Decks are great places to relax and hang out with friends and family outside. What do you do, though, when your peaceful deck is invaded by strangers, especially skunks? Being known for their unique looks and strong smell, skunks often hide under decks and other structures. When skunks decide to live under your deck, it can be a pain. This guide explains how to get rid of them safely and effectively.
Figuring Out How Skunks Act
We need to understand how skunks behave before we can deal with the problem of lodgers:
- Nature at Night: Skunks are mainly nocturnal animals, which means they are most busy at night. This makes it less likely that you will see them during the day.
- What they eat: Skunks are greedy omnivores. They eat many things, like bugs, small mammals, fruits, veggies, and trash from people. When they live in cities or suburbs, they often have plenty of food.
- Burrowing and Denning: Skunks like to hide under porches, decks, sheds, and other similar buildings. In these places, they often build dens to rest, raise their young, and stay safe from the weather.
How to Spot Skunk Lodgers
If you think a skunk is living under your deck, look out for these signs:
- Sightings: If you see skunks around your deck a lot, especially at night, this could mean that they are there.
- Skunk Odour: Skunk spray has a strong, unpleasant smell that lets you know what it is. The smell is often noticed, which suggests that skunks may have moved in.
- Skunks are known to damage lawns and plants by digging in them to find bugs and grubs. If your yard or garden has damage like soil that has been turned over or small holes, skunks may be to blame.
- Disturbance to Trash: Skunks are drawn to human trash. Skunks may be looking for food if you see trash cans on their sides or trash all over the ground near your deck.
Getting rid of Skunk Lodgers
Once you know for sure that there are skunks living under your deck, follow these steps to get rid of them safely and effectively:
- Find Den Sites: Look over your deck carefully for possible entry points and places where a den could be built. Most of the time, skunks use these holes under the deck to get to their homes. Skunks can’t get in or out of these holes, so cover them with hardware cloth or heavy-gauge wire mesh.
- Install lights that turn on when they sense movement. Skunks are often scared away by loud noises and bright lights. Putting motion-activated lights under your deck can scare them away.
- Make the area unwelcoming. Skunks look for safe, comfortable places to live. Get rid of food sources like trash or falling fruit on your deck to make it less appealing. This makes skunks more likely to look for other places to live.
- Consider Hiring a Professional: If the skunk problem is big or hard to handle, you should talk to a professional wildlife removal service. They know how to look at your case and give you advice on how to get rid of the animal in a safe and humane way.
How to Handle Skunk Encounters
When trying to get rid of skunks that have taken up residence under your deck, be careful not to hurt them:
- Keep your distance: Skunks are usually not mean, but they may spray if they feel threatened. Give them room to leave on their own and stay away from them.
- Techniques for Deodorizing: If a skunk sprays you, your pet, or your property while it is being removed, there are several things you can do at home to get rid of the smell. There are commercial skunk odour neutralizers and a combination of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid soap in this group.
- Professional Help: If you see a skunk that looks hurt or upset, you should call animal control or a wildlife rescue centre in your area for help. Do not try to get rid of the skunk by yourself.
Getting rid of skunks that have taken up residence under your deck can be hard, but it’s important to do it for the safety and comfort of your house. By learning how skunks act, spotting the signs that they are there, and taking the right steps to get rid of them, you can effectively solve the problem and keep your home quiet.
At Skunk Control Barrie, guarantees complete skunk removal using industry-standard methods that have been time-tested on numerous cases before and are approved by the federal and provincial governments.