Skunk ‘Fall Shuffle’: Illinois, How Do You Get The Stink Out?

ILLINOIS — Skunks all across Illinois are doing the “fall shuffle” again as young skunks reach adulthood and leave their mothers’ dens to make their own way in the skunk world, increasing the chances your dog will get sprayed, or you’ll hit a skunk on the highway,

Whether young adults or empty nesters, skunks of all stripes are frantically digging up white grubs to bulk up ahead of their mid-winter dormancy. Pity the poor creature, animal or otherwise, who gets in the way of the fall shuffle.

The skunk is likely to raise its fluffy black-and-white tail and hit the interloper with an oily, foul-smelling blast that can travel up to 8 feet.

Skunks are nocturnal, but given all they have to accomplish before they prepare for their two-week winter nap, they’re venturing out earlier in the day and evening, increasing the chances you or your pet will get nailed with what’s not-so-affectionately known as “nature’s tear gas.”

In Illinois, skunks are most likely to be found in urban areas near cemeteries, forest preserves, golf courses, open grassy fields, and near railroad tracks, and high-tension power lines, state officials said.

In more rural areas, skunks tend to make homes near dry drainage tiles, junk piles, old buildings, rock piles, under sheds, storm sewers, and wood piles.

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You really don’t want your pets (or yourself) to be sprayed. But if it does, there are a few home remedies you can use so you and your critters will be fit to be around.

Popular Home Remedies

Among the many purported remedies, one of the most common is a bath of tomato juice, but that’s folklore. Basically, you and your pet will smell like a tomato that was sprayed by a skunk.

Instead, try this folk remedy passed down through the generations of dog owners and made of items you’ve probably got around the house. This formula should be enough for a medium-sized dog of 30 to 50 pounds, so adjust it as necessary.

In an open container, mix together:

• ¼ cup baking soda
• Fresh 1-quart bottle of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide
• 1-2 teaspoons of liquid dish detergent

This solution must be used right away and cannot be stored. For pets and people, thoroughly work the mixture into the fur, hair, or skin, avoiding the eyes and mouth, and leave it on for five minutes. Then rinse with fresh water and repeat if necessary.

That won’t remove the skunk smell from clothing, and you shouldn’t put it on any clothing you don’t want to bleach, according to the Iowa State University Extension Service. Regular laundering and exposure to air will eventually cause the smell to fade, but you’ll probably have tossed the clothing in the garbage can before that, the Extension Service says.

Hazel Christiansen, a professional dog groomer and former president of the Idaho-based American Grooming Shop Association, offers a few more skunk odor removal tips.

Douse the dog with this potion and allow it to soak in for 10 minutes before shampooing:

• 1 cup vanilla extract
• 1 gallon water

The total amount you’ll need for this next remedy depends on the size of your dog. Thoroughly wet the dog’s coat, work this solution through the fur, allow to soak in for five minutes and then shampoo and rinse thoroughly, taking care to keep the solution out of the dog’s eyes (it will sting):

• 2 parts water
• 1 part apple cider vinegar

If You Hit A Skunk On The Highway

If you’re unlucky enough to hit a skunk on the highway, get after the smell right away. The longer you let the odor linger, the tougher it will be to get rid of it. Untreated, the putrid odor will last up to 21 days. If the vehicle is left in the wind and rain, the smell will go away in about two weeks.

A trip through the automatic car wash won’t cut it.

Cartreatments.com recommends treating the exterior of the vehicle with a distilled vinegar/dishwashing liquid formula. In a clean pump or backpack sprayer, mix equal parts of vinegar and water, and add a few drops of dishwashing liquid and apply liberally to the exterior bottom half or so of the vehicle. Let the solution stand for about five minutes, then rinse away with a garden hose.

In all likelihood, the skunk’s scent will permeate the interior of the vehicle. Mix a 1-to-5 ratio of hydrogen peroxide and water with a “healthy” amount of baby shampoo, scrub the carpet and upholstery and then allow the interior to dry under direct sunlight, with all windows open.

Another car site, mechanicbase.com, recommends scrubbing the tires, which likely made contact with the skunk, with the vinegar/water/dishwashing detergent formula. The undercarriage probably took a direct hit, too, but cleaning that is more difficult.

“If you have time, place a tarp under the car and layer some charcoal on it,” the site recommended, explaining charcoal should absorb the skunk smell.

The vinegar and water solution is fine for cloth upholstery, the site said, but for leather or vinyl seats, use a concoction of vinegar and linseed oil with no water.

Spray a commercial deodorizer — one that neutralizes orders — on the carpet.

Don’t Put An Invitation On Your Deck

The best thing may be to take a few preventive steps, so skunks will go on their sweet, merry way without spraying you or your pets. Along with less-smelly woodchucks, raccoons, rabbits, chipmunks, and opossums, skunks are looking for a place to hunker down for the winter, and they may think your deck or patio is just the place.

Consider adding a fence below the deck using half-inch mesh hardware cloth attached firmly to the deck frame and buried about a foot below the ground.

And, here’s some irony: A skunk puts off an odor like none other in the animal kingdom, but skunks don’t like odors like citrus, ammonia, mothballs, and the urine of predators, such as dogs and coyotes. Be careful using any of these as a deterrent, though. If you use mothballs or ammonia-soaked cotton balls, keep them away from children.

Skunks also offer plenty of warning before they aim the business end of their musk glands and let out a smell. Watch the behavior: Skunks hiss, arch their backs, display their tails, and stomp their front feet before they bend into a U-shape and let it rip.

They don’t actually want to spray you. They don’t have a lot of defenses in their arsenal. It isn’t as if they have an endless reservoir of stink, and depending on how much they emit, it could take a week or 10 days for them to recover, leaving them defenseless against predators.

Your Turn: Go to the comments and tell us about your or your pets’ encounters with skunks. How did you get rid of the smell?