Sign up for daily gardening advice and tips
Hey—What’s that smell? If you think you’ve got a skunk hanging around your yard, it’s time to act! Here’show to identify and deter skunks from your yard andgarden.
What AreSkunks?
Skunks are nocturnal animals that are naturally mild-mannered and non-aggressive; they prefer small animals and insects for dinner instead of your garden.They occasionally visit gardens and if they do, it may be because corn or other plants are close to theground.
The skunk claims homesteading rights from coast to coast. Distributed across the country are 4 species of skunks, including thestriped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and the spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius). The common striped skunk lives mostly insparse forestsandfields.
Skunks can be very nice to have around because they dig up and feed on the larvae ofcutworms, Japanese beetles, hornworms, and other crop-destroying insect life. However, skunks are not only partial to insects; they will eat leaves, buds, grasses, grains, garbage, any fruit or berries within reach, and even small game. They also may disturb your plants while digging for these grubs. This is what can make them a bit of a nuisance togardeners.
Although their nocturnal wanderings around our fields and gardens, lawns, and flowerbeds cause us occasional inconvenience and uneasiness, these are minor faults which can be readily overlooked by the time the Harvest Moon begins to shine. It is then that the skunk’s appetite for the pests that plague our gardens helps make it possible for that Moon to glow over a cornucopia brimming withplenty.
Why and How Do SkunksSpray?
Skunks are famous for their skunk spray—you can smell an angry skunk from over a mile away. Furthermore, a skunk can “shoot” you from 10 to 12 feet, sideways, up, or down, with little apparent effort. Most gardeners worry more about a skunk spraying in the garden, on the gardener, or on a pet than about a skunk chewing up someveggies.
Under a skunk’s tail are two pouches equipped with a pair of ducts which, in peacetime, remain hidden, but which quickly expose themselves when danger threatens. Their foul ammunition isa golden-yellow liquid whose active ingredient isthe sulfide mercaptan. Each of the two pouches contains enough ammunition for six rounds. After the supply is exhausted, a week’s time is required to replenish it. This spray has made skunks creatures feared by nearly all animals, including most ofmankind.
A skunk’s warfare is purely defensive. When confronted by a menacing man or clamorous dog, skunks willtry to sidestep by ambling off. This means that if you find a skunk,simply turn back and you should be fine. If pursued, skunks will turn, face theiraggressor, and stamp their forefeet. This is their first warning. At this point, you should really berunning!
The second warning comes when their tails, all but the tips, are hoisted. Then, this ultimatum failing to establish peace, the white tip rises, andspreads out, and the skunk, snapping into a U-position with snout and rear toward the target, delivers a charge of spray. At this point, it is simply too late, and your dog probably smellsfoul.
People usually get sprayed when they are walking through their yards in the dark (if you can’t see a skunk, you can’t run away), or if they disturb a skunk while eating. Those are good reasons to keep skunks out of your yard in the first place—and toalways carry aflashlight!
