It’s winter and skunks are on the move

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While traveling about last week I noticed and smelled an abundance of dead skunks on the road. This should not come as a real surprise as skunks enter their mating season in mid-February and go through April.

Though we may see an increase in skunks during this time of year, it is often the skunk smell in the air that announces their presence. Speaking of roadkill, did you know the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Department of Wildlife does roadkill surveys?

These surveys were conducted in March and April of last year. The surveys are over 49, 40-mile survey routes distributed throughout Ohio. The number of road-killed raccoons, opossums, skunks and woodchucks were tabulated by species. Roadkill surveys are an efficient way to index the population size of medium-to-large-bodied mammals that are frequently found on roads.

Based on our weather patterns this past winter, the skunks are making up for lost time.

Skunks do not hibernate. On frigid snowy days, they become dormant or semi-active. They may remain in their dens for days, even weeks, depending on the weather. Several females may den together, while males are often solitary.

Once the weather breaks, male skunks leave their dens and will travel far and wide in search of the females, which accounts for the increase in sightings and smellings this time of year. During these travels and times of increased activity, skunks are more likely to encounter threats, and therefore, they spray.

Skunks spray for the primary reason of defense from a perceived threat. That threat could be a human, pet or another wild animal. Skunks are particularly defensive during the breeding season, when males are competing for females, or defending a harem of females from another male. Females are also very defensive during this time, especially if she has already mated and another male wants to mate with her, and she may spray a male in this case.

Most skunks will spray as a last resort (though there are some that are trigger happy). Before a skunk sprays, it will often make various noises (grunts, snarls, growls or hisses), then assume a defensive position (arched back and stamping front feet while shuffling backwards) before spraying. The spray is dispelled from two scent glands located on either side of the anal area. Skunks are very accurate in their aim, so beware.

The best way to discourage skunks from coming into the yard is to remove any attractants. This general rule is applied to all wildlife coming into back yards. They are there for a reason, and that reason is usually food or shelter.

Food attractants for skunks can be pet food, bird feeders, beehives and garbage.

They may seek shelter in rock or log piles, brush piles, openings under buildings, porches and decks

Why do skunks smell so bad? Skunk spray contains thiol, an organic compound with sulfur as the principal component. Sulfur has that classic rotten egg smell, and it is what gives thiol its gag-inducing power. Thiols are also used in the natural gas industry. Natural gas is an odorless gas. Thiols are added to give the gas the detectable odor. Skunk spray consists of three separate thiols mixed. Wow, talk about a triple whammy.

Now we know exactly why skunk spray smells so bad. Who really cares, though? If you or your pet gets sprayed, you will care extremely fast.

The trick is to neutralize the thiols. Tomato juice may mask the smell; however, the smell may linger for some time. The best neutralizing material to wash your clothes and pets after a spray was developed by chemists studying the effects of thiols.

This is the recipe:

Mix 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide with a ¼ cup of baking soda and 2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid. Bathe your pet in this for about five minutes, constantly rubbing it into the fur. You may have to use a sponge to get your pet’s chin, cheeks, etc. Just make sure you do not get it in your pet’s eyes. The smell should start to dissipate. If it does not go away completely, rinse off your pet, mix a new batch, and do it again. This same recipe may be used on clothes.

Miles Phillips, assistant professor and extension specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service, gives a historical use for skunks. Historically, skunk oil was used for medicinal purposes. Skunk oil is an oil that is removed from the fatty tissue along the skunk’s back. Native Americans used it and introduced it to the European explorers. It has moisturizing properties. Some Native Americans used it to cure poison ivy. The most common medicinal use, though, was to treat coughs. Like any liniment, it has a mildly warming reaction, which supposedly opens the airways, curing the cough.

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