How to trap a skunk?

[Irrelevant]

My dog got smoked by a skunk in the driveway the other day at o-dark-thirty. Side note, probably the biggest dick move I've ever made, I walked back into the house, woke my wife up, and said, "Don't let the dog in, he got skunked. Allie and I are leaving. Bye." My daughter and I then went hunting all day... I couldn't believe my key still worked in the door when we got back.

But back on task. How do I trap this sumabitch? I borrowed a 30" live trap, but how am I supposed to move/release it? Or how am I supposed to kill it without it spraying?

 

[TOGIE]

Text the masshole once he’s out of the woods

 

[INMT]

My dog got smoked by a skunk in the driveway the other day at o-dark-thirty. Side note, probably the biggest dick move I've ever made, I walked back into the house, woke my wife up, and said, "Don't let the dog in, he got skunked. Allie and I are leaving. Bye." My daughter and I then went hunting all day... I couldn't believe my key still worked in the door when we got back.

But back on task. How do I trap this sumabitch? I borrowed a 30" live trap, but how am I supposed to move/release it? Or how am I supposed to kill it without it spraying?

.22 LR right in the fuggin head.

Unless you release it a LONG ways away, it will find its way back.

 

[Letthemgrow]

Is the live trap enclosed?
Sometimes that helps transport them without spraying . . . sometimes.
A government trapper told me it's because they can't see the danger, so they don't spray.
I've only done it twice, and one sprayed, so in my very limited sample, it was 50/50.
Good luck!

 

[Jbotto]

Trapping them is easy. Bait with something smelly in the area they travel. Bananas, jelly, eggs, cat food, fryer oil, commercial trapping baits and lures, etc. If you set the cage trap close, they’ll find it.

I’ve walked up to them in a trap slow and steady, picked up the trap, positioned it better than it was and set it back down and walked away. Easier if the trap is covered to not show yourself to them and to not stress them out. Talk nice and soft to them and be SLOW in all movements.

There are a bunch of different ways of dispatching but none of them are 100% scent free. Most agreed upon method of dispatch seems to be a chest shot with something quiet from a distance (air rifle or subsonic/suppressed .22 from 20-30 yards. Again, mice in slow and quiet so they aren’t stressed out by you and do the deed. This method has worked well for me. Headshots almost always leave them to spray for me.

 

[Gellar]

you need a kill stick with a syringe in the end. You can get commercial ones or probably make one yourself. Fill the syringe with acetone.

Skunk Dispatch pole - Coyotehunter.net

Skunks are the highest market this year, for their tail. Groenwalds is paying up to $50 for all white skunk tails.

 

[MTLabrador]

They’re super easy to catch with dry dog food or especially cat food. I’ve had better luck with not getting them to spray with a lung shot with a .22 than shooting them in the head. Wrap it up in a tarp or contractor bag before moving it. Last one I trapped I shot in the head because that was the only angle I had, and he let loose some spray. I didn’t wrap up the trap and had to throw out the bed mat in my pickup after it leaked out.

 

[NoWiser]

I just dealt with one earlier this week. I partially wrapped the trap in a sheet when I set it. I walked up to it very slowly and talked to it in a very calm voice and gave it plenty of time to get used to me. I finished wrapping the trap and put a bungee around it. I picked it up and put it in the back of the side by side and drive to a pond where I lowered it in. Zero spray.

I’m going to make a dispatch pole like Gellar said. It looks to be quicker, easier, and more humane than drowning.

I used cat food and part of a pheasant carcass for bait.

 

[Steiny77]

We had a skunk that frequently went under our deck at the lake house.
Set a live trap baited with a chicken bone near the entry and had him in morning.

I had tied a 25' rope to the trap so I dragged the skunk in trap out the yard, off the pier and sunk him in the lake.
Gave him some time to soak, then went out later in my waders and shook him out under water. Relatively stink free operation.

If you don't have a lake available, throw an old blanket or tarp over the live trap and allegedly they are less likely to spray.
I can't confirm.

Every one that I've shot in my foot hold traps stinks it up. I kill them and go back a few days later after they've cooled down to empty the trap.

 

[rjthehunter]

Lung shots work 60-70ish% of the time. Shoot from a distance. Try not to scare them.

 

[Fire_9]

Lay a garbage can on it's side and stick the live trap in it. When you catch it, tip the garbage can up and stick the garden hose in it. Never personally done it but I've heard it works great

 

[Dan-06]

Lay a garbage can on it's side and stick the live trap in it. When you catch it, tip the garbage can up and stick the garden hose in it. Never personally done it but I've heard it works great

Can also use co2 from exhaust pipe or fire extinguisher.

 

[gonhunting247]

Use an enclosed trap, like a poly trap, let them know you are there by talking or tapping on the trap with your foot. Pick it up slow/steady/quiet with out sudden moves (pay attention to your shadow on sunny days, as this can startle them through a poly trap), put it in a drowning barrel/tank or some other water body (again slow and smooth when putting into water). They will not spray if done correctly. If they start tapping their feet inside the trap, give them a few seconds to settle down.
Skunks are pretty calm in a covered or poly trap and as long as not startled will typically not spray at all.
Foothold traps are tough to deal with them in and head shots have always been 100% guaranteed way to get them to spray for me .

 

[Fire_9]

Can also use co2 from exhaust pipe or fire extinguisher.

I don't see why not. Might be a more peaceful way to go

 

[Gut Shot]

Use the live trap with a tarp or plastic over it. Once the skunk is inside run a hose or pipe under the tarp and attach it to your exhaust. Run your vehicle for five minutes and it's done. Go bury the dead, not-stinky skunk.

 

[Irrelevant]

I really like this CO poisoning method. I did the drowning once, not on a skunk, and won't do that again. And I don't have a suppressed .22 so that's probably out unless I haul it somewhere first.

 

[brymoore]

I really like this CO poisoning method. I did the drowning once, not on a skunk, and won't do that again. And I don't have a suppressed .22 so that's probably out unless I haul it somewhere first.

Can’t shoot near your house?

I’ve caught a few skunks as by products.

Skunk fur prices were crazy earlier this year - near $80.

 

[Irrelevant]

Can’t shoot near your house?

I’ve caught a few skunks as by products.

Skunk fur prices were crazy earlier this year - near $80.

I mean I shot my turkeys in the driveway, but I try not to. It's definitely not super safe, but also not terribly unsafe either, at least if you pay attention to where you're shooting.

 

[brymoore]

I’ve shot a few skunks in traps. Easy to trap. I’ve heard lung shots are better than head shots to avoid spraying. I’m 50/50 on spraying.

 

[buffybr]

Many years ago I lived in a trailer court on the edge of town. One year I shot a deer and hung it from a pole tripod next to my trailer. The town had a dog leash law, but there were still dogs running loose, and one or more of them were biting my deer. I told my neighbors that I was going to set a leg trap under my deer, so they should keep their dogs at home.

I set the trap under the deer and fastened it to a 20' steel cable. The next morning there was a skunk in the trap, and he had scratched a 20' semi-circle trying to get away.

Someone told me that if you shoot them in the head that they wouldn't squirt, so I quietly opened a window and shot him in the center of his head with a .22LR. He just relaxed dead on the ground, and all of his liquid stink oozed out on the ground.

I even dug up some of the ground under him and threw it into the nearby river, but for as long as we still lived there, whenever it rained there was a strong odor of skunk.