The Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is the most common species encountered by homeowners across North America. Skunks are generally docile, but their presence causes significant concern due to the potent musk they deploy when threatened. This defensive spray, along with damage from foraging and den-building, makes them unwelcome guests. Preventing skunk activity requires identifying and eliminating the specific resources that make a property attractive.
Food Availability
Skunks are highly adaptable omnivores, relying heavily on easily accessible food sources in residential areas. Common attractants include pet food left unattended in outdoor bowls, and poorly secured sources like garbage cans without tight-fitting lids or open compost piles. Spilled birdseed under feeders and fallen fruit also provide a consistent food supply.
Skunks use their keen sense of smell to locate natural prey beneath the soil surface. Their natural diet consists primarily of grubs, earthworms, insects, and small rodents, which they actively seek out in lawns and garden beds.
Shelter and Den Locations
Skunks search for secure, dark, and dry locations to rest, raise young, and find protection from predators and weather. Structural elements of a home often serve as ideal den sites, particularly concealed spaces beneath decks, porches, and sheds. These areas offer quiet seclusion, and the existing foundation provides a ready-made roof for their underground home.
Although skunks are proficient diggers, they often prefer to move into existing cavities, such as abandoned burrows created by woodchucks or foxes. They are also attracted to landscape features that provide dense cover, including brush piles, thick, low-hanging shrubbery, and stacks of firewood.
Signs of Skunk Presence
Confirming a skunk’s presence is necessary, as other nocturnal mammals may leave similar signs. The most distinctive evidence is the pattern of small, cone-shaped holes scattered across a lawn. These shallow divots, usually one to three inches wide, result from a skunk probing the turf with its nose and front claws to excavate soil-dwelling insects like beetle grubs. This digging is often more noticeable in the late summer and fall, particularly after rainfall brings grubs closer to the surface.
Skunk tracks offer confirmation, distinguishable by the clear impression of five toes on both the front and hind feet. Their non-retractable claws leave distinct, long marks, especially the front claws, which are adapted for digging. The most unmistakable sign is the musky odor, caused by the sulfur-containing compound methyl mercaptan, which may linger near a den entrance or after a recent defensive spray.
Habitat Modification and Exclusion
Successful skunk management relies on a two-pronged approach: removing attractants and physically blocking access to shelter. All food sources must be controlled by securing garbage in cans with locking or weighted lids, and ensuring all pet food and water bowls are brought indoors before dusk. Fallen fruit should be collected daily, and bird feeders should be kept clean of spilled seed debris.
To prevent denning, all vulnerable structural spaces must be sealed using exclusion techniques. The most effective method involves installing heavy-gauge galvanized wire mesh, such as hardware cloth, around the perimeter of decks, sheds, and porches. This mesh should be buried in an L-shaped barrier, extending at least 12 inches below the ground and then bent outward for another 8 to 12 inches. This subterranean flange prevents the skunk from digging down to gain entry.
Before sealing any opening, ensure no skunks are trapped inside, especially during the spring when kits may be present. Humane harassment, such as placing a bright light or a radio near the suspected entrance for several days, can encourage the animal to relocate naturally. Landscape management requires the removal of woodpiles or brush piles, and trimming shrubs away from the ground to eliminate low-lying cover.