Solving a Dilemma of a Different Stripe : Making Skunks Turn Tail and Run May Be Easier Than You Think

The problem with city dwellers confronted with trespassing wildlife, humane society experts say, is that people are unable to think like the animal they are trying to control. That might be the case in a Studio City neighborhood, where folks are enduring an invasion of skunks.

Just how can these meek little critters stroll past watchdogs and through the pet door at the back entrance in search of Alpo or Fancy Feast? Well, imagine yourself in some crime-ridden neighborhood, and everyone there knows you have a natural supply of the most heinously potent pepper spray known to humankind. Better yet, you can spray it accurately to a distance of six feet. Well, who’s gonna mess with you ?

Perhaps it’s that kind of confidence that has led the skunks on bold nocturnal excursions into homes on Laurel Terrace and Viewcrest Road. Well, perhaps it’s that and the fact that the only things attracted by skunk spray are, well, other skunks.

Meanwhile, the skunk wars have taken on extreme proportions. Those insistent on keeping pet doors have gone as far as installing doors that only open when they receive an electronic signal from the pet’s fancy collar. That apparently worked fine for one Southern California couple, until an odd glitch in the electronics meant that the feline in question was inadvertently setting off the garage door opener as well as the burglar alarm several times a night. And--you guessed it--the skunks got in through the garage.

There are cheaper and more effective methods. Skunks don’t like the smell of mothballs. Spread several of them around outside the house and your problem might be solved. If that doesn’t work, the same ammonia that chases you out of the house on cleaning day will do the same for the skunks. A few soaked rags, strategically placed, ought to do the trick. Perhaps the skunk problem is just a matter of common “scents.”