Skunk

When your yard is home to a skunk, you have an urgency to get rid of it right away!

We will not only remove the skunk(s) that have taken up residence for today, but also make your yard unsuitable for other skunks to move in for good!

According to the New Jersey Audubon Society, “Skunks are nocturnal and secretive. They would prefer to go about their business without ever encountering a human or a dog.

Skunks are members of the weasel family. The striped skunk is the only species of skunk found in New Jersey.

It is about the size of a house cat, primarily black with a white blaze on its forehead and a broad white, usually divided, stripe that runs down its back. Like all skunks, it is omnivorous, feeding on insects (especially grubs), berries and other vegetation, rodents, bird’s eggs, and garbage. They frequently dig for their food, leaving small conical holes in the soil. Skunks do not hibernate, but den up for the winter, coming out during warmer periods to feed. Breeding takes place during late winter and the young are born in May. Denning occurs in old animal dens, rock piles, brush piles, and under buildings.”

Often people become aware of skunks in their yards in January. At that time of year, male skunks will fight with each other over breeding rights and may spray during the fight. Other times, an unreceptive female will spray an aggressive male in retaliation.

As noted above, skunks are strongly nocturnal. Deer are also nocturnal but often can be seen in the early morning or early evening. Skunks, on the other hand, will not come out of their den until after sunset and then return to it way before first light. This explains why humans and other animals such as household pets can largely avoid the horror of being sprayed by a frightened or threatened skunk. But once a skunk lives on your property, you will smell the spray that the skunk uses as a defense mechanism sooner or later! And when that happens, you will want the animal gone.

Believe it or not, there was a time when skunks were kept as exotic pets in homes.

However, now that New Jersey has had confirmed rabies cases in every county of the state, it is no longer legal to own a pet skunk in NJ. There is no 100% guaranteed rabies vaccine for skunks.

The two most common areas on the property for skunks to make a den are under sheds and under decks. The short-term solution is a trapping program to remove unwanted skunks. However, this is only half the equation, it will not solve the problem. Removing one skunk simply makes room for new skunks to move in.

To learn how Fischer Wildlife Control & Repairs keep skunks from coming back, click here.