Recently, when I take Tippy out the side garage door, she has been sniffing at the wooden walkway. I wasn’t sure if she was smelling something that had walked by in the night or something that was underneath.
For the last couple of weeks, it has become obvious that something has taken up residence under there. Tippy has gotten more and more agitated when we go out, barking as she sniffs at the boards. I have put off taking care of this intruder because I was afraid of what it might be. You see, a few years back, after putting up with skunk odor for a couple of weeks, I finally took up some of the boards, looked underneath, and discovered a semi-mummified skunk. Very disgusting and hard to remove.
Tippy has gotten increasingly obsessive about that area. When she first goes out, she sniffs and barks and sniffs some more, sometimes clawing at the walkway.
She does calm down fairly quickly, but can often be seen guarding against the intruder, either at the walkway or in the garage.
I decided it was time to be brave and see what I could find. I removed some of the boards, very carefully.
Tippy was very helpful with the inspection of the area underneath the walkway.
No animal was spotted, but I did find a hole that something has dug underneath the garage, along the basement wall. It’s a fairly small hole, so I’m hoping it’s not anything huge. Here’s a picture, but it is really hard to see. Sorry, but I wasn’t brave enough to put my phone, and hand, any closer to the den just to get a better picture.
I was hoping that I could run the mystery critter off and then fill in the hole. I put some moth balls at the opening of the den and some leaves where it looked like it had gone underneath wire dad and I had put up to keep things out of that area after the above skunk incident.
I checked the next morning and it was obvious that the critter had left. To insure it didn’t come back before I got a chance to work on filling in the hole, I put more leaves in the opening of both the hole and the wire. Unfortunately, those were gone the next time I checked, so it was back. If someone threw mothballs in my doorway, I think I’d be tempted to leave. That is not a pleasant smell.
I was in a quandary as to what to do. I called our local animal control office. They do not take care of wildlife, but referred me to a local gentleman who provides wildlife removal services. He came out this morning, looked around, and set up a couple live traps. They aren’t showing up very good in the photos as they blend into the environment. I suppose that is on purpose.
I was hoping it could potentially be a ground hog. He said they usually aren’t found in wooded areas, so the more likely scenario is a skunk. If it is a female, she likely has babies this time of year. Since I haven’t seen a train of skunks, he thinks it is a rouge male.
UPDATE: I just looked out the window and saw not one, but six, yes SIX skunks. So, it is a mom with babies. None of which seemed interested in the food that was in the traps. I’m not sure what will happen if one of the baby’s gets caught or if the mom does. No way are 2 traps going to catch six or more skunks. I could be in trouble here!
Fingers and paws crossed that we are able to get rid of our squatter family without too much trouble or smell.
No pictures of the baby skunks?! 🙂 You know, I have never seen a real live skunk before. Tippy, you did your part–good girl!
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Never seen a skunk? They are around here everywhere. It was almost pitch black dark when they emerged from the den. I will try to get a picture, but not sure how that is going to work. They are sort of cute. One was almost solid white. Tippy did do her part. She’s such a good dog.
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Tippy is indeed a good dog to alert you😊
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Yes she is. She usually lets me know if something is different/not right.
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She is a gem! Garfield hugs🤗
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Thank you. I think so.
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Oh no!!! Thank heavens for Tippy saving the day. I can’t recall ever seeing a live skunk, have smelled them but haven’t seen any, thank goodness.
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There are a lot of skunks around here. Unfortunately, they become road kill a lot. I don’t mind them being around, just don’t like them living under my house.
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So, will the wildlife guy have to put up more traps? Just wondering how he’s going to catch the entire family.
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I called him this morning. Since most of the babies went back under the porch and didn’t follow their mom into the woods, he thinks they are a late litter. I am just going to have to put up with them for a couple of weeks until they get braver. Then, he can set more traps and try to catch them, or, I can just wait it out until she moves them out. I haven’t decided which to do yet. (You may get a rerun, because I plan to post this information later tonight, or tomorrow, if I can get a picture of them emerging tonight. I’m going to do my best. They are probably leaving about the same time every night.
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It would be cool if you could snap some pics of them. Hope everything goes well for you and Tippy.
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Thanks. Didn’t get any tonight. They waited a little later to come out, so it was too dark. 😦
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Bummer. 😯
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Wow! How awful — but we’re they cute?
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They are cute. One is almost solid white. I’m going to try to get a picture, but not sure I’ll be able to, as they emerge after it is almost completely dark. As you can tell from this comment, they weren’t caught last night. Now it’s a waiting game.
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Good grief! 6 skunks! Oh my….I hope you evict the stinkers and stay clear from them🤤. I hope your animal expert chap can help you rid them. All 4 paws crossed 😓
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Thank you!!!
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{Yikes!} We’ll keep out fingers crossed for you.I think I’d be leaving an entire box of moth balls!
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Well done, Tippy. Look on the bright side – at least this lot are still alive, and not festering under your boards. And I have never seen a skunk – we don’t have them in this corner of the planet.
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You’re right. At least it isn’t festering under the boards. Sometimes I forget that there are parts of the world that don’t have the same wildlife that is common here. I don’t know why, because I know there are other parts of the world that have wildlife that I never see, like kangaroos. My mind works in mysterious ways. LOL
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Six skunks?! Good luck keeping Tippy away from them – I would live in fear that Choppy would tangle with them and then I would have a real mess to deal with. Knock on wood, she has never gotten into it with a skunk.
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Yes. It is a fear of mine. But, as long as they are safe in their den during the day, she should be okay. I did get home at midnight last night and had to take her out. We went out a different door, so we didn’t have to traverse where they live. Being at night, I’m sure the babies were wondering around under the walkway and that would not have been a good situation.
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