Skunks Under Home

Skunks under houses are a common call that we get in Amherst in the late winter and early spring of the year. These are very common calls and oftentimes when we get a call for a skunk under a house, it comes with a degree of urgency from the customer.

When we get the call for a skunk under a house it is usually after the skunk has sprayed. This makes the entire job harder because not only do you have to try and trap the skunk, you also have to combat the smell that the skunk has left behind. This is a very difficult smell to try to deal with, more information can be found on our how to get rid of skunk smell page. We also deal with the skunk under steps problem which is very similar to this one.

Skunks will get under homes for several reasons, some of the reasons is the skunk could be looking for shelter. These skunks that will be looking for shelter will usually make themselves noticed in the early winter months such as December and January. Skunks that may be looking for a place to have their babies will show themselves in early spring such as February or March.

These skunks will usually be the ones that will cause the most problems for an Amherst homeowner. Once the breeding season begins a female skunk will come into “heat” This is the start of her reproductive cycle that will trigger a male skunk to start to try to initiate the breeding cycle with the female skunk. If the female skunk is not ready to breed with the male skunk, the female will spray the male in a defensive attack to get him to leave her alone.

This is where the problem comes in for the homeowner in Amherst. When the female skunk sprays the males skunk under your house, you are the unlucky one that has to deal with the smell that will linger for up to 6 months after the animal sprays. This is a smell that will permeate through your carpet and other flooring getting into your home. This smell is almost impossible to get rid of unless you get rid of the skunks and treat the sprayed area with chemicals designed to eliminate skunk smell.

We get this call often in springtime in Amherst. The simplest answer is to trap them. Most people think that if you allow a skunk to stay in an area it will leave once it has its babies. This is not necessarily true.

Skunks will stay and live in a single place for as long as they are allowed. You will never solve your skunk under the house problem by letting the animal stay where it is. You must start a trapping program in order for you to start the process of removing the skunks from under the house. Once the skunk is removed, you then can get on with skunk exclusion. This is a process in which a skunk is physically kept from entering a hole or crack that allows entrance under a house.