Excluding Skunks – Humane Wildlife Removal

How to Exclude Skunks

Skunks can be unwanted guests in your home or yard. Typically they’ll make their homes under decks, porches, or sheds. They very rarely make their way into your home. Fortunately, there are a variety of methods you can use to make your yard less appealing to skunks.

How To Prevent A Skunk Infestation

To prevent the issue before it arises, making your yard less desirable for skunks is a good way to start. This can start by not leaving the trash out, removing bugs from your yard, and keeping pet food inside. Skunks will eat pet food if left outside. If you notice that skunks are digging up your lawn, it’s most likely because grubs are making their way to the surface after the lawn is wet. If you find this happens often, it could be a sign that you’re over-watering your lawn.

Removing A Skunk

Skunks are nocturnal, so preventing them from returning home isn’t possible during the day. To evict a skunk, loosely stuff the entrance to the skunk’s den with leaves during the day. The skunk will be asleep at this point, so be careful when doing this. Once you notice a gap in what you used to stuff the entrance, cover the entrance in mesh, wood, and sheet metal. This prevents the skunk from being able to get back into their den, and the skunk will promptly leave in search of another home. You can then get to work at preventing skunks from coming back.

Skunk Exclusion Methods

To permanently exclude a skunk from your lawn, the best thing to do is find where the skunk makes its home. Typically this will be under decks, porches, or sheds. The best method is to close off entries to the skunks’ home. This can be done by laying down mesh, sheet metal, wood, or concrete. If you want to keep skunks from burrowing under fences, dig a trench around the fence and lay down ½” mesh to prevent the skunk from digging under the fence and coming into your yard. If the skunk burrows under your deck, place mesh in a trench around the deck to prevent the skunk from burrowing under the deck. If you notice a gap between the deck and the ground, block this entrance off. Once you block off entrances, make the lawn unappealing to skunks using the methods above, and the skunks will not want to come back.