Nocturnal creatures that love adventuring into the night for a good feast and drink of water are skunks. Coming across one of these furry mammals is enough to make anyone want to jump or runny away as fast as they can, but doing so could actually startle these beings enough to spray you, or the family pet with their horrifyingly disgusting liquid odor spray that will leave you wishing you never came across this being to begin with.
Thankfully, remedies such as tomato juice, baking soda, lavender essential oil and vinegar can help make skunk odor go away. Sometimes even dish soaps such as dawn or ivory work wonders for removing skunk odors too.
However, the only way to avoid these cat-like creatures with long fluffy black and white striped tails and bodies is to learn when these animals love adventuring out of their homes.
What exactly are skunks?
Skunks are mammals that are typically brown and black in color, but some can be brown and white or even strictly white in appearance. The animals can weight between a pound to eighteen pounds and range anywhere between fifteen to forty inches long. Skunks also have elongated bodies with short stubby legs and feet that have long sharp claws for digging.
What do skunks love to eat?
One of the ways to avoid skunks is to keep what they love to eat away from your home. This is why knowing what skunks love snacking on for a meal and keeping your garbage bags stored away inside sealed garbage containers. If skunks have access to any kind of garbage, bag or trash can with food inside of it that is ease to access you can guarantee they will be dining on your trash until their tummies are full. Some of the food that is pleasing to skunks is mainly:
- Larvae
- Earthworms
- Grubs
- Rodents
- Lizards
- Frogs
- Small Snakes
- Small Birds
- Eggs
- Berries
- Plant Roots
- Leaves
- Grasses
- Mushrooms
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Bumble Bees
How do skunks behave?
Skunks are usually passive creatures, which is why some people have them as pets. With that said, when skunks are in the wild they are typically solitary animals that will spray and make noises at you or other creatures if they feel threatened in anyway such as getting to close to their dens within the ground or their babies. It is very rare that you see these creatures charging at you when you disturb them because their vision is extremely poor.
Therefore, if you come across a skunk it is wise to backup slowly and walk away. This will decrease your chances of becoming sprayed by one, or even bit by one, which by the way is extremely rare. If you are ever bitten by a skunk, it is wise to visit an emergency clinic right away for treatment since some skunks do carry diseases such as rabies.
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How to Avoid Skunks?
If you ever want to avoid skunks, you do this by staying indoors at nighttime and away from areas they love, building borrows such as fields and woodland areas. Skunks, as you know, are nocturnal animals, which means nighttime is the only time they come out to hunt, eat, drink and build their homes in the ground. Skunks are around more often in early spring too when mating season begins.
Once a female skunk becomes pregnant, skunk kits are born in litters of four to seven about two months later. While the kits are young they mainly stay in dens with their mothers for the first several months, but a year later will leave their dens and begin exploring again in typically the same areas the mothers being exploring.
You typically see less of these creatures in the fall and winter because these animals stay inside their dens where it is warm and cozy until spring arrives again. However, they can come out of their dens earlier depending on the weather outside and their food supply.
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