Almost Got Skunked

[TromboneAl]

I was sitting in a low chair in a side yard, reading a book, when I heard a rustling. I look over, and about four feet away, Mr. Skunk is heading my way, snuffling along the ground, oblivious.

I had a split second to decide: stay still or run? I decided to run. I jumped up, away from the skunk. He startled and turned, and I was looking down the barrel of his weapon. The image is seared into my memory.

But he didn't fire.

 

[Bamaman]

I would have froze. If you don't scare them, they'll eventually walk away.

When I was a kid in the Boy Scouts, our camp was full of those little nocturnal rascals. We just left'em alone, and no one ever got sprayed.

 

[Nemo2]

About 40 years ago, in Toronto, I was going for an early morning run.....opened the side door to the drive, pitch dark, must've scared the guy............all over my shoes.

Went for a run anyway, showered in tomato juice on my return......later took the good running shoes to the laundromat, washed them and put them in the outside garage.

Six months later I could still smell a slight whiff off the shoes.

 

[W2R]

Al, if I saw a skunk I'd back off slowly, and then run for it. Once inside, I'd freak, though! .

Sounds like you did the right thing.

I don't think we have skunks in my neighborhood, but I am not sure. We have seen possums and a raccoon.

 

[pb4uski]

About 25 years ago we were camping with our kids and another couple with kids. The kids had gone to bed in our respective campers and the adults were enjoying a beer in front of a roaring campfire and talking in normal voices. DW said that she thought that she saw an animal under the picnic table that we were sitting at... we laughed at her and said that with that roaring fire and us talking in normal voices that there is no way an animal would be that close to us. About 10 seconds later we saw a big, fat skunk waddleing away towards the other couple's camp site and under the camper their kids were in... but it kept going.

 

[Nemo2]

Al, if I saw a skunk I'd back off slowly.

Around 1998, on the Michigan upper peninsula, I was walking my Border Collie on a trail...he was ahead of me and something caught his attention, (he wasn't an excitable dog), and he's peering into the tall grass......when I caught up to him he's nose to nose with a skunk, both checking each other out real friendly like.

Told him to back off..he did...so did the skunk...all very amiably.

At the time my late wife & I, the dog and a cat, were all living in a Class 'B' camper....if he'd've been sprayed it would have been somewhat problematic.

 

[MRG]

Almost twenty years ago I came home to our "Green Acre" home. I went to greet the outdoor dog and there was a chemical smell. Almost like the smell of a hot electric discharge! Not like anything I knew, certainly not a critter.

Wow, as the chemical smell dissipated, underneath it all was a very unpleasant stench of skunk. The dog had apparently taken a direct hit! She had many dawn, hydrogen peroxide, and tomato juice baths.

 

[MissMolly]

About 10 years ago our rat terrier tangled with skunk right next to the outdoor compressor part of our heating system. It was February (mating season for skunks) and very, very cold outside. Needless to say the compressor pumped all that lovely odor into our house for several minutes before we figured out what was going on. Since it was February, we couldn't open the doors to air out the house. I bought tons of scented candles and we burned them for weeks until the smell finally dissipated. That dog never did learn to leave skunks alone. One week she tangled with 2 over the space of just a couple of days. You would think she would have tired of all the baths she got - but no

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

About 40 years ago, in Toronto, I was going for an early morning run.....opened the side door to the drive, pitch dark, must've scared the guy............all over my shoes.

Went for a run anyway, showered in tomato juice on my return......later took the good running shoes to the laundromat, washed them and put them in the outside garage.

Six months later I could still smell a slight whiff off the shoes.

 

[audreyh1]

We have skunks. I make a lot of noise if I go out at night so I don't surprise one.

 

[CDRE]

Household pets require inventory of the following items:

1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide (from drug store)
1/4 cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
and a teaspoon of liquid detergent.


This neutralizes the skunk odor from people and pets.


Here is one link: Deodorize Skunk Spray

 

[kcowan]

https://youtu.be/tG4bZiO7muI
Be still very still

 

[braumeister]

At our last couple of homes, skunks were common and we enjoyed seeing them. They're not at all aggressive and really prefer to simply not notice you. We had one who dug under our gazebo to make a den where she raised her little ones. Never a problem.

OTOH, if you act in a threatening or unpredictable manner, you're in big trouble. Just ask my cat.

 

[Nemo2]

Skunks also appear to have (semi) fixed routines.....again in Toronto of yore, and again running early in the morning when it was still dark, I'd encounter one: his/her pattern seemed to be going up one driveway and then another..(see post #3)..and I knew roughly where he/she would be at any given time.

That's when I got off the sidewalk and ran in the middle of the road......can't recall how many times I've said "It's only me".......mutual non-aggression pact.

 

[Oneparkatatime]

We were camping in a pop up with the kids once and had a skunk try and come into our campsite as I was grilling some steaks. It took a couple of direct hits from some small chunks of wood I threw at him to change his path. About 10 minutes later we heard a bunch of yelling from a nearby campsite.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[marko]

I have no sense of smell. Never did.
When I was a kid, I baby-sat a neighbor's dog. Went over, played with the dog, wrestled on the grass with him, hugged him etc etc.

Everything was fine..........until I got home. Mom met me in the driveway, screaming at me! She could smell me from inside the house!
Seems the dog had been skunked earlier. I had no idea.

 

[grasshopper]

With 4 dogs and lots of skunks we do the drill at midnight on the coldest night in February every year. I think two have learned the lesson.

 

[CRLLS]

Years and years ago, when I was a kid, my family went to visit my Aunt and Uncle who lived on a dairy farm. Like many, they had a farm dog. They named him Hector. Well Hector had an affinity towards skunks. He would find them in oh, so many places. This time, he chased a skunk into a steel culvert and was barking away, claiming his territory. In the middle of on particular bark, the sound turned to a yelp. Away came Hector and placed his nose into the gravel driveway and plowed the driveway for about 50 feet. It was funny to a child. The odd part was that this episode was only a few days after he had another run in with a skunk (maybe the same one) in the honey bee supers. He was either overly protective of the farm or very s-l-o-w in brain function.

 

[Nemo2]

The odd part was that this episode was only a few days after he had another run in with a skunk (maybe the same one) in the honey bee supers. He was either overly protective of the farm or very s-l-o-w in brain function.

I was in a vet's one time and someone came in with a Lab that had porcupine quills sticking out of its nose like a pincushion.

"Bet he won't do that again" I said........"Oh, this is about the third or fourth time" was the reply.

Some dogs are smarter than others.

 

[txtig]

I would have froze. If you don't scare them, they'll eventually walk away.

When I was a kid in the Boy Scouts, our camp was full of those little nocturnal rascals. We just left'em alone, and no one ever got sprayed.

This was our experience too. Years ago while camping with our kids and two other families, we were sitting around a campfire talking/drinking when a herd of skunks slowly ambled through our site. Everyone remained calm and motionless and eventually the critters moved on. No harm, no foul.