I live in a rural neighborhood in eastern Brazos County. There is a skunk in my backyard at the edge of the wooded area. It's been there for hours, walking in little circles.

Should I be concerned that this skunk is rabid? If so, what do I need to do?

Leave it alone

call animal control

shoot it with a BB gun

Don't pet it.

By the way, I kind of like skunks. They are peaceful little critters that just want to be left alone.

If it weren't for rabies, I would be perfectly happy to just fence them out of the garden. But because of the serious threat of rabies, I kill them whenever and wherever possible.

Shoot and kill it...Could be rabid and if it's not it's one less skunk....

Seeing a skunk or other nocturnal creature in the daytime, especially one that is acting strangely, is not a good sign.

Something is probably wrong with it. Maybe rabies or some other ailment.

Once someone shoots a skunk that is possibly rabid, what should one do with the body?

DINNER......

Let's go ski-man!

Just because they are out during the day does not mean a single thing.

That said, I would just leave it alone and call Animal Control.

[This message has been edited by AggieBarstool (edited 1/3/2010 5:35p).]

eric, do you also kill every coon, squirrel, bat, mouse, possum, cat, dog, human you see because of the possibility of rabies?

Skunks are one of the major reservoir populations for rabies.

Enough said.

Dogs are a much larger reserve. Do you kill all of them? Your danger of dying in your yard is probably highest when around humans. Do you kill all of them too?

I find your killing of skunks unnecessary and surely not rooted in a reasonable threat.

Most recent chart I could find. Hardly worth killing all skunks.

Oh No....a skunk hugger.......

In 2008 in Brazos County, 62% of all skunks tested for rabies had rabies. In 2007, it was 78%.

Of course, they only test the skunks that they are worried about. It is reasonable to believe that a skunk that stays away from humans (and thus is much less likely to be shot) is probably going to have a lower incidence of rabies.

You can find all kinds of statistics for rabies in animals from the Texas Department of Health Zoonoses Division at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/disease/rabies/cases/statistics/

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Dogs are a much larger reserve. Do you kill all of them?

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Dogs are more likely to be vaccinated for rabies. While there is still a small chance that a dog could acquire rabies even if adequately vaccinated, that chance is quite small.

Sandy, don't test eric... If he posts, he knows of which he posts, trust me... If eric says it, I believe it...

-TexAgs user since 1995...

If you shoot a skunk, be prepared for it to spray.

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If you shoot a skunk, be prepared for it to spray.

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Isn't it less of a "spray" than a "release" as in, there's no power to keep it in, so it releases the stuff, rather than a directed spray?

For perspective----as of 12/23/2009



[This message has been edited by ursusguy (edited 1/3/2010 11:20p).]

Now this isn't an exact way to look at the disease reservoirs, but should give you an idea.



[This message has been edited by ursusguy (edited 1/3/2010 11:23p).]

95% of skunks in this area are rabid.... most show no signs of it. This one likely is. Just shoot it, ignore it or call animal control... whatever is your pleasure.

I'm glad you do not do my finances.

Why? I have never heard of any skunk not testing positive in this area... never. My brother did quite a bit of rabies research in the area in graduate school, he indicated the number is high enough that you should assume they all are... be on the safe side, shoot the damn thing...

Eric helped you out by posting the numbers. You could have used real numbers.

The link above shows 891 animals were tested for rabies in TX in NOV of which 49 were positive. So 5.5% of reported questionable cases came back positive.

Over 70% (17 positive/38 negative) of skunks rabies tests came back negative. Hardly validates they all have it so kill it claim.

Call animal control. Thats what they are paid to do.

Had them get a possum I trapped in my garage eating dog food. It was out during the day even though they are nocturnal.

[This message has been edited by allenhondaCSTX (edited 1/4/2010 9:04p).]

Its left and up of all the yellow dots. Brazos county has 10 blue dots in it lol.

[This message has been edited by allenhondaCSTX (edited 1/4/2010 9:05p).]

in all of 2008 391 postive cases, 885 negative as far as skunks go in Texas.

numbers %'s are failry consistent month to month/year to year also on skunks. 30% or slightly more test positive.

I was always taught if you saw a skunk during daylight hours to kill it. The probability of it being rabid is much higher than the rest of the skunk population at large (which already has a high likelihood of being rabid).

Just get a 12 gauge and some large shot and dispense with the thing.

For over two years, we've been visited frequently by a skunk, but always in the middle of the night. We live in a typical neighborhood, no heavily wooded areas close by. The times I've spotted him/her have been anywhere from midnight to 3 a.m. Usually, it's on a very hot night and it seems to be looking for something to drink. I've watched it nose around, dig up a few grubs from the corner of the back yard, wander over for a drink, then it heads back in the direction it came from. Since its behavior has always seemed normal, we've always left it alone, just like the possum who also makes frequent visits to our patio.

A skunk out during the day does not mean rabies but a skunk acting unusual, walking around in circles, has a high chance of being rabid. If you live out in the county and call animal control, which is the sheriff's department, they won't come out to take care of it. They will only come out if there has been exposure. Otherwise they have been known to tell people to just shoot them. Not every skunk, opossum, bat or coon is tested for rabies when it is picked up by animal control. Only those that are know to have human or pet exposure are. Those without exposure are usually released.
We have opossums and skunks that frequent our neighborhood and yard. We just leave them alone.