Why do skunks spray
Why do skunks spray is a very common question that is asked of us almost on a daily bases. Skunks will spray for a variety of reasons. When a skunk sprays, this is the skunk’s defense to protect itself from predators such as coyotes, wolves, badgers and any other natural predator.
Sometimes Humans can be perceived as predators and a skunk will spray in a attempt to deter a person from coming to close, or often times if a skunk is startled it will spray in a reactionary way. This can happen when a skunk is under a house and someone stomps on the floor, or if a woman has high heel shoes on and walks across the floor. This will startle the skunk and it will spray because it perceives the sound as a threat to its well being. This creates a huge problem!
How do Skunks Spray?
Skunks have two anal glands, one is on each side of its anus, these glands produces a chemical that contains sulfur, the smell that comes from this chemical is for the most part unbearable. They learn to aim the “spray” at any animal that is perceived as a threat. This spray will usually stop ANY animal dead in its tracks. It has even been known to halt the attack of a grizzly bear. The normal process for a skunk before it spray is to give ample warning, The skunk will usually stomp its front feet several times, this is a warning that the skunk is getting irritated, then the skunk will turn its self around and point its anal gland in the direction that the threat is located, if the threat continues to advance, the skunk will spray a stream of oil at the threat.
We also have a page dedicated to baby skunk removal and why they spray.
How Far can Skunks Spray?
Skunks can spray their smelly oil over a distance of over 10 feet, There has been instances where a skunk has sprayed over 20 feet with extreme accuracy. There is a myth that a skunk can only spray one time, this is not true. Although skunks do have a limited amount of chemical in their anal glands that can be sprayed, they are not limited to one shot, Most often a skunk can spray as many as 8 times, depending on how much spray he has used in the previous shots. They do have the ability to control the amount of chemical that is used in each individual shot.
How to remove skunk spray
How do I get this nasty smell off of me that is the main question that most skunk removal customers will have. There are several old wise tails that says tomato juice, lemon juice and other house hold products will eliminate the smell of skunk spray, well I’m here to tell you, save your money. These will not work, they may lessen the smell but they will not eliminate the odor. There is only one solution to the skunk spray smell problem. That is a mixture of several ingredients, Baking soda, peroxide and dawn dishwashing liquid. These chemicals can be mixed and applied to a surface to help eliminate skunk odor, However to be fully functional, the mixture should be sprayed thru an atomizing unit.
****Caution must be used as this chemical can and will blow up due to pressure increases****
This chemical is very unstable, the use of this should only be used by a wildlife removal company that know exactly how to use it. You can find a professional wildlife removal company in your area here.
We also have several more information pages pretaining to skunks and their presence in human enviroments, the pages are skunks under steps, skunks under house and we also have a page dedicated to how to trap a skunk. all of these pages are designed to help the homeowner help control the problems that arise when a pest skunk is around your home.