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View Full Version : Skunk help please!!!


athompson
07-08-2012, 08:39 AM
We set a live trap for a chipmunk and ended up with a giant skunk. Aside from paying $95 to have it taken away, what can I do? I read that most skunks are rabid.
trales
07-08-2012, 08:43 AM
Rabies is pretty rare. You can call you local animal control to see what the rabies numbers are for your state.

Put a blanket over the trap, they won't spray if they cannot see. You can transport the skunk away from your house and then open the door and let it go.

The chances that is has rabies are slim to none.
NCGrandma
07-08-2012, 09:43 AM
Many states post rabies info on their state health dept websites, often with details by county, if you don't want to wait to call. (I just learned that over 9,000 mammals had lab-confirmed rabies in the past 20 years in NC -- yikes!). Here, raccoons are more common rabies carriers than skunks but I'm sure this will vary by state.
SkyrMommy
07-08-2012, 10:45 AM
Rabies is pretty rare. You can call you local animal control to see what the rabies numbers are for your state.

Put a blanket over the trap, they won't spray if they cannot see. You can transport the skunk away from your house and then open the door and let it go.

The chances that is has rabies are slim to none.

We had a skunk last year in our have-a-heart trap we set for the destructive woodchuck, we put a blanket over the cage walked away quietly for about 10 minutes to let it calm down and then reached under the blanket and set one trap side up and walked away. It waddled out no worse for the wear...
Smillow
07-08-2012, 10:04 PM
Just in case - I would make sure whatever you throw over the trap is disposable (meaning you are willing to just get rid of it - friends recently had this issue & the skunk got scared & sprayed the tarp they threw over the trap...
indigo99
07-08-2012, 10:20 PM
Personally, I'd find someone cheaper to take it elsewhere and release it. We had one living under our porch for a while and were about to set a trap (waiting for the weekend) when it finally left. They're a bit nomadic and will move from one home to the next eventually, but maybe he was looking to move in on your property.