The Summer of Skunks in the Garden

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Nothing will quite get your blood pumping like rounding a corner and seeing a skunk with its tail up facing off a cat. That was my greeting when I walked down the road to feed my horse late one evening a couple of weeks ago. Granted, it was well into dusk (prime skunk time), but it was still a surprise. The skunk toddled off to a nearby woodpile after I shook the bucket to break up the stand off. I made a wide berth around the other side of the house to bring the food to Kelo. He didn’t care if there was a skunk between him and me. 

Of course, that wasn’t the only one this year. A skunk made itself at home at a friend’s place where she takes care of multiple cats. The skunk figured he would just become part of the family and invite himself to the meals she provides for the felines. They know where the good food is. Since a lot of us set out food for the cats who refuse to come indoors, the skunks will take advantage of the situation. 

We also had several small ones at our place this summer causing trouble at the beehives. They’ll sit outside the hive, agitate the bees enough for them to fly out, then eat them as they emerge to defend the hive. Stings don’t bother them. Grant trapped several in the live trap, threw a tarp over them, then brought them to a new home quite a ways away. The hard part is there is not an easy way to handle a skunk. One morning when he came back home, my son pointed out, “Oh no. Daddy’s not wearing a shirt”. Sure enough, when he dumped the skunk out of the cage, the skunk was gracious enough to walk a few steps, then give him a shot of spray. Grant said one big glob hit his shirt. That one went in the trash. 

Removing Skunks

One option I recently discovered is the Skunkinator. It’s a low-profile trap that prevents the skunk from lifting its tail in order to skunk. It does the trick, although sometimes smart skunks figure out they can tip over the trap and grab the food that falls out from the sliding trigger. It’s best to add a concrete block or couple of bricks to help hold it in place. 

A number of neighbors have caught or killed skunks. But, with a report of up to 9 babies, I don’t think they’re all gone. I’ve heard reports of them wiping out almost entire hatches of pheasants and chicks this summer at one of our neighbors who raised them. While they can be pests in the garden, since they are true omnivores and will eat practically anything, skunks can do a lot of damage in the garden and berry patch. Thankfully, they don’t climb very well so it’s easy enough to barricade your garden or chicken coop. And, electric works very well. 

We opted to put an electrified netting around the bees to keep the skunks away. I wanted the smaller poultry netting, but after searching at 5 places around town, went with the larger holed bear fence. The sections are roughly 3 inches wide, which should be small enough to keep out the skunks. We plug it in every night, and haven’t had any issues. 

There are a lot of good things about skunks, but surprising one is not on that list. Nor, is feeding them our bees. Hopefully the fence will be enough to teach them that this particular high-protein treat is not worth the effort. 

Meet Amy Grisak

Amy is a freelance author and photographer in Great Falls, MT who specializes in gardening, foods, and sustainable agriculture. She provides information on every kind…

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