Skunks

We can help with any skunk situation. If you are problems with skunks, our trained professionals will humanely remove them and prevent them from invading your space again!

The Striped Skunk is the type we have in New Jersey, it has a black body with a white stripe along each side of its body; the two stripes join into a broader white area at the nape. Its forehead has a narrow white stripe. About the size of a house cat, it weighs 2.5 to 14 pounds (1.2–6.3 kg) (Note that the average weight is 6-8 pounds (2.73kg-3.64 kg)) with a body length (excluding the tail) of 13 to 18 inches (33–46 cm). The bushy tail is 7 to 10 inches long (18–25 cm), and sometimes has a white tip.

Skunks are legendary for their powerful predator-deterrent—a hard-to-remove, horrible-smelling spray. A skunk’s spray is an oily liquid produced by glands under its large tail. To employ this scent bomb, a skunk turns around and blasts its foe with a foul mist that can travel as far as ten feet (three meters).

Skunk spray causes no real damage to its victims, but it sure makes them uncomfortable. It can linger for many days and defy attempts to remove it. As a defensive technique, the spray is very effective. Predators typically give skunks a wide berth unless little other food is available.

Skunks usually nest in burrows constructed by other animals, but they also live in hollow logs or even abandoned buildings. In colder climates, some skunks may sleep in these nests for several weeks of the chilliest season. Each female gives birth to between two and ten young each year.

Skunks are opportunistic eaters with a varied diet. They are nocturnal foragers who eat fruit and plants, insects, larvae, worms, eggs, reptiles, small mammals, and even fish. Nearly all skunks live in the Americas, except for the Asian stink badgers that have recently been added to the skunk family.
DISEASES: Skunks carry a number of diseases that can be harmful or transmitted to people, pets, or other animals. Skunks are the #2 carrier of Rabies accounting for more than 29% of reported cases. Transmission of rabies begins when the infected saliva of a skunk is passed to an uninfected person or animal. The most common mode of rabies transmission is through bites or scratches that contain saliva that is infected. Rabies infection in humans can cause death.

LEPTOSPIROSIS is a bacterial disease that can infect all mammals, including humans. Humans become infected with this disease by coming in contact with infected animal urine through water, soil, or food. Swimming in water infected with this bacterium can cause infection through skin contact, especially through eyes, nose, or broken skin. Touching infected areas such as soil or food can also cause an infection. Death, jaundice, and kidney or liver failure can occur with human infection although flu-like symptoms are most common.

DISTEMPER can be carried and spread to other animals (especially dogs) by skunks. Distemper does not affect humans. The disease is spread when uninfected animals come in contact with the urine of an infected animal. Dogs can be vaccinated to prevent this infection.