Skunks!

[kmoranjr1]

So far I am having my best year yet. Everything is doing very well. Apparently all the lush greenery in my yard has attracted a visitor. For the last week or two everything I've planted has been dug up. Pretty sure it's a skunk or maybe squirrels ( have not seen the culprit) I'd like to hear how other people dealt with this problem.

 

[momofdrew]

I have dogs who chase off the squirells and are too stupid to know that the night time black and white critters arent squirells...but usually the skunks stay away because of the dumb dogs scent...

 

[kmoranjr1]

Thanks Pam. No dog here so i'll have to try something else. Please thank your son for his service to us!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sounds like something my dogs would do. Is this happening at night or during the day? Squirrels are not active at night, but I've had them dig in any disturbed ground. Those long tailed rats can be very aggravating.

Skunks are active at night. They should be digging for grubs and such.

It's hard to catch something without an ID. I think that should be your first step. I'm not saying it's always an easy step.

 

[hoodat]

You can usually tell if it's a skunk digging. They will dig narrow trench like holes an inch or so deep. If the hole is rounder it's something else. I'm very partial to skunks. I just like their friendly personality. I raised a baby skunk once and he taught me to "speak skunk". They communicate almost entirely in body language and will recognize it when a human uses it. I never get sprayed but it would bother the people around me more than it would me. I don't mind the smaell.

 

[lesa]

Come on Hoodat-I am still waiting for you to put all your fascinating experiences in a book!!

 

[Dave2000]

I made friends with my next door neighbor's cat, it spends more time in my back yard than theirs, then goes home to eat... a perfect arrangement!

We don't have much of a problem with the skunks or squirrels otherwise because they have alternate food sources, aren't going to battle a cat to get something they don't really prefer to eat. There are enough oak trees that the squirrels have little motivation to dig, except trying to find acorns they buried previously. The skunks seem to have a set routine, they follow a path that does not include the garden area, going house to house looking for trash bags to eat out of.