Providence skunks are wild animals and are considered bad news for any gardener not only because they carry diseases like rabies, but they will easily steal some of your prized garden produce and worst of all, can spray you with a terrible stench if they are attacked or feel threatened.



However, Rhode Island skunks are naturally shy animals that will only enter your garden when attracted by something especially food or shelter. Due to their notorious stench, they are hard animals to confront and chase out of a garden once they enter it, and the best solution would be to ensure they cannot enter the garden through repelling them or blocking them. Also remember to remove all unnecessary food sources like leftovers, bird feeders or food in trash cans. If the food sources cannot be removed, cover them with a heavy material like tarpaulin that the skunk will not easily chew through.

For small patches of gardens, the best way is to build a low fence around it. Chicken wire can work well for small areas like those around the shed. Skunks are not good at climbing and will only try to burrow their way under the fence. If the fence is built deep enough, then their access will be effectively blocked. As an extra precaution, you can spray a mixture of hot pepper and water around it to stop them burrowing in.

Install bright lights- Skunks are nocturnal animals whose eyes do not see well in strong light. Installing strong lights or better still, motion triggered sensor lights around the garden will easily scare them off. Take note however, that this can attract some other light loving insects like moths.

Spray strong smells- Surprisingly, skunks hate strong smells and will flee from them. There are commercial skunk repellants that you can buy which include a mixture of predator urine like dog or coyote urine, or homemade products like citrus (orange or lemon) peels that can be placed around the garden. You can also place ammonia soaked rags or cotton balls around the garden. All these need constant replacement as their smell fades over time, and especially during periods of heavy rain.

Other repellants you can spray around the garden include a solution of water, castor oil and dish washing detergent, a strong scented soap or a strongly scented room deodorizer.

Another way of getting rid of Providence skunks that have created a den in your garden is by finding and destroying their shelter. You can fill it with soil or some other material, or make it inhabitable by spraying a repellant in it. However, to be humane, you need to first be sure that there are no skunk babies staying inside. Also, try to do this while your skunk is away to avoid a stinky confrontation.

If all these methods fail to work, the only solution left is to trap the skunk using a live animal trap and then get it relocated or call in the professionals in Animal Control to handle its removal.

Visit our Providence wildlife trapping home page to learn more about us.