Skunk in garage

This was a first.

Lady calls and thinks she has a skunk coming and going Fromm her garage
So I tell her il be over in an hour

So I get there and this garage is super clean, very fee items in garage and no way a skunk is coming and going as there is no way for it to gèt in and out. But the foam insulation on the overhead door has two spots where a animal has scratched all the way to aluminum exterior. There is a turd on the floor near the door and not the slightest scent of skunk

The contents in garage are three storage closèts one refrigerator one old Vespa scootèr and two recycle bins


That's it. So I'm thinking the only place a skunk can hide is if it goes in the back of fridge or wheelwell of the Vespa. So I perplexed and say well I will put one trap in garage ( so if skunk can walk through walls and get back in. And one outside. There is no service door

So I get down on knees and look under the plastic storage closets and....

There is some black fur with a little white

So I set two traps in garage and tell them I will be back to get the skunk in the morning

Wish more skunk jobs where like this

Could've pulled a turtle man and put "live action" into play with a glove and a pillow case

Yea. But then I would have to charge extra

Drove two of those out this summer with a basic water squirt bottle and a little funneling material.... Rob's skunk book has a tip about using water to move skunks. Has worked in a number of situations for me in the last few years.

No waiting....

Plus the folks are amazed you can move the skunk....

Had one about a month ago maybe a 3 -4 month old juvenile sprayed two dogs then went onto the guys sun porch which was partially enclosed and holed up under his rolling tool box. That one with some slow talk and a bit of fleece as eye cover came out with a nape hold and lift into a box and out the door.. Only testy part was the homeowner trying to "help" by moving every noisy piece of material he could on the porch...

Nice, but what if! If it sprays in the garage I would go from hero to zero in no time. Plus in the cage in The morning it leaves with me and they no longer need to worry. But that would definitely be a show!

May have to try that at some location were failure is less troublesome

I had a sales guy tell a customer I'd go get a skunk under her porch with a catch pole.

I found out about this when I went to look under the porch for a den and the lady asked where my catch pole was. I tactfully suggested we just figure out if there is a den under there first. No den or skunks under there.

Well you guys all know that I cheat but that skunk would have been removed in about 6 minutes with no odor and no second trip.

Would any powdered donuts be involved in this removal?

Not intentionally but they could certainly leave an unintentional trail.

Finally an easy skunk, it is waiting in the trap

Skunk in garage...trap along side of wall and long pole...tap behind skunk and he will move along wall into trap....i agree paul...about 6 minutes...they wont spray

MI Trapping -

The two most recent skunks inside garage type scenarios were as follows for me.

1) Skunk in residential garage, folks had left the door open overnight unknowingly and shut the door and went to the garage later to get something and saw the skunk.
Guy tried to scoot the skunk out with a long golf club before he called sending me to his house. The skunk had sprayed as he went at it a little too quickly otherwise like Josh says, and I agree you can move them just by being careful and slow.

Though it had already sprayed and the garage was completely filled with a fog of skunk cologne, I didn't want to add to it or bring more to the family, they were definitely not looking to have the skunk spend another night or even another hour there, so I borrowed a household spray bottle, filled it up with tap water and after setting up a basic funnel to the exterior of the garage a few light squirts to the hind end and we were off and moving, out the door he went, through the gap between houses and off into the greenspace.

(Total fluke of course, they never had one, never had a problem with one till this one, and thus any fallout of the skunk still being in the area wasn't a concern they had, as they also knew one skunk isn't the only skunk in the area (ever))

2) Small commercial warehouse distributor, maybe a 2,000 sq. foot warehouse space with a loading dock in the back. They realized the skunk was in there, had chased it around a bit (it had sprayed) before calling which sent me there.

Skunks was about 40' from the door to leave and both employees were wearing respirators (they sell commercial products some of which like we use in the industry), again I don't want it to spray but need to get it out, they aren't waiting or able to let it stay overnight.

They had lots of cardboard and lots of wood sheets, so again, made a funnel starting at the door and ran it to the skunk with no gaps, several squirts to get it moving (not a lot of water each time) and off we went out the door and on to the vacant field next door...

Again, in their case, this was a fluke, had never happened in 10+ years of the employees working there together and they had simply made an error of leaving the loading dock door open at the wrong hour...

I totally agree about the zero to hero if they spray, but skunks react to water like house cats do in most cases. Have used it to move them into a live trap too where needed when the site didn't work for the skunk making a run for it into the bushes, or such...

Just a good tool for the box when it has to move now...

We raised a litter of 5 a few years back now when policies were different on them in state, learned a lot about what sets them off, what you can and can't get away with. Has helped me a lot with skunks on residential or commercial accounts we have that are in tough to deal with scenarios.

The one under the guys rolling toolbox had already sprayed as well, but I couldn't see how to get it to move as there were about 5 rescue dogs barking, the guy was moving crud around on the porch while talking loudly to me and the skunks posture said, I'm not leaving without some gas....

By being slow and quiet with the fleece and bringing it up to the skunk, letting it smell it and be comfortable with it, I was able to keep moving it until it was covering him, which gave him protection and a feeling of safety (something that eye covers do with most wildlife capture for research I've ever done), then a slow but steady grasp for the nape of the neck, away we go up and into the box for easy transport.

Same with a noose pole with skunks in window wells, they don't seem to object to inanimate objects and being lifted by the front end and lowered into a live trap or xfer equipment.

I personally like skunks a lot, interesting animal, definitely misunderstood by most homeowners which is one reason they are such a popular target in our industry on top of the reality of the odor of course, especially on "fido."

Two of my school friends from back in the day have both had their dogs whacked this week by skunks....

Fido finds them pretty interesting too!

I am thankful for all the information. This skunk had not sprayed and had zero odor. Customer also wanted skunk completely gone. I also think skunks are a cool animal. I have a farm were i can release them as well as a rehabilitater that allows release On her property.

Good info on spraying with water or tapping to get them out. Had one in a living room a bunch of years ago. They left the back slider door open, skunk just walked in. No problem until the dog started barking and chasing him. Sprayed everywhere of course. I played sheep dog and just walked him out slowly. He didn't spray any more at least, maybe out of bullets.

Glad to see I'm not the only lunatic that relocates skunks. The only difference between your bottle of liquid and mine is; I can put

the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed skunk right next to my face and have the customer take a picture. Now that's advertising!

Wink,

I think there are a few other differences, but I think we can agree that discussion occupies too many threads on this forum aye?

I've used a garden hose to steer skunks several times.

One evening I had a guy cementing a den entrance when a skunk came waddling into the yard ready to spend the night. I grabbed the garden hose and kept the skunk at about 30' distance until the job was done.