I've got a place down in Sargent on a canal with an RV parked on it. We're still relatively new to the area, and have been learning a lot. Learning how to fish and crab, learning all the places to go, about boating.... and very recently learning why you don't leave an empty crab trap stored under your RV.

The person who cuts our grass called me yesterday and told me there was a live skunk caught in out crab trap. The trap was empty, no bait in it. Its the metal type of trap that you have to kind of pull apart at the bottom and shake the crabs out of, it doesn't have a door that opens or anything, so there is no way the skunk is coming out of the trap alive.

After I got that call I called the biggest local pest control company who just told me no. Then called an independent guy from the area who said he'd do it if no one else would, but he didn't want to. He said to call Animal control bc they may want to take it and test for rabies. Animal control directed me to county animal control, who told me to call the sheriffs office to get the game warden, who called me back and said to call pest control. Independent guy won't call me back now (don't really blame him), so now it's my job.

I'm about an hour and a half away, so it is important to (very important to me) that I get this done without getting sprayed and having to drive back home nasty.

Game plan 1:
Let it die, go down there late in the weekend, collect whole stinky trap, bag it up and throw it out. Will be unpleasant but straight forward. Also feels a bit inhumane. And don't really have a spot in the calendar to get down and do this later in the weekend.

Game plan 2:
Go down soon. Try to cover the trap with a tarp without being sprayed. Weight tarp down. Run hose from truck exhaust under tarp and wait. Supposedly this method keeps them from spraying.

I've read that even if you headshot them that they usually still spray.

I'd welcome any advice that keeps me smelling pretty.

TLDR, I have a stinky skunk problem and am probably getting sprayed.

If you wait about 24 hrs, they'll be dehydrated and wont spray. We had one in an attic of a house we were building. We got it caught in a trap and let it go without incident. Allegedly it was because it hadn't drunk any water in the attic and didn't spray. I could have just been very lucky, so who knows.

Both of your options will get you a quick trip to hell. Folks who harm or kill animals inhumanly are just crappy people in general. Don't go down that road.

You caught it so it's time to figure out how to fix it.

I'd use a tarp over the trap and a long stick to open it and release the skunk. There are videos on how to do it. There is definitely a risk of getting sprayed no matter what but I'd do some research online and come up with a game plan. You're not the first person to deal with this. Sucks you have to go down there asap but life does you dirty sometimes.

My dumbass neighbor blasted a skunk in his hay barn…I laughed….it ruined a lot of stuff for a while. Very expensive. lol. So, think the plan through no matter what.

Check this out:

Game plan 1 for sure

This.

They don't necessarily spray if you are slow, careful, slow. Yes, get a Tyvec suit. Carefully approach and slowly clip whatever you need to and open the trap, then slowly move away.

It will also help to cover the trap as much as possible with something you don't mind throwing away like some black plastic or a drop cloth so it feels more protected and if it does spray, the distribution is minimal.

You might also offer it something delicious to eat to distract it.

My apologies. I misunderstood the trap thing. Let me think on that. It certainly adds a degree of difficulty.

If I wasn't going out of town today I would volunteer to go help you. Well, ride along for entertainment purposes. This entire situation stinks.

I'm definitely in the "don't make the skunk stuff" camp. Either set it free or dispatch quickly. I'm not sure how to do either without it spraying. Good luck!

Shoot it in the head with a 22 from a distance, plug your nose, use a long pole with a hook on the end to move the trap to the canal, dump the bones out in a week. No sense in wasting a good crab trap. If it does spray, itll all be gone when you come back.

Not sure if the smell will ever leave the RV this way. Wasn't there a thread recently where someone said that they will spray with a head shot, but not a heart/lung shot?

I'll head down tomorrow and get it figured out. If it seems feasible to cut open the trap - I will, don't care too much about sacrificing the trap. If not, I'll figure out step 2 while I'm there.

This should be delivered by 8 AM lol.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4HN459T/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?pd_rd_i=B0F89X8VJR&pd_rd_w=TI0dP&content-id=amzn1.sym.953c7d66-4120-4d22-a777-f19dbfa69309&pf_rd_p=953c7d66-4120-4d22-a777-f19dbfa69309&pf_rd_r=XP8EZAM7TKBCZK6Q1KZ6&pd_rd_wg=xneAC&pd_rd_r=e6f75cb8-92d3-48f9-b70f-2eb13ddbb673&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwy&th=1

Shooting from the back where spine meets the base of the skull will typically keep them from spraying. Similar to shooting in the "T" zone with a human. Has worked for me.

Does Facebook no longer have a way to advertise "gigs" on marketplace or whatever? This would be a hilarious use of it.

Maybe call the country store down there and ask them if they know somebody that maybe could help you. I am sure they know one of the drunks down there who would do it for $100. Almost a guarantee that the skunk sprays under the rv, but no chance you get sprayed. If the country store is no good, try the bar on the main drag in. One of those 2 will know a guy.

Suit up like you're Walter White and cut the trap.

Shawdaddy said:

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I'll head down tomorrow and get it figured out. If it seems feasible to cut open the trap - I will, don't care too much about sacrificing the trap. If not, I'll figure out step 2 while I'm there.

This should be delivered by 8 AM lol.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4HN459T/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?pd_rd_i=B0F89X8VJR&pd_rd_w=TI0dP&content-id=amzn1.sym.953c7d66-4120-4d22-a777-f19dbfa69309&pf_rd_p=953c7d66-4120-4d22-a777-f19dbfa69309&pf_rd_r=XP8EZAM7TKBCZK6Q1KZ6&pd_rd_wg=xneAC&pd_rd_r=e6f75cb8-92d3-48f9-b70f-2eb13ddbb673&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwy&th=1

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Skunk might be dead by then.

SGrem said:

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Get one of those extended pole tree loppers and start cutting the trap. They can be like 15 feet long. Its not super heavy wire so the loppers should snip it just fine.

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This.

1. Get sardines, etc... something very smelly fishy to distract the skunk while you do everything else.
2. Cover with a tarp. Be as quiet as possible.
3. Use the 15 foot pole clipper to clip around entrance. Leave a trail of fish for the skunk to follow to get it out of the cage.
4. Profit.

I've been near skunks... they've never really bugged me. One surprised me as I was taking the tarp off of my tractor - walked out with its 4 babies. Nothing happened. I walked back slowly and quietly. Luckily, I hadn't tried to rip the tarp off; I had moved it slowly.

They can't see very well. They can smell and hear well. Erego why you want to distract their senses with the tarp and the stinky fish. You don't want their focus on you. You want their focus elsewhere.

I've done this a couple times before with a live trap and had no issues.

Step 1 - attach rope to live trap
Step 2 bait/set live trap
Step 3 catch skunk (you are here!!)
Step 4 use big tarp to hide you and move slowly towards trap and drape over
Step 5 pick up trap slowly and move to nearest water(I even transported in truck bed with no issues)
Step 6 drop trap in water
Step 7 pull up rope and remove dead skunk

Obviously you won't have the rope but should still be able to just tarp it and drop it in canal then just figure out a way to retrieve your trap. Just go slow and keep tarp in front of you and you will be fine. Don't let it die in the heat. That's awful.