Dusti came inside and told me I needed to come quickly. There were bats in the trash shed and they were screeching.
I went out and Nancy (my godmom) was standing there near the shed with a broom in her hand. The shed closes most of the way, but there is a bit of room which a bat could easily get through. There was quite a lot of screeching going on, and I thought there must be a goodly number of the critters in there and wondered why they would be so noisy, especially as it was after sunrise.
I used the broom to pry open first one door, then the next, slowly and standing to the side so if anything came rushing out it wouldn't encounter me in the road, but nothing came out except a smell of skunk. We get skunk smell in the yard often, but I began to wonder since the smell got stronger as the doors opened.
When both doors were fully open, I waited a few seconds, hearing nothing now and seeing nothing so I peered in the shed, but no critter was to be seen. Two of the cans had no lid on, and I figured whatever had been making the noise was likely a skunk stuck inside one of them.
Again, standing back so if there was a skunk I wouldn't have it come running out into me, I tipped the nearest trash can over.
Two skunks came barreling out of the can as fast as their wee legs could carry them, around the end of the shed opposite me and into some recycling Nancy keeps there. They stunk to high heaven and one had no hair on its tail but lots of blood.
I guess they'd gone in looking for food, got stuck, fought and sprayed and sprayed and sprayed.
Now I have a residual odor about me, from having stuck my hands and arms in where there was spray still in the air in the shed, I guess. lol
The Joys of Country Life
Moderator: Priests of Syrinx
The Joys of Country Life
Onward and Upward!
Re: The Joys of Country Life
Love the sounds of the country...not so much of the smellsawip2062 wrote:Dusti came inside and told me I needed to come quickly. There were bats in the trash shed and they were screeching.
I went out and Nancy (my godmom) was standing there near the shed with a broom in her hand. The shed closes most of the way, but there is a bit of room which a bat could easily get through. There was quite a lot of screeching going on, and I thought there must be a goodly number of the critters in there and wondered why they would be so noisy, especially as it was after sunrise.
I used the broom to pry open first one door, then the next, slowly and standing to the side so if anything came rushing out it wouldn't encounter me in the road, but nothing came out except a smell of skunk. We get skunk smell in the yard often, but I began to wonder since the smell got stronger as the doors opened.
When both doors were fully open, I waited a few seconds, hearing nothing now and seeing nothing so I peered in the shed, but no critter was to be seen. Two of the cans had no lid on, and I figured whatever had been making the noise was likely a skunk stuck inside one of them.
Again, standing back so if there was a skunk I wouldn't have it come running out into me, I tipped the nearest trash can over.
Two skunks came barreling out of the can as fast as their wee legs could carry them, around the end of the shed opposite me and into some recycling Nancy keeps there. They stunk to high heaven and one had no hair on its tail but lots of blood.
I guess they'd gone in looking for food, got stuck, fought and sprayed and sprayed and sprayed.
Now I have a residual odor about me, from having stuck my hands and arms in where there was spray still in the air in the shed, I guess. lol
From what a handler told me at a pound, the best way to get rid of the smell is vinegar and water. (make your own immature joke here...)
Re: The Joys of Country Life
We use peroxide, bicarbonate (baking soda) and shampoo (mixed). Works for us.YYZ30 wrote:Love the sounds of the country...not so much of the smellsawip2062 wrote:Dusti came inside and told me I needed to come quickly. There were bats in the trash shed and they were screeching.
I went out and Nancy (my godmom) was standing there near the shed with a broom in her hand. The shed closes most of the way, but there is a bit of room which a bat could easily get through. There was quite a lot of screeching going on, and I thought there must be a goodly number of the critters in there and wondered why they would be so noisy, especially as it was after sunrise.
I used the broom to pry open first one door, then the next, slowly and standing to the side so if anything came rushing out it wouldn't encounter me in the road, but nothing came out except a smell of skunk. We get skunk smell in the yard often, but I began to wonder since the smell got stronger as the doors opened.
When both doors were fully open, I waited a few seconds, hearing nothing now and seeing nothing so I peered in the shed, but no critter was to be seen. Two of the cans had no lid on, and I figured whatever had been making the noise was likely a skunk stuck inside one of them.
Again, standing back so if there was a skunk I wouldn't have it come running out into me, I tipped the nearest trash can over.
Two skunks came barreling out of the can as fast as their wee legs could carry them, around the end of the shed opposite me and into some recycling Nancy keeps there. They stunk to high heaven and one had no hair on its tail but lots of blood.
I guess they'd gone in looking for food, got stuck, fought and sprayed and sprayed and sprayed.
Now I have a residual odor about me, from having stuck my hands and arms in where there was spray still in the air in the shed, I guess. lol
From what a handler told me at a pound, the best way to get rid of the smell is vinegar and water. (make your own immature joke here...)
Last edited by CygnusX1 on Wed Dec 03, 2008 12:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Don't start none...won't be none.
If you wanna trap 'em and release 'em, ask the local animal warden ifawip2062 wrote:It's fading pretty quickly. I didn't get any directly sprayed on me, thankfully, and think it was just a few droplets that were hanging in the air.
We think the skunks have moved from their hiding place next to the shed to behind my house, from the smell.
you can use a small, cat-sized live trap, and find a box big enough to
slide over the trap from a local store that is throwing them away.
Bait the trap with a whole uncracked egg(placed UNDER the trip lever) or
dry cat food on top of the lever.
When the skunk trips the trap, give it a hour to settle down. (Although
most skunks are night prowlers, you'll prolly have one waitin' for ya
when you wake up.)
Take the open end of your large cardboard box and, standing at the END
of the trap (if a skunk can't SEE ya, it can't SPRAY ya), gently raise the
end of the trap and slide the box over the trap, enclosing the skunk in
the box.
Gently lift the box into the back of a truck and take it where you want to
release it.
USE the exact OPPOSITE order to release the skunk.
Open the drop-down trap door furthest AWAY from you
(remember...stand at the END of the trap! If it can't SEE ya, it can't
SPRAY ya) and watch it haul freight back into the woods!
Ain't country livin' grand?
It ain't for everybody, that's for sure.Don't start none...won't be none.
That's a cute little booger! hahahaawip2062 wrote:Eh, we don't mind having them around. They may stink the place up a bit, but they aren't harming anyone (but themselves! lol).
And they sure are cute! Here's a picture of the kind we have:
I like the horizontal markings...we have the common
striped skunk here.
Country Living 101 - Critter Names
1. "Polecat" = Skunk
Don't start none...won't be none.
That's a beauty, t! I have one or two of those a day roosted above my chicken lots.
Check for them on power lines or phone lines along the roads bordering
fields. (Even in town or the city!)
I love to hear them shriek when they're soaring or roosting. Awesome.
The chickens' lots are covered, so they don't mind a hawk...except for the
roosters.
They'll throw their chest out and strut, like, "Come get some!" hahahaha
Along with Red-tailed hawks, we have the Cooper's Hawk here too:
<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://img229.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... .jpg'><img src='http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/4889 ... awkaf5.jpg' border='0'></a>
They're gray-backed and have much longer tail feathers than red-tailed
hawks. The longer tail feathers are a sure sign of a Cooper's Hawk.
They're very aggressive and fast when they fly, dive or strike.
Awesome bird of prey to watch.
Check for them on power lines or phone lines along the roads bordering
fields. (Even in town or the city!)
I love to hear them shriek when they're soaring or roosting. Awesome.
The chickens' lots are covered, so they don't mind a hawk...except for the
roosters.
They'll throw their chest out and strut, like, "Come get some!" hahahaha
Along with Red-tailed hawks, we have the Cooper's Hawk here too:
<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://img229.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... .jpg'><img src='http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/4889 ... awkaf5.jpg' border='0'></a>
They're gray-backed and have much longer tail feathers than red-tailed
hawks. The longer tail feathers are a sure sign of a Cooper's Hawk.
They're very aggressive and fast when they fly, dive or strike.
Awesome bird of prey to watch.
Don't start none...won't be none.
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Walkinghairball
- Posts: 25037
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:42 pm
- Location: In a rock an roll venue near you....as long as you are in the Pacific Northwest.
That's why Siggy uses the Holy Handgrenade of Antioch for his problem!CygnusX1 wrote:Walkinghairball wrote:I bet they both taste quite similar to .................chicken.
hahahaha Well don't shoot one Bro. It's a Federal rap if you get caught.
Order yours today!
(the above is satire and in no way reflects Siggy's feelings towards animals.)
Last edited by YYZ30 on Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Walkinghairball
- Posts: 25037
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:42 pm
- Location: In a rock an roll venue near you....as long as you are in the Pacific Northwest.
-
Walkinghairball
- Posts: 25037
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:42 pm
- Location: In a rock an roll venue near you....as long as you are in the Pacific Northwest.
