Hi All, I searched, but did not find, much helpful information. A skunk has moved in with me. It appears that it may be living under a stall and tunnels out and across an empty stall to tunnel and go outside. It seems quite comfortable w me around but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before there is a misunderstanding. I tried pouring industrial strength vinegar into the tunnel; I can still smell it but the skunk doesn’t care. I bought an industrial strength shop light ( I need sunglasses) and just watched the skunk go diagonally across the stall and out. Any ideas?
So…I’m real time, it just came back in, trotted around, and went out. We have no open feed containers and the barn is quite tidy. I just poured a bottle of bleach into the escape tunnel. I suspect there is one in the other corner, too. I should have saved some bleach for that corner.
STOP POURING. Vinegar and bleach form chlorine gas.
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Yikes!!! Thank you!!! The vinegar was days ago. The bleach is in the opposite corner of the stall. Do you think I still have a problem??? I never even gave it a thought. Thank you again!!!
Edited to add for clarity…the vinegar was in the tunnel which goes under the stall. I did that last week sometime; I can still smell it but it’s dry. I just poured the bleach into the tunnel on the diagonally opposite corner tunnel that goes outside. My dad was a chemist… you would have thought I’d given that some consideration. Thank you again. And now I’ve calmed down as I am guessing you thought I poured them together as I was very unclear above.
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I’m not a chemist so this may now be out of consideration, but ammonia is the only thing that works for me to get stuff to leave and stay out. I’ll often soak a papertowel in it, put that in a sandwich baggie (the one without a zipper) and toss it holes or around my wood rack - keeps the smell lingering longer, but allows me to control when the smell needs to be done.
You can trap a skunk in a live trap, it’s getting him out that’s the fun part. Have a tarp handy.
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We had a skunk dig under some mats in the quarantine barn that doesn’t has a concrete floor and had little ones there.
It only had one opening, not several tunnels like yours seems to have.
We dragged those mats out of the way and used ammonia and it left and must have carried its offspring with it.
Dislodging mats or the ammonia or both ran it off.
Good luck, they stink even without spraying, ugh.
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We were showing a dog next day in obedience and a friend was showing her in conformation.
That was the night that dog needed out and stirred up a skunk in the fenced yard.
We spent the rest of the night bathing that dog with above solution and tomato paste and any and all we could find.
Next morning first class was conformation, friend blissfully showing dog, judge examining her and, wrinkling it’s nose, winked but didn’t say a word and still gave her the blue! 
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Use one of the traps with doors on either end. Those you can effect a release by simply flipping the trap over with a broom-stick.
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Meanwhile, skunky-mc-skunk-face has sprayed the inside of the barn. Gah.
There’s not really a good way to do this, OP.
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IIRC, skunks are migratory & don’t set up long-term residence.
My own experience was a Mama skunk with 3 kits living under the pallets I stack hay bales on.
From there she could burrow into the indoor arena & then outdoors.
Maybe it’s the males that reek w/o spraying, but I only noticed the rare occasional faint trace of Eau de Skonk.
Horses never seemed bothered at all.
We coexisted until the babies were old enough to be out of the nest, then they were gone. For good.
One night the kits were roaming the aisle when I did my late Barncheck (& cookie distribution).
I used a broom to move them out of my way & one if them stomped at me, then turned his butt toward me.
Little Stinker was not yet old enough to be “armed”.
My personal opinion is skunks are conservative about spraying.
They’ll stomp at you first.
If that fails, only then will they turn around & let fly.
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And, despite my general disdain for wildlife in barns, the stomping is totally ADORABLE. Especially when it’s aimed at a cat, and not at me.
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When I had a gray tuxedo barncat, I was headed out for barncheck in the dark.
Bent down to pet what I assumed was the cat near the barn…
NOT the cat 
But skunk didn’t object to bring patted 
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Side skunk story:
In my one (and ONLY EVER) experience taking on some outside feral cats from a feral cat “group” (long story, family was involved, couldn’t say no), one of the (10) cats managed to escape from the crate they were being kept in for a few weeks. The Feral Cat Ladies were just STUNNED when I said “Hell no!!” to an attempt to catch the loose one with a live trap, due to the resident hay-barn-skunk. Oh but precious poopsie-cat who got loose! Yeah, ladies, unless you’re going to come get the skunk out, it ain’t happenin’.
They were psychotic ladies to deal with, horribly unpleasant, and I will never ever take ferals from a group again. They wanted fans on the cats (in a hay barn, can you say fire risk??). They didn’t think the water bowls were big enough. They didn’t think the crate set up was good enough. They didn’t think the litter box was big enough. NOTHING was good enough. FFS, people, I agreed to take 10 completely feral cats at one time and you can’t even be grateful? GTFO. The lady would call me at all hours of the night to ask specific questions about specific cats. Ugh.
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Thank you, everyone. I will get ammonia today and try that if it appears the light and bleach did nothing. I really don’t want it to spray in the barn. It does smell…and honestly, I think I taste it, too. The original chemical warfare……
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Trap or shoot it. Skunks carry rabies.
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Skunks no more carry rabies than fox racoon or a stray dog
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This is proving to be difficult. I certainly can’t shoot it in the barn w horses. I’m concerned about trapping it, as well. I do not want it to spray in the barn.
If you shoot, they generally spray before they die, or you could accidentally puncture the scent pouch or whatever it’s called.
Keep trying the “leave and never come back” techniques. Can you block one of the holes and put ammonia in the other?
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Yes…that’s the plan. I’m also going to post a No Vacancy sign😀.
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