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Paul Douglass

Paul Douglass

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4,991
Location
S E Washington State
Last night some critter visited my yard and had a hay-day! I'm thinking a raccoon, no skunk smell, more damage than a squirrel and I can see where it came in under the fence, a squirrel would go over the fense normally. I have no idea what it was digging for. I put a trap out, see it I catch anything.

Any ideas?

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Armadillos%20and%20Aliens.jpg
 
Alien armadillos from New Mexico stole a used UFO from Area 51 to look for coffee beans in Washington...it could work!
 
We don't have Armadillos (not even alien ones), and skunks leave a scent behind (so to speak) even when they don't release their weapon.. I can alway tell when one has been around during the night.

Skunks, squirrels, moles, bull snakes, dogs, cats and raccoons are about all we have.
 
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Paul,
I had a very similar problem last year. It was a skunk(s) that we're after grubs.

You're picture is what my lawn looked like when the digging started. In just a few days large areas were damaged. I trapped one skunk. If you rake up in the general area of the digging, you may find some white grubs.

PS While the digging was going on, there was no skunk scent at all & that made me think it might have Been raccoons. But, the critter in theHave-Heart-Trap sure wasn't a raccoon!
 
Don't take this as gospel but I was told a long time ago that skunks can't spray if they can't lift their tail up. So I guess trapping them in a trap small enough so they can't get their tail up would be safe. How to release them and get the heck out of there before he raises his tail is something I don't think I'd want to try :rofl:
I've never shot one of the little stinkers before so I don't know if they have a involuntary release when they croak. :eek: Who knows. Maybe he will get the last laugh :rofl:
 
Sort of veering off the topic, but skunk related...

My nephew Paul is a golf pro at a course in southern NM. One of his buddies recently shot a cell phone video of Paul rescuing a skunk on the golf course that had gotten a yogurt cup stick on its head. It took several tries, but he managed to cover the skunk with a towel long enough to grab the cup. One he had the cup in hand he figured it'd pull off easily. Nope. He ended up lifting the skunk completely off the ground then finally shook it free. In the end, his hand ended up getting tagged by the business end of the skunk. He stunk so badly afterward that they wouldn't let him in the clubhouse to clean up. He had to drive home, stinking up his pickup in the process.

I saw the video a while back on Facebook. I just now did a quick search for it on YouTube and didn't find it, but found a bunch of other "skunk head stuck in a yogurt cup" videos. Must be a new skunk sport or something. :D
 
Here's , my little skunk story: Many years ago I was down at the river I live by working on the pump. I hear some squeaking and look up and here, parading along is mommy skunk and 4 or 5 little tykes following her. THe little ones saw me and headed right for me. I ran over and jumped up on top of my VW Beetle and sat there. The little ones kept circling the car, squeaking the whole time, round and round they went. I must have sat there a good 2 minutes before mommy got control of them, lined them up and her and her brood marched off. I have no idea why they were so interested in getting to me. Maybe I had been working hard enough that I smelled familiar to them, they thought, here's daddy!

I've caught several skunks in my trap. I throw a small tarp over the trap and hall them off. If they can't see me they don't spray. I've also made the trap small enough that they can't get their tail up, er, I hope.
 
Paul Douglass said:
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I've caught several skunks in my trap. I throw a small tarp over the trap and hall them off. If they can't see me they don't spray. I've also made the trap small enough that they can't get their tail up, er, I hope.
Click to expand...

Paul, I use the same method: walk to the trap from behind the skunk with a tarp between me & the skunk, then grab the trap with the tarp draped over it. Then, to "dispose" of the critter, I place the trap & tarp together into a 100 gal. stock tank with ~50 gal. of water in it. Quick & clean & order free!

PS A skunk will face its adversary, urinate on its tail & "flip" it's tail over its back towards the intended target. The spray then does it's thing on the victim
 
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