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Old 09-21-2018, 12:30 PM
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Default Chronicles of the Skunk Apocalypse - # 9 In the Bag

It must be close to the next Full Moon or Harvest Moon, our condo complex is under attack.

Neighbor is concerned & put down a bunch of moth balls, they don’t seem to work. Over the past week we got six black/white’s crawling around. It’s interesting having a trail cam focused on the trap you get a bunch of pics and can see their behavior.

In the past I used Whiskas dry food but caught a few feral cats now I prefer teaspoon of peanut butter, a small amount in the entrance & the remainder in the back of the trap, puss isn’t interested but the skunks can’t resist it.

Getting rid of skunks is a lot of work, 2013 was a record year, perhaps 2018 maybe a record breaker … is your place under attack, too ?

Cheers

David


A few pic's ....











[IMG][/IMG]


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Old 09-21-2018, 01:20 PM
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Hmmm...I’ve caught feral cats with peanut butter. But then, I view them the same as skunks
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Old 09-22-2018, 01:33 PM
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With all the snow we got last night, nothing was moving, no tracks, perhaps tonight!

D.
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Old 09-22-2018, 04:09 PM
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Cool how you keep track of each year on the side of the trap !
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Old 09-22-2018, 08:33 PM
grouse_hunter grouse_hunter is offline
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Wow, 2016 certainly was a good year for cats!
I saw a skunk the other day, but thankfully they are a rare visitor around my parts.
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Old 09-22-2018, 09:22 PM
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Grizzly Adams Grizzly Adams is offline
 
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Had a feral cat hanging around, a couple of weeks ago, so I set the trap in the barn, right against the tack room door. Very surprised to find a skunk in there, next day. No chance of getting a tarp over the trap, So I decided to pop him between the eyes and hope he died peacefully, unfortunately, He expired very relaxed. No way I could breathe in there after that, so, hold breath and remove trap with pitch fork. Dumped a half bottle of bleach on the stink puddle and all was well again, trick I learned working with methyl mercaptan, about the same stuff.

Grizz
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Old 09-22-2018, 10:50 PM
Johnnyg313 Johnnyg313 is offline
 
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So I have a couple questions as I need to get one of these traps for the black and white bastards in my back acreage.

Is it true that skunks can’t spray if they can’t lift their tail in the trap?

What’s the best way of disposing of such a critter?
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Old 09-23-2018, 07:39 AM
Marty S Marty S is offline
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This is what I use and champion as the best of the best. I only have a few in stock but can get more in a hurry.

https://canadiancoyotecompany.com/co...dura-poly-trap
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Old 09-23-2018, 07:51 AM
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Something seems screwy with the skunksnthis year... i think in my whole life I’ve only seen one in the daylight. Until this past week - i saw 5-6 feeding and rooting around in the ditches along highways in the drumheller areas, and also had a bunch of sightings of them in the field while hunting.
Must be trying to fatten themselves up a little extra before hibernating or something, but waayy more daylight activity than I’ve ever seen before.
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Old 09-23-2018, 07:57 AM
Marty S Marty S is offline
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Something screwy with the skunks out our way too, they vanished a number of years ago and we have hardly seen hide nor hair of any for quite a number of years. I'm not complaining, I hate catching them in my coyote sets, but other far away areas have a mass proliferation of them, like 2 hours away. Probly some kind of disease withlong lasting effects. Perhaps it's the water downstream of Calgary?
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Old 09-23-2018, 11:47 AM
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Sept 23 – got Number 7, not so lucky for him!

D.


Late night visitor.








Updated my database, notice all the 3/4" holes top/side/bottom.






Custom made carrying case that's as water tight as a drum.






Added plexiglass for immediate I.D.
(Blacked out my contact info)






Added 3/4" length of coat hanger for lightning fast door release



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Old 09-23-2018, 12:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnnyg313 View Post
So I have a couple questions as I need to get one of these traps for the black and white bastards in my back acreage.

Is it true that skunks can’t spray if they can’t lift their tail in the trap?

What’s the best way of disposing of such a critter?

J/g313 ... we had a skunk problem back in 2013, the Town had one for residents to use but there was a waiting list, we bought the identical one at UFA, I understand Peavey Mart also sell them.

Yes skunks can spray down and they will if they are threatened, attacked or being shot they don't need to lift their tail. That said not one has ever sprayed while in the trap even when it's being transported in the back of my SUV for release.

If you decide to release them do it later in the evening in tall grass or heavy bush & not on a bright sunny day because they won't come out of the trap, something I know.

This style of trap is one of the best made, I cover the plexiglass window with a towel & the skunk can't see you, & they quiet right down. If you choose to fill a container similar to the custom box with water and put a brick on top so it doesn't float, after 15-20 minutes there will be some skunk release in the water when you dump it out. I would recommend not to do this on pavement it hangs around for a couple days. I use the garden hose to clean it up & out as they have pee'd & pooped in the trap over night.

I will leave release/disposal up to your good judgement.

Trust this helps.

D.
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Old 09-23-2018, 12:20 PM
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It appears others have also experienced/witnessed the strange skunk apocalypse behavior .... I'm not sure the end is in sight, I believe there's still more that need to be relocated around here, too!

D.
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Old 09-23-2018, 09:18 PM
Johnnyg313 Johnnyg313 is offline
 
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I just ordered that trap from peavy mart, and skunk hunting I will go. Thankyou for all the info.
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Old 09-23-2018, 09:30 PM
260 Rem 260 Rem is offline
 
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The closed box traps can be easily fitted with some muffler parts and with a piece of flexible tail pipe, it is a matter of minutes (well 10 to be on the safe side) until Peppi can be released back into nature without incident.
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Old 09-24-2018, 01:34 AM
220 Swift 220 Swift is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 260 Rem View Post
The closed box traps can be easily fitted with some muffler parts and with a piece of flexible tail pipe, it is a matter of minutes (well 10 to be on the safe side) until Peppi can be released back into nature without incident.
I just read last week that a gas engine works best not diesel. Never tried either one but thought i would pass it on.
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Old 09-24-2018, 07:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnnyg313 View Post
I just ordered that trap from peavy mart, and skunk hunting I will go. Thankyou for all the info.
Those Koenders people seem to make a lot of different stuff, ggood on them. I built the Alberta government model out of wood, similar, worked well enough but the door was too light and my victim just lifted the door and away he went.

Grizz
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Old 09-24-2018, 10:41 AM
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Either a smart skunk or the word must be out to stay clear of my trap. Only 1 pic last night of Peppy in motion, what happened to they can't resist peanut butter.

I got him in my sights, perhaps tonight!

D.


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Old 09-24-2018, 01:30 PM
kevinhits kevinhits is offline
 
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I hear skunks are a huge issue this year....I went fishing yesterday and drove by 3 run over skunks in a 2 hour round trip....I cannot remember seeing that much road kill...
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Old 09-24-2018, 01:36 PM
stuckincity stuckincity is offline
 
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Not tryin to get off-topic, but since I'm in the middle of a city I'm only worried about 2-legged skunks........
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Old 09-24-2018, 02:47 PM
Jalan Jalan is offline
 
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Skunks were bad last couple years, not bad for us this year. Lots of owls so they tend to take them out. We almost thought someone had been releasing them last year as so many just randomly showed up all over.

Did have someone try broken glass, mothballs, etc none worked until he urinated where they were going under his deck.
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Old 09-24-2018, 08:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 220 Swift View Post
I just read last week that a gas engine works best not diesel. Never tried either one but thought i would pass it on.
Diesels don’t have the carbon monoxide gassers do. We used to just drop an old bathtub over the trap and stick a hose under from the 79 ford tailpipe. No mess no spray. They just fall asleep and go to skunk paradise.
Someone told me these newer vehicles don’t work so well, so we’ll have to get someone to do some empirical testing on that.
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Old 09-25-2018, 05:27 AM
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I love a good novel.

Dodger.
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Old 09-25-2018, 06:53 AM
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Old 09-28-2018, 09:27 PM
Johnnyg313 Johnnyg313 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Digger1 View Post
Diesels don’t have the carbon monoxide gassers do. We used to just drop an old bathtub over the trap and stick a hose under from the 79 ford tailpipe. No mess no spray. They just fall asleep and go to skunk paradise.
Someone told me these newer vehicles don’t work so well, so we’ll have to get someone to do some empirical testing on that.

Uh oh, all I have are Diesel engines. The new ones have all that emmision junk on them so I can see how they won’t work. I do have an old stinky Cummins that might do the trick. I saved my freezer box to put over the trap when I catch a skunk, hopefully stinky D does the trick.
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Old 09-29-2018, 05:15 PM
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Sept 29th ... we have company so the trap's in the garage, #8's been avoiding it the last few days, need to change the bait, peanut butter doesn't seem to work in cold weather.

Got a pic of it going under the neighbors deck, that's it's tail in the small hand drawn box.

It needs to go ... tic-toc-tic-toc !

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Old 09-29-2018, 05:45 PM
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I have seen stinky kitty's every day here for the last couple weeks. Happily none in the yard for a few years.
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Old 09-29-2018, 05:58 PM
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We have been at our current place for ten years. Never saw skunk in the yard till this year. Trapped four I believe so far, and have seen another out and about in the day. It is so bizarre.

Marshmallows and peanut butter work for us.
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Old 09-29-2018, 07:59 PM
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Caught 44 in the last 5 years at my place. Getting them under control thank god. Only 1 caught this year.
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  #30  
Old 09-29-2018, 08:16 PM
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Nice trap setup, if you were closer to Airdrie I’d have a job for you.
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