Comments on: Skunk Season

By: lostlandscape(James)

lostlandscape(James) — Sat, 09 May 2009 22:55:07 +0000

I’m actually a little bummed that it’s been a few years since we had skunks. We lived with a family, including one year when the mother had what must have been eight or more little skunks.

Yes, the cat got sprayed a couple times over several years, and I got it once when I tossed something in the general direction of the skunk when it was facing off with the cat. But overall I’d rather have skunks than death adders in the garden! There were no snails or slugs in the garden as long as the skunks were around.

By: ryan

ryan — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:49:50 +0000

You have my sympathy. The dogs in my neighborhood are always getting sprayed. Project Wildlife has a recipe with peroxide, soap, and baking soda. No idea if it works. They also mention vinegar, which a friend of mine tried once. Again, can’t say if it works, but it might be worth a try.

By: barbara

barbara — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:39:04 +0000

My dog, Milo, was sprayed about 3 weeks ago. It is the second time in his life (the last time was much, much worse – about 8 years ago). This time he was barely sprayed, just a bit near his neck. I washed him immediately with the suggested solution of peroxide, baking soda and dish soap. It seemed to work. Now, 3 wks later, he still has a residual smell – even after 2 additional washings.

The first time it happened was in the winter and he was heavily dosed. In the chaos of the moment one of my kids opened the door and the dog ran in. Let me tell you, you do not want this to happen! You may have some good feelings about skunk smell from afar, but it is really, really, really bad up close, and especially bad in your house. The house stunk for weeks.

If anyone has any ideas on how to get the lingering odor out of poor Milo, it would be appreciated. And by the way, tomato juice may temporarily mask the smell, but it is basically ineffective.

Still, I like skunks but wish they would get used to Milo – who, after all, does have to use the facilities before going to bed.

By: wiseacre

wiseacre — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:00:43 +0000

I kind of miss our resident skunk. It used to eat with the cats in our breezeway at the old house. They are unafraid but I never took that as being friendly. The only time I got a good scare was the night I went to let the cat scratching at the door in. OOPS, in walked the skunk.

By: tina

tina — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:48:54 +0000

Good morning Ryan, Wonderful blog you have here. I found the Mallorcan wall and the mummy aphids quite interesting. And what a good picture of the aphids!

We have a saying here in Tennessee, “It’s the annual running of the skunks” in February when they begin getting active. It is not a good thing. The skunks ‘run’ the road and wind up under tires. We all surely smell the smell. We’ve had some in the garden. Dogs chase them and you know what happens. Smelly! Enough to scare even a cougar-that’s pretty strong. I hope that snake did not bite you-scary!

By: emma

emma — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:18:59 +0000

Thanks for visiting my blog, yours is very interesting as we live in such different parts of the world. Never seen a skunk in my life… we have badgers but they don’t come in my garden, the most exotic creature in our garden is a snail.. boring!!