Is there any way to get rid of them. I had a very close encounter tonight…and then Penny, the Dollar Store kitty had a close escape.
I found skunk droppings in the hay loft a couple of weeks ago (no hay up there)…so I know they’ve been hanging around for a while.
I won’t shoot them…so is there any other solution?
I’m assuming you can’t shut the barn so they can’t get in?
Try leaving all the lights and a loud radio on, tuned into some really bad music station.
No, I like some airflow for the one horse I have in at night.
You can live trap in a have a heart trap if you are brave. I have a dear friend that does it for people and he relocates them. He doesn’t get sprayed, he is like the skunk whisperer or some thing. He even can walk up to a wild raccoon and just grab it out of the tree like the family cat. He relocates them as well. Check around if someone locally does this service.
I am no help what so ever because I have a resident skunk in one of my barns, and I just let it stay. This year she had a litter of five.
I think you are smart to want to get them out asap. A skunk got into our barn and killed our goose, then went after mr. chai when we lived in Maine. The police came out and shot it because it went after them, too. They said it behaved like a rabid skunk. I loved that goose so I was heartbroken, but also glad my horses had their rabies shots and it didn’t go after them.
When we moved to MA, the animal control officer in our town told me she puts out a havahart, then covers it quickly when a skunk goes in and they don’t usually spray.
Good luck - you are doing the right thing!
A skunk moved into our hay barn two weeks ago and sprayed every time we went into the barn!! No direct hits to begin with, but did get a dog on three occasions. I tried stinking him out with moth balls to no avail, the accidentally got him caught in a humane trap set for possums. WHAT A STINK!! I threw an old horse blanket over the cage, dragged it outside with a long potato fork and dispatched it. Burned the blanket. The stink still permeates the whole area a week later!! Good luck with yours!!
I just found out we have one in the barn where I board. It comes in to eat the barn cats’ food. BO is going to try a Havaheart. (sp?)
Light. Skunks are nocturnal and don’t like lights. Keep the place lit up and they’ll move on.
G.
Leave no food out. Lock up cats (with a litter box) at night with their food. Keep grain in closed containers. Close stall doors at night so they don’t get anything dropped by messy eaters.
And leave the lights on.
If it isn’t skunks it will be possums or raccoon unless you control all food sources.
Call the turtleman!
Lights and noise, no food. Make your barn unwelcoming and barren for skunk life, and he will move on. Thank you for not just gunning/stabbing/“dispatching” him/her for coming into your barn!
What the others said. Also try oil-based horse fly spray that has citronella scent and spray all around the bottom of the barn.
[QUOTE=merrygoround;7886914]
Leave no food out. Lock up cats (with a litter box) at night with their food. Keep grain in closed containers. Close stall doors at night so they don’t get anything dropped by messy eaters.
And leave the lights on.
If it isn’t skunks it will be possums or raccoon unless you control all food sources.[/QUOTE]
There is no cat food in the barn. I feed the cats in the garage during the day, at dusk they come inside, along with their food. So far, no spraying. Grain is locked up in a metal trash can…and NO ONE gets dropped food from Mr. Airfern. He leaves nothing behind.
I’ve had a possum in the garage when I wasn’t fast enough to pick up the cat food. Raccoon in the barn when I used to feed the cats out there and kept the cat food in plastic container. I just keep making changes to ward off the wildlife.
I live trap skunks that move into my barn and rehome them to the rural state park. It is usually a problem I face in the late spring when the Mom’s are trying to nest. Once the skunk is trapped then cover the trap with a tarp and take it to the safe drop site.
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