Skunk Removal

[Milton Burro]

I've been a trapper for a number of years. I would like to add a few points.
First, Skunks have the capacity of carrying rabies with no ill effect to themselves. The rabies virus lives in the brain and spinal column. If you chose to shoot a skunk make it a heart/lung shot. With a head/spinal column shot it is possible to aerosol the rabies virus where is can affect other critters - including humans. The downside to a heart/lung shot is the skunk will likely 'let loose'.
Second, If you use a live catch cage trap make sure it is small enough to prevent the skunk from being able to raise its tail. The warning sign a skunk is about to spray is the tail going straight up. I have caught many skunks in
8x8" cage traps (one end set method) and never had a spray because there is not enough space to raise the tail. The plumbing on a skunk doesn't work unless the tail can be raised.
I agree the best way to deal with a live trapped skunk is to drown it. Just make sure the trap doors stay closed when you toss it in the water.

Nelson

Interesting. I had to drown another skunk this morning. I never knew you could aerosol the virus by shooting one. I need a smaller trap too I guess.

 

[2manyrocks]

She should trap it and leave the trap and skunk at city hall without the sheet.

 

[CollinLeon]

I reload my own ammo and use a .357mag that is firing a 158 grain bullet at 350 fps. A *very* slow and quiet round. Even more quiet than a .22LR. I have used this to dispose of a skunk in an urban environment that frowns upon firearm discharges. It is so quiet that no one really notices it. I quickly dug a hole next to where the skunk fell and buried him in place. There is still a bit of smell associated with it -- depends upon how deep you dig, I guess... It was daylight, so I didn't really want to be standing around all that long visible like that digging a hole and burying something...

 

[AHNC]

I had a skunk take up residence under my porch some years ago. I ran a piece of 3/4" pvc around the back of the house to the area under my nice pile of milled white oak. I hooked the air compressor up to it and kinda gently opened the ball valve to give it a little shot. I'd do it at night and in the morning. Only took two days and the skunk vacated the premises without ruining my wood pile.:thumbsup:

Other than that, I have a friend who is a trapper in Maine and does skunks all the time. I'll ask him today and post later.

 

[Milton Burro]

I reload my own ammo and use a .357mag that is firing a 158 grain bullet at 350 fps. A *very* slow and quiet round. Even more quiet than a .22LR. I have used this to dispose of a skunk in an urban environment that frowns upon firearm discharges. It is so quiet that no one really notices it. I quickly did a hole next to where the skunk falls and buries him in place. There is still a bit of smell associated with it -- depends upon how deep you dig, I guess...

What powder and how much?

 

[rd_macgregor]

My nephew used to use his paintball gun to discourage deer from raiding the garden. I'm not sure how well it really worked...all the deer in his neighbourhood had yellow, pink and orange blotches...but it might be more effective on a small animal like a skunk. Or, maybe your whole neighbourhood would just smell bad?
BOB

 

[k0ua]

What powder and how much?

Be carefull, for 2 reasons.
1: you can get a bullet stuck in the barrel pretty easy at those velocitys, depending on barrel length, and if a lead bullet, the quantity of lube on the bullet. Also velocity is going to vary a lot depending on orientation of the gun, ie. up or down pointing.

2: Detonation. While I cannot vouch 100% for the truth of whether detonation actually exist's or is a product of imagination, there have been many reports of handguns exploding due to too low charges of powder. The theory being that instead of "burning" like smokeless powder normally does, it "explodes" as the surface area is larger now that there is a small amount of powder in the case. That said, some have suggested, the reason for all the detonation reports is because of double charges of powder (which can easly fit in a case now with a reduced charge) in the first place. Also keep in mind the the charges for a .357 mag. are very small in relation to the case volume to begin with, as the .357 was made longer to prevent them from being chambered in .38 special guns, and for that matter .38 special cases were made longer to prevent them from being chambered int 38 long guns. So the .357 case is way over sized for the normal powder charge to begin with. Now you could perhaps mitigate the danger by using a powder like "Trail Boss" which is large flake slow burning, large volume filling, and made for "squib cowboy loads" or perhaps using dacron, or malto-meal or some other filler.

I am not saying not do it. I am saying "be careful" and think it through.

James K0UA

 

[CollinLeon]

What powder and how much?

Hodgdon Clays was the powder... I'm having a bit of trouble finding the reloading sheet where I wrote down the grains of powder, but the reloading press is still setup for that caliber from the last time I reloaded and the powder measure is throwing 3.2 grains... I used that same amount in .38 and .357 brass... The handgun that I was using it in was a Taurus .357 (Model 689) with a 6" barrel.

This is one of those cases where you start high and work down to a powder level that will work for you...

 

[CollinLeon]

My nephew used to use his paintball gun to discourage deer from raiding the garden. I'm not sure how well it really worked...all the deer in his neighbourhood had yellow, pink and orange blotches...but it might be more effective on a small animal like a skunk. Or, maybe your whole neighbourhood would just smell bad?
BOB

I would be hesitant at using anything that might scare a skunk that did not also kill him before he could spray... Even with a low powered firearm round, it will start smelling eventually, but it leaks out of him slow enough that you can bury it before the smell starts to leak out... Over the next few days, you'll get a bit of smell coming from the grave, but it isn't *too* bad with a foot of dirt over it... Next time I have to do it though, I'll use a set of post hole diggers and put him deeper to see if 2 ft of dirt complete hides the smell...

I wonder if dousing the body with lime would make a difference... It sure makes a difference on decomposing bodies that are left on the surface...

 

[retiredmgn]

Hmm, not in my experience. Shooting with .22 has always caused them to 'let loose'. A yellow greenish discharge that you quickly know you just shot a skunk. If shooting is required I always take them a 1/4 mile away from the house.
I'm back at it. One got one of the cats last night. ****.