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We all used to have to suffer through a skunk incident, letting time do its thing to mellow the smell. Things have changed.
Of course, skunks often strike when you’re least expecting them, so what are you to do in case of skunk spray emergency? Well, there are the alternative remedies. Results do vary dramatically. Even so, here’s a few for experimentation:
• Tomato juice. I just have to mention it. It really doesn’t work well at all. However, I have heard that if you let it dry on the dog, that’s when it does its magic. So if this is all you can find, and you’re okay with Rover looking like a ketchup explosion, then give it a try.
• Sunlight dish soap. Citrus seems to do a good job of neutralizing skunk odour. This lemony dish detergent was recommended by a friend who’s used it with success.
• Baking soda, peroxide, and dish soap (BPD). This one, the most often suggested treatment on the Internet, was also recommended by a friend. The original recipe developed by chemist Paul Krebaum is found at The University of Nebraska - Lincoln Extension Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ website.
The BPD Home Skunk Odour Eliminator Recipe:
One quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (fresh bottle), 1/4 cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), 1-2 teaspoons liquid dish soap.
Ingredients must be mixed in an open container and used immediately. Never mix the ingredients in advance because oxygen released from hydrogen peroxide may cause a closed container to explode.
The solution can be used on people or pets; avoid splashing the product in the eyes or mouth. Allow the solution to remain on hair for five minutes before rinsing with water. Repeat as needed.
Do not use this solution on clothing - it may discolor the fabric. [Please note that it may also lighten fur.]
As with any problem, the best solution is to prevent the problem in the first place. During the time of year when skunks, like bears, are trying to fatten up before hibernation, they are looking for food and a good place to sleep.
Here are a few tips for not putting out the diner sign for these wily black and white opportunists: Keep your pet’s food inside rather than out. Keep bird feeders elevated so skunks can’t feed out of them. Clear away all fallen apples and remaining surface garden vegetables. Compost containers can be a bit of a problem because skunks will dig under or get in any way they can, so keep compost cooking and well turned, to make the heap less attractive.
To keep skunks from settling in your yard for the winter, seal all potential entranceways under houses or outbuildings, just make sure you’re not sealing a skunk inside! Use motion sensor lights to discourage these dark-loving creatures. Sometimes repellants are recommended to get rid of a persistent skunk. Mothballs are the old standby, however they are toxic so are not good for use in areas children and pets frequent.
The website Owners of Pet Skunks gives the following Yard Skunk Repellant Recipe developed by Jerry Baker:
Spray your yard with a mix of 8oz. liquid dishwashing soap and 8oz. castor oil, added to 1 gallon of water. Remember to reapply if it rains heavily.
You can also trap skunks, either by calling your local animal control or by purchasing a trap yourself. As a beekeeper I have had experience with skunk trapping because these clever little black and white bee-connoisseurs can wipe out a hive over three-night period by scratching at the hive entrance then eating all bees that come out to warn it off.
One thing I learned in my skunk-trapping years is that skunks are actually quite fast, so the catch part can be easy, but the release part may just get you skunked. Which brings you back to the skunk treatments…and the quote by American politician Lloyd Doggett, “Sometimes when you get in a fight with a skunk, you can’t tell who started it.”
Photo Credit: Torli Roberts
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