# I need help getting rid of a kitty



## Woodworking Vet (Aug 7, 2017)

For the past four or five months I've had a black with white striped kitty living under my shop. Up until now he never bothered me and since he's been there I haven't had one mouse in any of my traps (skunks are excellent mousers). At night I watch him run around digging up grubs and catching mice and moles. But here for the last two days when I've been in the shop working and making noise he makes it known that he's being disturbed. Its a slight odor just to let me know he's there, but its getting to be annoying. He's dug a hole under the shop around back. I've covered the hole with rocks before and he just comes back. And now there are two dens. Now I need him/them gone, forever. I'm not worried about the mice, I have yet another skunk living under the greenhouse (now my wood storage facility) further away from the house.

Anyway, I'm thinking about going out back tonight after they leave their den to fill the holes again with more rock but I'm afraid they like their new place enough to dig another entrance. Any ideas how to deter them from coming back? I tried animal repellent at the entrance, didn't work (said it works for skunks), now I'm thinking of placing a bunch of moth balls in the hole before I fill with rocks. I tried country music to scare them off but that didn't work either. Any other ideas? Maybe a live trap and a lfrb to @Tony? He seems to like my surprises.

Any suggestions that doesn't involve me removing a dead skunk would be appreciated.


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## Tony (Aug 7, 2017)

I've always heard the moth balls work. I do NOT want a LFRB with a dead skunk. David, I would not consider you my friend anymore!!!!!! I had a pet skunk when I was a kid, bit have no desire for the carcasss of one. Tony

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## Woodworking Vet (Aug 7, 2017)

I said a "live trap", I wouldn't dare mail you a dead skunk

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## Mike1950 (Aug 7, 2017)

Aaaaaaa, i have found when you see a skunk you probably have more. 2 kunks mean a bunch of little skunks, skunks carry rabies. We had skunks a few years ago. Thought a couple. I disposed of 13, one neighbor 12, the guy behind him 10 and my nexg door neighbor paid $50 each to have live trapped. Lasg sunday i saw 2... yikes it starts again.

Reactions: Great Post 1


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## Woodworking Vet (Aug 7, 2017)

If it were dead I would have sent it to @rocky1 to be cast

Reactions: Great Post 1 | Funny 5


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## Woodworking Vet (Aug 7, 2017)

@Mike1950 , how did you 'dispose' of them? You're probably right about little ones. My neighbor down the road saw a skunk and five little ones in tow on the road a few weeks back, hope they are not mine. I don't want to poison it because last year my shop stunk like you wouldn't believe. My neighbor looked under the shed and there was a half decomposed skunk. Took him half a day and me a case of beer until he dug it out, don't need to do that again.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Schroedc (Aug 7, 2017)

Mothballs, and late at night once he's out from under the shop a rifle with a scope and head shots if you are out far enough to get away with that.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Woodworking Vet (Aug 7, 2017)

I'm going to go get mothballs tomorrow on my way to the Vet's Garage. I'm not good with a rifle and scope, that's why I joined the Navy. We just push buttons and watch missiles go over the horizon.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 10


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## Schroedc (Aug 7, 2017)

Woodworking Vet said:


> I'm going to go get mothballs tomorrow on my way to the Vet's Garage. I'm not good with a rifle and scope, that's why I joined the Navy. We just push buttons and watch missiles go over the horizon.



A missile would do it as well.....

Over at a buddy's house one time, he had a porcupine ripping up one of his storage sheds, the neighbor 1/2 a mile away got a little peeved that we used a 30-06 to take care of it. It was either that or the 45-70 since those were the only two I had in the trunk that day

Reactions: Funny 2 | Way Cool 1


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## ripjack13 (Aug 7, 2017)

Fox and dog urine deters skunks, since foxes and dogs are skunks' natural predators. If you can figure out how to collect dog urine, that's fine to use. You can also buy products containing fox or dog urine at hardware stores. Spray it around the perimeter of your yard.
Pepper sprays, also sold to repel squirrels and other wild creatures, are effective skunk repellents. Spray them on trees and other areas where you've seen skunks.
Ammonia also deters skunks. Soak old rags in ammonia and place them under your deck or porch to keep skunks from coming in.
Citrus peels have natural repellent qualities. Scatter orange or lemon peels around your property and under your deck or porch.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mike1950 (Aug 7, 2017)

Porkies are easy. Whack them on the nose , they croak easy. One of the few things in woods you can kill with a stick and eat.very good story for later.


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## ripjack13 (Aug 7, 2017)

Also...they dont like light. So if you can light up the place 24hrs that may work too....


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## Mike1950 (Aug 7, 2017)

I baited them. I hate skunks. Damn weasles are vicious. I get up early. I shot one full grown one at dawn. Kathie told me a small one was there. I shot it. 10 minutes later she yells again. There is a full grown one chomping on little one, did i tell you they are carnivirous. I shot it. Now another full grown one runs across the lawn and snatchs up the little one. Starts running across yard carrying his new found bounty. One more shot. Dropped little one. My best day eliminated skunks in backyard. 3 and one probable. Would have done better but i was restricted to pellet gun. One more bit of advice. Do NOT put dead skunk in bottom of garbage can the day after garbage is picked up in middle of summer. WHEWYYY PHEWWWYYYY.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Funny 5


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## CWS (Aug 7, 2017)

Mike1950 said:


> Aaaaaaa, i have found when you see a skunk you probably have more. 2 kunks mean a bunch of little skunks, skunks carry rabies. We had skunks a few years ago. Thought a couple. I disposed of 13, one neighbor 12, the guy behind him 10 and my nexg door neighbor paid $50 each to have live trapped. Lasg sunday i saw 2... yikes it starts again.


If you guys didn't have all that wood stacked around the shop, you guys wouldn't have such a skunk problem. They like being around that kind of stuff. If there was nothing to eat they wouldn't be there. IMO.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Woodworking Vet (Aug 7, 2017)

I forgot that I setup a trail camera last night in front of the shop door. Here's a couple pictures of my unwanted kitty. The second animal surprised me, none of our neighbors have cats so I have no idea where this one came from.


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## Mike1950 (Aug 7, 2017)

CWS said:


> If you guys didn't have all that wood stacked around the shop, you guys wouldn't have such a skunk problem. They like being around that kind of stuff. If there was nothing to eat they wouldn't be there. IMO.




The porkies eat the bark. Skunks are here cause i am surrounded by nut cases. 2 neighbors that feed them , they are cute... me i just ask what they feed the cute little.... makes good bait. They really like wet cat food.... :)


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## Mike1950 (Aug 7, 2017)

Skunks like grain, dog food, kittens, eggs, baby chickens but do not eat wood. If they did it would be WARRRRRR. GRRRRRR

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 2


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## rocky1 (Aug 7, 2017)

Mouse bait and peanut butter mixed up; put it in a jar lid and slide it up under the barn... Most of your mouse baits in this day and age are designed to make them thirsty, and don't activate until they drink water. Name brands that come to mind along that line - Jaguar, Tom Cat. D-Con works, I don't know if it works on that principle, but it will eliminate them, maybe under the shop. Whether they have a water source close enough they can drink and crawl back under the shop might be an issue, but most of the stuff does them in fairly quick when they drink. It's designed to get mice out of the walls to kill them, so... No guarantees they won't get back under the shop, but it works well when the little bastards attack beehives. 

And, yes; they do aggravate the hell out of bees. They dig around in front of the hive, scratch on the hive or pallet with their little paws until they irritate the bees. When the bees come out, they'll swish their tail back and forth across the mouth of the hive, bees attack and get tangled in the hair, then they hop off, sit back and pick the bees out, chewing them up for the nectar within the bee. Don't swallow the bees, kinda wad them up in their cheek until they get a mouthful and spit them out. Looks a lot like someone has spit a dip of snuff out. 

There's a few pesticides out there that will drop them in their tracks. If you can get them to take the bait more than 10 feet from the building, they won't make it back under it guaranteed. However those will kill 2 - 3 times! Coyote, possum, buzzard, whatever eats the skunk, they die too; anything eats them, they'll die! 

On the live trap. Peanut butter works well as a bait and eliminates a lot of house cats in your trap if you have neighbors with cats nearby... Take your chances on getting them picked up and dropped in the creek without getting sprayed. Some skunks do, some skunks don't. Been there done that!! Skunk spray in the face at 2.5 feet is not even a little bit pleasant!! Did you know skunk musk is a nasty shade of green? Or, that it takes 4-5 days before they quit stinking enough to get them out of your trap when they spray you at 2.5 feet, make you grumpy, and you kill their stinkin little ass in the trap! At any rate, if they act agitated, keep them locked up for a few days without food or water, and they're usually easier to deal with. Have had trouble getting them out of the trap after a few days, so pick a day when you have time, make a little wire hook to hook the door up, ease it up very gently, back off with the shotgun and wait for them to come out. 

Otherwise... shotgun, bait away from the shop a little ways. Sardines are a favorite too, have enough odor to attract them from a ways off.

Reactions: Funny 1 | Informative 2 | Sincere 1


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## Mike1950 (Aug 7, 2017)

rocky1 said:


> Mouse bait and peanut butter mixed up; put it in a jar lid and slide it up under the barn... Most of your mouse baits in this day and age are designed to make them thirsty, and don't activate until they drink water. Name brands that come to mind along that line - Jaguar, Tom Cat. D-Con works, I don't know if it works on that principle, but it will eliminate them, maybe under the shop. Whether they have a water source close enough they can drink and crawl back under the shop might be an issue, but most of the stuff does them in fairly quick when they drink. It's designed to get mice out of the walls to kill them, so... No guarantees they won't get back under the shop, but it works well when the little bastards attack beehives.
> 
> And, yes; they do aggravate the hell out of bees. They dig around in front of the hive, scratch on the hive or pallet with their little paws until they irritate the bees. When the bees come out, they'll swish their tail back and forth across the mouth of the hive, bees attack and get tangled in the hair, then they hop off, sit back and pick the bees out, chewing them up for the nectar within the bee. Don't swallow the bees, kinda wad them up in their cheek until they get a mouthful and spit them out. Looks a lot like someone has spit a dip of snuff out.
> 
> ...



Just a bit to add to above. Leg traps not legal in wash. But a leg trap on long pole with pivot point. If uou get thdm off the ground they cannot spray. They need to squat on hind legs to spray. Trapped many this way. Shoot in head and when they stop moving. You are good to go.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1 | Useful 1


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## rocky1 (Aug 7, 2017)

Are snares legal there Mike? Could maybe set a snare on a sapling to snatch their stinky little carcass off the ground when it tripped.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Mike1950 (Aug 7, 2017)

rocky1 said:


> Are snares legal there Mike? Could maybe set a snare on a sapling to snatch their stinky little carcass off the ground when it tripped.


 I am not sure- If the greenies on the coast know what a snare is- it is not legal... But that would work also.


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## Mike1950 (Aug 7, 2017)

Had a friend who had skunks under house. It was in mid 70's. I offered to trap them- his wife would have nothing to do with it. He had a whole bunch living under house. Brilliant Idea they came up with was to hook a hose up to his mustang which smoked a bit anyhow and gas them. I told him DO NOT do it. They did- They killed the skunks but the last thing they did was empty their stink glands. It was worse than bad- the house reeked. It was a rental house so they moved- poor landlord....

Reactions: Funny 3


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## rocky1 (Aug 7, 2017)

Knew a couple old farts that trapped a lot back in the days before Mike.

One said they were left in the woods running the trap line, while the boss hauled hides to town and went after supplies. He ran into problems, was several days late getting back, trapping was slow, weren't seeing anything in the woods, ran out of supplies. Said they caught a skunk in a trap, and decided they were going to eat him, since they hadn't had anything to eat in 2 - 3 days. Said skinning him wasn't pleasant, but they tossed him in a pot with a few wild onions and stewed him up.

I said, "He was probably tasty too, if you were that hungry!"
He said, "HELL NO!!! He still tasted awful! But he kept us alive for another day or two, until the boss got back with some food." 



The other told me that he and his brother made a pretty fair living trapping skunks up in ND, back during the depression. Said skunk hides brought 3-4 times what a coon or muskrat would at the time, so they went out of their way to trap them. Would chase them into a culvert, back the car up there and gas them, then twist barbwire in there and tangle them up in it to drag them out. Best day they had was like 15 skunks in one day, said they made more money than they'd have made in a month working.

I said, "How in the hell could you stand skinning that many skunks?"

He said, "Oh... That was easy, after the first one, you don't notice the rest! Nobody around town appreciates you for a few days, but we were making money hand over fist! There was no competition in that market!! We didn't care!!" 



Know a guy in ND that traps a lot now, and he skins a lot of them to this day. Has some special formula to bathe in that removes the odor. He's keeping hides and scent glands, said he makes big bucks on the scent glands.
His wife said, "Yeah, and you don't want to open the wrong freezer in the garage by mistake either!"

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## Lou Currier (Aug 7, 2017)

After reading this thread, I think @Mike1950 just likes to shoot skunks 

And...

If you make @rocky1 mad I would be careful drinking anything he gave you.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Woodworking Vet (Aug 7, 2017)

The last thing I want is another dead skunk under the shop. The last time it cost me two cases of beer, one for the neighbor that dug under the shop far enough to get rid of it and another case for me to drink while I watched him work. 

Last year I had skunk under the dog house and eventually got rid of him by putting a hose into the den and flooding him out. I think I have another skunk under it too, and the green house. And my shop!!!! I'm going to try the moth balls, maybe they'll move down the road to the neighbors. I thought about the exhaust from my car but had a feeling they would go to sleep and die, don't want that. I didn't know about the poison needing water to activate, I could maybe work something out with that. How far away would be safe from the shop so that it doesn't have a chance to get back to its den? Maybe, if I'm lucky, it will take some of these pesky and noisy squirrels....


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## rocky1 (Aug 8, 2017)

Varmints can be problematic. I have seen them so bad in the bee yards that they will literally scratch all the paint off the front of the hive. Have holes a foot in diameter 8-10 inches deep, in front of several pallets of bees. And, when they aggravate the bees that much on a regular basis, it makes for very grumpy bees!! 

Last time I had a whole herd of skunks attack a bee yard, and I prevented them from doing that any longer. The nearest water hole was a creek about 100 yards down the road. You couldn't even smell them! I don't know where they went, don't know if something ate them, but I'd be willing to bet more than a dozen went away, and there wasn't even a hint of odor 2 days later. Left 10 - 12 jar lids with the peanut butter mix, and they licked every one of them clean. They may have packed up and moved to Washington, after eating the peanut butter, but they never came back to that bee yard!

Vehicle exhaust in this day and age is not guaranteed to kill much of anything. The CO2 levels aren't high enough in the exhaust. It has to sit there and run a long long time to do the job.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Woodworking Vet (Aug 8, 2017)

rocky1 said:


> Varmints can be problematic. I have seen them so bad in the bee yards that they will literally scratch all the paint off the front of the hive. Have holes a foot in diameter 8-10 inches deep, in front of several pallets of bees. And, when they aggravate the bees that much on a regular basis, it makes for very grumpy bees!!
> 
> Last time I had a whole herd of skunks attack a bee yard, and I prevented them from doing that any longer. The nearest water hole was a creek about 100 yards down the road. You couldn't even smell them! I don't know where they went, don't know if something ate them, but I'd be willing to bet more than a dozen went away, and there wasn't even a hint of odor 2 days later. Left 10 - 12 jar lids with the peanut butter mix, and they licked every one of them clean. They may have packed up and moved to Washington, after eating the peanut butter, but they never came back to that bee yard!
> 
> Vehicle exhaust in this day and age is not guaranteed to kill much of anything. The CO2 levels aren't high enough in the exhaust. It has to sit there and run a long long time to do the job.



I would be happy to send them back to Florida but I'm not going to catch them, alive or dead. My driveway is about 650 feet long, I might see about putting some peanut butter mix down there, along with a tray of water. But that's if the moth balls don't work. Last night I couldn't sleep and was sitting on the front porch at 1am, I watched the skunk meander through the yard, back and forth, looking for grubs. Didn't know they like bees too.


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## rocky1 (Aug 8, 2017)

Oh yeah... Skunks, coons to some extent, possums, they all aggravate them. And, it's not unusual to have a half dozen of each in a bee yard, antagonizing the bees all night long. The bees will get so mad you can't even get out the truck without getting stung. Walk by a pallet they've been picking on, or God forbid bump it, or have to work it, and they will eat you alive.

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