidic and pungent nature of citric acid. You can make use of substances that contain citric acid to deter skunks.
You can take orange peels, and lemon rinds and spread them across the whole area frequently visited by the skunks. However, they tend to lose their effectiveness quickly, so make sure to replace them regularly.
Another great way that takes time but is highly effective in the long run is planting trees that bear citric fruits. Their smell will blanket the entire property keeping skunks away. But these methods work the best with other methods.
Sealing Your Deck With Chicken Wire
Pregnant female skunks need a well-protected space to give birth to their young ones. Deck proves to be the ideal location in such circumstances. They are dark and well-protected. To make sure that they don’t come back in the deck, you can seal your whole deck with a chicken wire.
Install it strategically to ensure maximum efficiency. Make sure to bury the wire at least 12 inches underneath so that the skunks can’t break in by digging a hole. However, if the baby skunks have already taken birth, then it’s best to wait for a couple of weeks. Once they are old enough to follow the mother skunk around, you can go on with executing your plan.
After you are done with it and the skunk problem has been solved make sure to clean their excrements.
11. DIY Natural Home Repellent Mix
The best way to combat them is to offend their noses till their breaking point. Since they have a highly sensitive nose, they can sue it for their advantage. However, you can turn this other way around too. Make a mixture that will irritate their noses so much that they never come back.
The best way to do this is to prepare a mixture full of spices. Make a mixture of onion, jalapeno seeds, red chili, and cayenne pepper in water and boil it for 20 minutes. After it is done, take the liquid portion of the mixture in a spray bottle. Now you have a weapon you can spray.
Spray it on those locations frequented by skunks. It will certainly make them go far away never to come back again. However, never use chocolate. Chocolates contain compounds that are toxic to skunks. It will kill them.
12. Remove Possible Shelter Options
Skunks like to live in dark places that are hidden from their predators. This gives them and their babies protection from their predators. There might be some areas in your property that are providing them with the ideal locations. You might have an uncovered deck or a pile of woods or anything that is well protected and has enough space to house a skunk family.
If that’s the case, then it’s time to get rid of them. Cut the overgrown bushes and hollow and rotting trees. These places provide the perfect place for a skunk hideout. Other great areas are cracks that are big enough for a skunk to enter, and junks and piles of old and unused materials like wood.
13. Trap And Release
That’s the best way to give thee little creatures a little heart attack. But don’t worry! It is not used to harm them. This enclosure is mainly used to capture them and then release them into the wild- where they belong. Setting a trap and releasing a skunk trap will be a great option.
Put an irresistible bait inside the skunk trap. Also, camouflage it visually by putting on leaves and dirt on it. Its smell also needs to be camouflaged effectively since these skunks have a strong nose. To cover up the scent of metal and chemicals, make it dirty. Now just wait and watch.
Make sure to check the skunk trap frequently. Once the skunk is captured make sure to leave it in the wild as soon as possible since such an enclosure is a less-than-ideal place for them.
14. Seal your deck with chicken wire
Skunks under the deck are a common problem because these hidden spaces make ideal dens. It’s a dark, very well-protected space that is particularly enticing to pregnant females.
If you’re trying to prevent skunks from living under your house, seal off space underneath with durable chicken wire.
Measure the space from the floor of your desk to the ground and add 2 inches on top for easier installation and at least 12 inches at the bottom to be buried underneath. This prevents skunks and other animals from digging under to get through.
15. When To Hire A Professional
When everything seems to go down the drain without any effective result, then it’s best to seek professional help. If this problem gets out of hand call a professional before things get worse or more annoying. Even though they are naturally gentle, they can turn aggressive at times too. And this makes them hard to scare off. There are several reasons behind it, most notably being them protecting their youngs or contracting rabies.
In such a case, it isn’t right and safe to handle this yourself. Calling a professional is the last resort in such cases. Even though the cost of their services is higher, but they can safely and effectively eradicate all the skunks out of your property. This is all because they have proper training and equipment for every possible situation.
So, now you know what to do and who to call if you start facing a skunk problem.
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