Skunk Essence

Does anyone know what the going rate is for skunk essence? Just curious if it is worth the stink or not.

Thanks.

$20 to $25 last I knew

$20 all day a lot depends how big your skunks are and what they produce per skunk, here we average about a oz per skunk.

$15 ounce the last I bought.

It's always worth it jackalope. I get my syringes and needles from tractor supply. Make sure you pull the plunger out and rinse everything including the needle real well in between uses. That will prolong the life of it. Essence is very corrosive, it'll eat rubber up pretty fast
$20 to $25 here. I wish I averaged an oz. each skunk.

Me to on the ounce a skunk. Maybe1/4 to1/3 occasionally more, this out of caged trapped skunks.

By the time ufigure in the pelt, essence and empty pods they are one of the more profitable animals out there. Not to mention the rendered fat and skulls

We are blessed with larger skunks than most other places. I’ve gotten them up to 16 pounds, 8-10lb size is not uncommon. Our average size skunk is probably an extra large in many areas. A jumbo skunk here can yield 2+ ounces on occasions. I averaged about 100oz plus of essence a year from about that many Pepes caught yearly.

This year the numbers are way down from past years I just picked my 8th one when I would have caught 90 by now in past years. Lots of tricks to dealing with them to get maximum value out of them.

Tapping them all at once vs doing each individual one so I stink once rather the every time I get one.


Yearly haul

Skunk essence is worth it, depending upon the species you are trying to attract.

I just told my boys this. Now the 11 year old is going to buy a dirt bike trapping skunks lol. I bet he would winn all his wrestling matches.

BUT we just had a skunk confirmed with rabies in our county.

I’ve only come across a few that were sickly and passed on them, seen one that was pawing circles in the grass and biting at the grass along its way around that was the worse I’ve come across.

We do not have the monster size like Law Dog has but I had one today with a full load, little over an ounce.

I have never targeted skunks just picked them up in coon sets.my last was in a tire set in my bee yard it and a coon was messing with my hives. Anything different or specific to target them?

Bait depends on where your after them non meat foods around non targets. I cage mine to get the most out of them in every way possible.

I’d still like to longline them with #10 food cans and 120s in culverts in a large loop.

I set 14 120s today baited with 1/2 of a rotten banana and an oreo. Hope I can sleep tonight.

What size needle is good for sucking out stunk essence?

Like with everything China gets involved with the usual monoject syringes worked well the new China junk needles suck the inside diameter must be different.

BL US brand I use the 1X16 needles I need to try the smaller China junk to see if the mustard is an issue if that’s all they carry.

Thanks. I'll see if TSC has them.

Didn't use to have to sign anything getting needles and syringes at tractor supply, but last time they made me sign my name. I signed it Jim Bridger.

16g × 1 1/2" from tractor supply

Perfect. Thank you.

jerry now do you keep pods until you have enough to do all at once.

If you freeze them, make sure they are completely thawed prior to extraction.

What is the rendered skunk fat used for

Sage. Its used in formulating lures and baits. Good stuff!

Best syringe for handling essence. One I'm using now I've use for several years without replacing o-ring and less cleaning than it should have.

In cool dry conditions you can stack skunks for several days no problem or just remove the pods and freeze the pods in a glass jar until you have enough to tap at the same time. Podding should be done only with thawed skunks never frozen ones.

Jerry, are you using just one #10 can for your 120s?

I have 80 or so #10 food cans from the jail kitchen the plan is to slot them just like a bucket for a 160-220. I’m just planning on using Belisle 110s along with some Victor 120 and Belisle conis I have In the shed. Just one end would be open

I really like it as a cover scent while deer hunting.
I saw one hit on the highway the other day. The white stripes were so wide, they almost covered its entire back. Beautiful animal.

Thanks Jerry. I just went and dug a bunch of them out of the school dumpster. I am so glad I saw this thread, cause I was just starting to build a bunch of boxes to use the 155's I have. I can see lots of options with the can.

Had a call yesterday on a Pepe, the guy had it in a Havahart cage in his attached garage with cardboard wired over both ends and extra wire going under the overhead door. His plan was to drag the metal cage over the cement floor to get it outside.SMH To make it worse the only light was a single 60 watt bulb in the entire garage so the skunks details were hard to see.

Told the guy that getting that skunk dragged across the cement floor was a bad plan I doubt he could get the noisy overhead door opened without it spraying under those conditions. The skunk was edgy I told the guy this might not end well and to never trap them in your garage it the worse thing you can do.

Ok so I only ever dispatch and toss them in a ditch. Check this morning and have a small skunk in one of the boys coyote sets. Since I heard low velocity shot to the chest helps with them spraying heading back to the house for an air gun. It worked last time.

Now I don't have any bottles or anything to take or put quilt in. Is there anywhere local to get them in a hurry and are there any good videos to watch and show removing pods quil ect. It's probably time to start using them not jus being glad to get them removed. May even have it tanned.

Any fast replies would be appreciated.

Any glass jar works in a pinch Ragu, jelly or ball jar think about hunting a deer avoid the neurological system it’s guaranteed trouble.

I put my essence in whiskey bottle

Found a 22g x3/4 on a 3ml we have for goats. Now where to not cut and what to save. Then where to market.

Have not dispatched yet

Man would definitely want to keep track of that bottle so not to get confused.

I would try and get a bigger needle and syringe. The last one I did had over 20cc per pod. You don’t want to have to keep poking if you don’t have to.

I promise u that isn't going to happen lol

I've noticed that the color of the essence seems to be lighter around here in February. Here are two one ounce bottles
The lighter one is from a skunk yesterday
The darker one from two skunks in the fall
The fall ones are always that dark but not so with the February ones. Anyone else see color differences in your extracted essence?

Great point. Heck I have no idea where to poke or what not to cut . I think I saw a larger plastic part I may be able to put the needle on. He is not a small as I thought maybe medium tail is thin not something I thi k I want to tan will look closer.

I wouldn't use less than a 15 cc syringe. That is about 1/2 oz. That should hold enough for an avg draw on one pod to not have to worry about running short of room in the syringe.

You want to avoid poking more than once on a draw into one pod. You can get extra bleed from that other poke hole when inserting into another part of the pod to draw again.

Unload and poke the 2nd pod and extract. Etc

So where to poke and how deep

YouTube is your friend here. I find I poke too deep and have to back the needle out a bit to get flow started after I apply suction. The pods are basically on either side of the vent. You can feel and see them if you make a cut. I have only extracted the essence whole the pods are still attached. I haven’t tried removing them yet in fear of puncturing, I have an extremely nice skunk with an almost white back caught this morning. I didn’t have time to skin before work so put in freezer for now. Hopefully pick up another or three by end of weekend and do them all at once.

I got a white one yesterday and a black one today. I had a Dr's appointment today so I'm gonna try and skin them tonight.

Wife picked up bigger syringes and needels and gloves.

She got2 glass bottles. One is 2oz and has a screw on metal lid the other is one oz and has a cork . I like the one oz size better but think the metal would be better for a lid good night she got 16 g needels seem to big to me will have to use the two small 22g I guess. The sharp part on the 81 may be to big for the pod?

I'm guessing I should not do this in the kitchen. .

I'm guessing your correct!!

Outside on a windy day works the best. The 22ga needles can’t handle the mustard fat. Keep in mind syringes are cheap I have the 10cc for sleepy time and 20 and 35cc for extracting the stink. One poke allows suction the pod will collapse as you draw milk the pods with your thumb to push the mustard out into the syringe.

I cut my pods from the carcass before extracting the essence. You can poke any center mass part of the pod. I prefer to insert about 1/2 way down the pod to allow a good draw syringe position. You will need both hands to do this well. One on the syringe and one on the plunger to draw back. You can move the needle around a little to extract all the mustard if necessary and massage the drained pod to help this along.

I use 16 gage x 3/4" needles. I remove the pods before skinning and then extract the juice.

Skunk juice is a strong acid and will eventually eat through the metal lids. Never used cork but I do not think it would do a good job of containing the scent.

And skunk juice will eventually degrade the rubber in the syringe even if you rinse well after each use.

First extraction ever used the 16g. One side 7cc the other about 8cc.

So should I try to keep the pods and what are they good for?

Here is a set off of a 12lb skunk compared to a average size pod. My first cuts are from the tail base under the hide around the bung then the normal leg cuts with the regular money cut. Peel back the flaps on each side of the tail while cutting away from the pods at a slight angle. Trim the fat that's around the pods that holds them in place, the muscles around the pods are a dull red the pods themselves are glossy red. Pull on the tabs you will have cut the intestine finish trimming and you ready to tap the pod.

Yes grind and age the pods to make sweet skunk. Those look like China needles find some Monoject US made ones for the poke times the China ones empty way to easy with less pressure.

Id say you did not remove the pods since you did not get any noticeable mustard.

Law Dog, do you prefer the poly hub or aluminum hub needles for extraction?

They don’t seem to make a difference I go through needles and syringe set ups pretty fast I find trying to be cheap always cost me more in the end. Dull needles or sticky syringes will get you sprayed trying to poke through tough hides. Sticky syringes on the draw can lose the plunger rubber and that’s a stinking expensive mess also. Those 35cc syringes are hard to max out saving you a messy repose, yes a bit more expensive but in the end worth it.

No law dog I didn't remove them there is some mustard. In guess I may have got more volume if I removed them?

Sounds like I need to read up on lure making if I'm going to get brave enough to mess with skunks and glands. This time off is good for me. May be contagious and I'm going to have to stop working so many of my days off. Now if I could find someone close to work with the boys on putting up fur. . then we would run a good line and send off a truck load to be tanned

I’d say removing the pods will gain you 10-20% more essence like anything else in trapping there hundreds of ways to do things that you learn over time. A few guys complain about the mustard but that’s the gift that keeps on giving in my opinion. You get essence on your clothes wash them a few times you get hit with that mustard burn the duds. Some bottles will end up with 20-25% mustard in a 4oz jar.

You had a lot of tension going on when doing the removal I’d bet but after a while it’s just another job.

Thanks for all the responses. Since posting me and my coworker have had a run on skunks. He didn't want to mess with the stink so I was the benefactor of the carcasses. So far I have right around 5 oz of skunk essence, with 2 oz coming from one skunk.