Will mothballs or ammonia repel skunks – Humane Wildlife Removal

Will mothballs or ammonia repel skunks?

When trying to deter skunks, home-remedies are some of the most popular methods to try. Popular methods include the use of mothballs and ammonia to push skunks out of your home because of the strong odor that they excrete. These methods should be used with caution, however. Read on to discover whether or not these methods are effective, and if they are dangerous to use.

Are These Methods Effective?

The answer to this question is more complicated than you may think. While the fumes of mothballs and ammonia sting the eyes and nose of skunks, these methods have limited effectiveness. Skunks are wild animals, so they have a survival instinct ingrained within them. This essentially means that the skunks will work to find a way around the stench, and almost always will. Ammonia will need to be reapplied often, and it’s only effective in an enclosed space. Mothballs were designed solely to kill moth larvae, and this is all they are effective at doing. They are highly toxic to skunks, and to humans as well.

In short, if a skunk is unable to live in a house with mothballs, neither are humans. Mothballs should never be used as a pest deterrent. While mothballs may be effective at driving out skunks, they also expose humans to a variety of toxic chemicals.

Why Ammonia Is Ineffective

Ammonia, despite its strong scent, won’t drive a skunk away. A skunk won’t simply give up its den because of the discomfort the fumes cause, and it more than likely will move to another spot in your yard. Skunks will figure out a way to render the use of ammonia ineffective, and this is exactly why ammonia should not be used. Ammonia is a strong chemical, and it’ll do more harm to you than it will to the skunks. Not only is it ineffective at pushing away skunks,

But it can cause you to experience a wide variety of negative health effects. These can range from effects as simple as coughing and irritation to the eyes and nose to more serious health effects such as damage to the respiratory tract or lungs.

What To Do Instead

You may wonder, “Well, what actually deters skunks if mothballs and ammonia don’t?” The answer is actually more simple than you may think. The best way to deter a skunk from your property is to block off its den when the skunk is away. This may include covering the entrances with mesh, sheet metal, wood, or concrete. This may seem hard to do, but it’s actually not. When you are sure the skunk is away, you can cover up the entrances to its den. If you need to flush out a skunk, or don’t want to cover the den because it has babies, you can place predator urine around the den. This will frighten the skunk away, and it will go on to find another den. If you want to be certain that the skunks are gone, it’s best to call an animal removal service to remove the animals for you.