[undervenued]

I let Lexi outside at 7AM today. She ran off the deck, turned, got her fur up, and RAN underneath (it stands roughly four feet off the ground). Two seconds later, she came out from under the deck, scratching her eyes, sneezing, blowing goobers everywhere. The smell was AWEFUL! My wife and I did some quick google searches as to what to do, and we did whatever we could here. She then went to the groomers to get as much of the smell out as we could.


My question, though, is more about how to keep this from happening again. Someone at worked mentioned sprinking cayenee pepper underneath the deck as a deterrent, which I have done. After doing this, though, I thought that it might actually hurt Lexi!


Are there any really good ways of keeping skunks out? I took a really good look, and couldn';t see any burrowing or hole digging.

 

[lisaj1354]

Fence off the underside of the deck?

 

[hanksimon]

What lisaj said... and blocking isn't always adequate. There're various repellants at the feed store (lion's urine ?).

Cayenne pepper is not that harmful, but it is a reasonable deterrent for most mammals... and should repel Lexi, also.... It is far less obnoxious than another snootful of skunk.

BTW, please let us know if you find something - in practice - that works completely. Most skunk remedies aren't perfect...

 

[undervenued]

Fencing off the underside of the deck is not an option. The gas meter is underneath it.

I forgot to mention, the deck sits about 4-5 feet off the ground. It's a completely wide open space. Nowhere to really hide. I'm hoping the skunk just got caught when daylight hit.

My dad said something interesting: we had a surprise BBQ party for him Saturday night. The thing was probably in our yard looking for food and stuff that people had dropped maybe.

I saw the spot where he ran out, (and probably got in), so I covered that over.

Poor Lexi. I think she's embarrassed. She's her usual happy self, but sometimes she will give me this look with her ears back like she's sad. Poor girl!

 

[Amaryllis]

Muggsy got skunked to the face once. He killed the skunk and neither Muggsy nor other skunks were deterred from future interaction by that.

Skunks are a pain to keep out. They're fantastic diggers and can squeeze into surprisingly small spaces. Our neighborhood is overrun by skunks and they are bold little b*st*rds. They'll walk right up to you. I was stuck in the house for hours once by a skunk in the back yard and a skunk in the front. They go through my garbage every week despite lids, locking lids, rocks on top of locking lids . . . I hate skunks.

Things that do not work: Tomato juice. Baking soda. Scope.

What does work: Enzymatic cleaner from pet store. I forget what it's called, but it was a white bottle with red lettering. It worked like a charm. Though I did have to wash off the tomato juice, baking soda and scope first.

 

[JulieK1967]

What does work: Enzymatic cleaner from pet store. I forget what it's called, but it was a white bottle with red lettering. It worked like a charm. Though I did have to wash off the tomato juice, baking soda and scope first.

Nature's Miracle?

 

[Amaryllis]

Nature's Miracle?

I really don't remember . . . I just looked at the PetSmart website, and it was! I think of the spray bottle of Nature's Miracle when I think of the brand, but the bottle of skunk odor remover looks different. It works great, though, and it's gentle enough to use around the eyes and nose. I don't know if this is recommended, but at the time, I wore contacts, and I flushed out Muggsy's eyes with an entire bottle of saline solution.

 

[undervenued]

Thank you. I will be out to get that tonight!!

Poor Lexi. She seemed so sad about it! I hated seeing her run back to me, rolling around on the deck.

 

[undervenued]

Thank you. I will be out to get that tonight!!

Poor Lexi. She seemed so sad about it! I hated seeing her run back to me, rolling around on the deck.

 

[odiesmom]

when we hit a skunk in our car many years ago my mom had us use a mix of citrus juice but the car was never the same , it was forever dubbed the skunk mobile

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

Ugh I feel for you, on a hike one time a dog of mine got sprayed & I had to ride home with him... Needless to say I drive home with my head sticking out the drivers side window Ace Ventura style LMBO.