I caught a raccoon & another & another ***GRAPHIC PICS*** pic heavy

[quigley257]

The horror... the horror...
I awoke to the strong smell of skunk this morning. I looked out the window to check the trap and my fears were confirmed. The trap is only 20 feet from the back door of the house. The smallest, whitest skunk I've ever seen was stuck in the Duke DP trap. The only black was on its face. I dispatched it with a .22 head shot. I got a trash bag and donned a pair of disposable gloves to get rid of the body. I was puzzled because there was almost no skunk smell at the trap site. As I approached the coop to let the girls out for the day, the smell hit me like a wave. Apparently another skunk had sprayed over near the coop which is moveable and is positioned 20 yards further back in the yard. I'm hoping it rains this afternoon(60% chance as of right now). The smell by the coop is awful. Around the trap site you can hardly smell anything. Has anyone had any luck spraying the Hydrogen Peroxide/Baking Soda/Dawn combination over an affected area versus washing a dog with it?

 

[quigley257]

My other idea on the DP style traps is to make some kind of extension that would require the animal to reach farther to activate the trap. Coons have longer forearms than skunks. Anyone do this before? Thoughts?

 

[Shellz]

Aw, nuts! I hope never to have to deal with a skunk. Looks like you have more. Yikes! Interesting color pattern you describe. Would be interesting to see it.

Haven't tried to treat an area with that de-scenting concoction. It's all natural, so don't see the harm in trying it.

Extension idea for the DP trap sounds good! Making it more predator specific. Good luck with that & keep us posted, please!

 

[chickortreat]

When I kill a skunk, after dragging the carcass off for the buzzards to feast on (yes, they will eat them!), I pour gas over the area where the skunk was killed and set fire to it. It will burn off the oils and pretty much eliminate the otherwise persistent odor. I kill several every year. There's another one wandering through at night now....just haven't caught him out yet.

 

[Shellz]

Great tip chickortreat!

 

[quigley257]

It did rain for about an hour here today which helped a lot with the smell. I was a little worried because I know how skunk smell can "grow" on a person making you think that it has dissipated when actually you are just accustomed to the smell. We had a visitor show up about an hour ago and they said the smell was quite faint until you get right near the coop.

Shellz, I probably could have taken a picture, but I dispatched it and threw it directly into a garbage bag which I think helped control the smell. It was kind of cool looking though. As i said, it was a young one but the only black on it was the sides of it's face and across the nose. Other than that it was pure white.

 

[Shellz]

I understand your need for quick disposal! Yuck!

 

[chickortreat]

I shot one a few months ago, and never smelled it, even after walking to within 10' of it. The next evening, (I never moved it...left it in the field for the buzzards), it smelled horrible out. I went and gassed skunk and surrounding ground and threw a match to it. A burning skunk smells worse than just skunk, lemme tell you! After it had burned out, the smell of skunk was still strong. The wind had shifted, and I realized I was smelling ANOTHER one....

 

[Shellz]

Oye! What a pain!

 

[Shellz]

No luck this morning. Oh well, perhaps tomorrow. I put out some strawberry twizzler bits for a trail to change it up. Added a cooked chicken leg to sardines in back of trap. I'm beginning to wonder if they've been scared off...If nothing tomorrow, I will remove trap & wait a week & reset then.