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Skunks!
May 26, 2013 16:51:46 GMT -8
Post by allen820 on May 26, 2013 16:51:46 GMT -8
Well dang! It's my turn for varmints, I guess. We have a mother skunk and at least three babies living under our HVAC. The babies are just now getting out, and they are really cute. They just kinda waddle around, sniffing here and there, and occasionally tripping over a rock, etc. They don't really seem to mind our presence, and actually wander up pretty close to us.
But they are skunks, and conventional wisdom is that you don't trust a skunk! We are trying to figure how to relocate them without harming them, and ideally keeping their little skunk family intact.
We'll see what happens.
Allen
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Skunks!
May 27, 2013 6:41:10 GMT -8
Post by shabbychick on May 27, 2013 6:41:10 GMT -8
Do skunks hang around after the babies are old enough to fend for themselves? I don't think I've ever seen a skunk (not a living one, anyway), though I've certainly been treated to their odor a time or two. One would be bad enough; I can't imagine four of them all deciding to spray me at once.
I think I'd be calling in a professional, but you're probably braver than I am!
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Skunks!
May 27, 2013 19:16:13 GMT -8
Post by rosemary on May 27, 2013 19:16:13 GMT -8
I wonder if the have-a-heart traps would work for you, allen. You'd have to be awfully careful, though. Maybe babies don't spray??? Anyway, we use those traps for possums all the time and it works well and doesn't hurt them at all.
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Skunks!
May 28, 2013 17:58:23 GMT -8
Post by allen820 on May 28, 2013 17:58:23 GMT -8
My daughter took a pic of the skunk baby we call Coal because he is almost totally black. Not a good pic, but not bad for late in the evening through the kitchen window! We called the folks to come and get them. Honestly, that breaks my heart because I know what will become of them, but I just don't know anything else to do . . . Allen Attachments:
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Skunks!
May 29, 2013 17:44:37 GMT -8
Post by shabbychick on May 29, 2013 17:44:37 GMT -8
Oh, he's cute! Glad you called the pros. It's too bad they won't just relocate them. I wonder if it's possible to de-stink and sterilize a skunk and keep it as a pet.
Shabbychick
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Skunks!
May 30, 2013 2:54:38 GMT -8
Post by allen820 on May 30, 2013 2:54:38 GMT -8
Well, we captured five babies yesterday morning. Apparently, they all just went into one trap in a little line and got caught. The company said they would take them to a non-profit relocation center in North Knoxville, and that actually they would be relocated. Said the adult skunks would have to be put down, but the babies would be relocated once they got a few weeks older. I certainly hope he wasn't just giving me a bunch of stuff, as it was obvious I was not good at all with killing them.
We haven't caught the Mom yet;we wonder if she hasn't met a tragic end on her own, as we have not seen her for a few days.
Now the fun part -- when the guys went under the house to check for any damage, they came up with a $5400 estimate to clean up poop and pee, repair holes these things had dug, remove and replace torn insulation and vapor barrier, etc., etc. Wow! Thankfully, my homeowner's insurance will take care of a lot of that. But who would have thought they were doing that kind of damage??! Worse than we had teenagers living here!
Allen
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Skunks!
May 30, 2013 17:56:43 GMT -8
Post by shabbychick on May 30, 2013 17:56:43 GMT -8
I'm so glad the babies will be spared, at least. What a bummer about your house, though. So much for the romance of co-existing with nature. But at least it wasn't a bear.
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Skunks!
May 31, 2013 11:49:29 GMT -8
Post by Mac78 on May 31, 2013 11:49:29 GMT -8
Oh my goodness. That is terrible the damage and the cost. I had no idea skunks would do that under a home....it is a wonder they didn't spray down there. oh no!
We had raccoons get in our garage once, they got into a container of motor oil among other things, then got into Dave's 1954 Star Chief that was parked inside. They got oil all over the inside of the car, there were feet marks all over the outside, and the garage was a mess. Our homeowner's insurance covered that incident......We never leave windows down in our garage anymore. Good Luck!
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Post by Vintage Girl on Jun 4, 2013 9:25:10 GMT -8
Allen, I sympasize with you over the skunks. We have them terrible and Holly, our chow got sprayed about a month ago. It is hard to keep them away. Luckily we have a cement foundation, so they cannot get under our house. We have a huge wood pile and they love that. Living in an animal-keeping town, because of hay and other feed, we have squirrels, rats, mice, skunks, etc. But I hate the skunks the most. I am amazed none of the chiwi's have been sprayed.
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