Skunks!!!!

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moparron

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Okay - this is off topic, so I am putting it in here!! I have a skunk problem... a huge skunk problem! I live in a small community just north of denver. We have fields around us and have become used to varmits in the neighborhood.. it's a fact of life in a small rural town. We get racoons, fox, snakes and such. we also get skunks - not too big of a deal until the last year or two! In May of last year my neighbors' dog got sprayed, so he set out a trap... he caught 13 of the things up until mid-October. Thought the problem was fixed.... well this yea rin mid-June it happened again - so out went the trap again.. so far he has caught 23 skunks! Sometimes 2 or 3 a night... this is getting insane! Saturday morning he caught one a 3AM.. took it away about 10 miles and released it at the river (where he releases them all) came home and put the trap down on the patio while he went inside... came out to put the trap in it's place and another one was in there... took that one to the river came back and reset the trap in it's place.... a half an hour later caught another one. went out to take that one away and saw another one walking around. Believe it or not, my neighbor does not "bait" the trap - he is catching htese things on scent alone!!
Mind you ... we do not leave food out, his dogs eat inside (they are civilized), but I do know there are enough old ladies that feed the ka-trillion stray cats in the neighborhood.. so I cna see that as a skunk foodsource. But not right around my house!

The informaiton that is availble on the internet says that the males live alone, and the females live with their offspring for a season.. but they may winter in packs. It also states that skunks feed in an area from 20 acres up to 200 acres in arid areas. Okay - I could understand that if we lived in the back corner of the neighborhood backed up to fields - but we are sort of in the middle of the neighborhood.

Does anyone out there have any real experience with these pests? Too bad it is illegal to discharge a firarm in the city limits!! Oh yeah they also made BB Guns illegal this year!
 
Boy!, I thought our gun laws were bad.
Try leaving out some anti-feeeze for the little stinkers. They will drink it, and die. ( Don't ask me how I know this).
The green stuff works great.
 
Our problem is rabbits..while drinking my coffee in the morning I'll see 4 or 5 hop across my front yard.....one thing though...

they smell better than skunks :)

Scott
 
I've tried the green stuff before... never got touched!! Besides the stupid cats might drink it too! Not that I wouldn't mind the yard having less cat crap in it... I'm not one to outright murder the cats!
we have rabbits too... the flower beds are proof of that! The only things they don't eat are the pepper plants :)
 
Get all of the nieghbors you can together on this and file a complaint to/against the city for failing to deal with the pests. I would be willing to bet that your town has some sort of leash law regarding domestic pets. By that token, they should be mandated/required to deal with unleashed creatures that are a hazard and nuisence to the citizens, make it clear to the city powers that if the problem isn't dealt with , their could be a risk of an outbreak of rabbies, and as such the citzens will start dealing with it with firearms are what ever weapons they can come up with. If that dosn't work, start leashing the things to the doors, handrails, fences, whatever works as a spot for tying the little buggers too on your city hall. After the mayor and his cronies have been sprayed a few times maybe they will figure out that it really IS a problem. Just my thoughts.
 
Wow Ron, that's incredible. I ran into one roaming around the city streets here in Thornton one night a few weeks ago. They must be everywhere. Haven't seen any up our way yet, though. I'd swing by one of these nights and take some target practice with ya if I thought we'd get away with it!!

But Kraby's right - Dacono needs to get an exterminator or somebody out there and deal with it.
 
Hey,I forgot, don't know how true it is but supposedly your supposed to be able to put a 2 litter pop bottle on the end of a .22 rifle with duct tape and that when you fire it (works only once then you need another pop bottle) it's supposed to work like a silencer. Don't know if it does, but hey, might keep the fuzz off your backs while your trying to deal with your varmit problem. LOL.
 
Great idea!! Now if I can just figure out how to aim through a 2 litre pop bottle... :hello1:
 
they wont touch trhe green stuff by itself.....however, inject it into nice apples and they will pack the fruit away to never be seen again..........so I have heard....works on Racoons too. thats one bad apple.....just dont let any one you like it the apple.
 
I thought I had a skunk problem with shooting two in the past two weeks, but 20+... yikes. You are right the reason they hang around is because of a food source. My two were eating the eggs from my chickens and my cat food from my cats. Well since I like my fresh eggs, not about to get rid of my chickens and my cats keep the mice and gophers down to a minimum so I was not going to get rid of them. Being it was only two skunks it was easy to remove them (22 magnum). You are on the right track though, you need to remove the food source. Being there are so many there must be one hell of a large food source. Since your city decided that they would do all your thinking for you with all of their laws Krabysniper is right it is their baby now. It's time to show up at city councel meetings in force and remind them come election time they are gone. But more than one person needs to show up. Ask the local paper if they will run an add for you to have your own meeting at a grange hall or something to plan your attack on the city... it will work.
 
My dad lives in Broomfield and he had a similar problem but his was with squirrels... I think he might have been relocating them up in Dacano... he didn't say anything about giving them a new paint job before he dropped them off in their new town though???

Just kidding Moparron, I bet your problem has something to do with all the new development going on up your way, a builder must have gotten rid of a predator of the skunks (fox, coyotee, snake??) and replaced it with a strip mall or a house. We have a few raccoons around my area and it bothers me a little... I'll take my racoons over your skunks and quit my bitchin.

Good luck!!

:afro:
 
Yeah I have a problem with squirrels too - but I cna deal with that a lot better than I can with the skunks. Again it has to be the food source.. I do know that the lady that lives behind me puts food out for the squirrels - as I find peanut shells all over my yard. She also has quite a few cats.. so I know there is food left out for them.
As for the predators.. skunks really don't have any - just hungry Horned owls (which I have not seen one in the 6 years I have been here). Granted I haven't seen a fox in the neighborhood in a few months ... they are probably stying away due to the road construction!
Speaking of the construction .... they are back to our road. We haven't had a skunk in a few days. Once they move on again we will probably have them back... they are going in "loops". First they installed new sewer lines, now they are doing water lines, then they will connect all the new stuff up, then replace the sidewalks, and finally repave the roads. They just trenched for the water lines yesterday on my street. Hopefully this will all be done before it snows! BWAHAHA.... I figure i will be driving around in the mud until next summer.
 
Pellet/BB guns are fairly quiet. Wally Mart has killer sling shots. You shouldn't have any problem finding some rocks in the Rocky's there. If you shoot 'em, make sure you're up wind. Don't ask me how I know.
 
Don't do the green stuff! It causes kidney failure and a slow excrutiating death. I don't know how you feel about animals but I can't stand to see any thing suffer, pest or not. It's also illegal here to transfer any wild animal to another area. Your city or county animal control should be able to help trap and move or dispose of them. Tell them you are concerned about rabies. I used to have a problem with raccoons and skunks in a remote cabin I own, I put a small radio in and left it playing at a low volume and guess what, I haven't had any problems since! Also you might be able to apply for a special use permit so you would be able to shoot them. Our town has a problem with hundreds of BUZZARDS roosting in the evening, talk about a mess. These things are federally protected! After hundreds of complaints they allowed several of the residents to get special permits to kill them in the town limits. Just don't poison them with anti-freeze. Hope you take care of your problem.
Goold Luck!
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