# Favorite skunk sets, traps, equipment



## backwoodsman

Thought this might be a good one as some homesteaders have nuisance ones and some have to pay a steep price to get rid of them($50+ ea is the going rate here). We catch alot of skunks in standard jaw footholds in no.1, no.11, 1.5, 1.65 and 1.75 size but if Im setting specificaly for a skunk I prefer a double jaw no.1, no.11, no.1 1/2 either coil or longspring( usually I use double jaw no.11's as they pull double duty for ***** too) and Ive caught them with good results in old double jaw jumps of those sizes too. Fruity baits and lures seem to work good but some of the canine loud skunky lures work just as good as most trappers will tell you with a curse. A yard grub based bait I ordered from a supplier a few years ago really stacked the skunks up 2 years ago for us. It was designed for ADC work. Skunks in my opinion arent hard to catch but are hard to hold as they will "chew out" if given a chance. Ive taken skunks in 110 killer traps before but the 160 and 220 are better suited for that. Cage traps of medium size or larger work good but spraying is an issue. We prefer the wider cages of 10"+. If you cover the entire trap with a tarp etc and drop it in a tub/creek/trough etc of water slowly and easily they tend to not spray and drown quickly. The hides werent worth a lot this year and we never put any up. Sold a few green skinned at tops of $3 and gave the rest away to friends to tan and sell on auction sites, buckskinners gatherings etc. Meat /carcass's are more valuable to us as bait for other critters/canines etc. The essence sold good and we sold some that we didnt keep for our own use at $15/oz but I learned last week we sold too soon as some are getting $20+/oz. The population here is high and they do carry some disease's so handling them is a danger. Rubber gloves, apron and eye protection I feel are a must. If the skunk hasnt sprayed 1/2oz.to 3/4oz. is about the average amount of essence you can get from each. Theres all kinds of old wives tales about dispatch but a .22 in the ear or between the eyes seems most humane and holds some of the spraying down. I prefer to not approach the skunk even and we use a scoped/iron sighted .22 from 20+ yards alot. If he doesnt see you he wont get excited and usually doesnt even know what hit him. Also helps staying out of the line of fire if he does spray. Of course if hes in cover or brush then you'll have to get closer. Good Luck


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## Ed Norman

I've found the best way to catch a skunk or badger is to spend a bunch of time and make a perfect coyote or fox set. Next day, you'll have a skunk, or better yet, a badger that excavates the whole trap circle and destroys any chance of resetting. 

My second favorite skunk trap is a square plastic bucket with two slots cut in the lip to hold a 220. Toss your choice of bait inside, a dead hen, cat food, an egg, etc. 

I also snare them coming under field fencing if I can find the tracks and the crawl. 

And they go right in various live traps. I have one made from PVC pipe that works great, trouble is, it is real hard to determine if I have a skunk or a **** or cat in there without going by smell.


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## backwoodsman

Ive seen those PVC live traps but wondered how they check them without looking down both barrels?:shocked:. Maybe a mirror on a stick would keep you out of the line of fire? Do the skunks spray alot with the conibears for you? The few Ive taken in coni's over the years almost all of'em sprayed. By saving the essence we made an extra $8-$12 each skunk so I prefer ours didnt spray.


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## DavidUnderwood

A 160 conibear will actually kill a skunk
quicker than a 220. Most any foothold
or conibear will cause some spraying.
I like a cage trap. Aproach quietly, gently,
and few will spray. Lay a cloth or tarp
over the cage and carry it away.
Lay it in deep water for a little while
and the skunk never releases any essence.


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## blooba

I know you are wanting to trap them for other reasons, but one way to get rid of nuisance skunks(seen it on other posts) and they swear by it, a few drops of peppermint oil. I have always stayed away from trapping skunks because of the smell but I know its possible without them spraying(just not sure how). My old neighbor used to trap them somehow and he SAID they didn't spray. Too bad I never investigated further.


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## Ed Norman

The PVC trap has a few tiny slots and holes where the trigger works come out. It is really hard to see what is inside. And if the trap already has caught some skunks and is scented up a bit, it can be thrilling taking a peek under the door. Are you looking at beady little eyes or a blast cannon when you click on the flashlight?

I use 220s because they fit the bucket so well and I don't have any 160s. Maybe I should get some. They seem to dribble out some skunk juice with a 220, but it isn't a full spray.


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## fishhead

I've read that if you severe the spinal cord it's impossible for the muscles to causing spraying and that seems to be the case from my experience. A .22 right where the head meets the spine seems to work for me.


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## fishhead

How do you collect the essence?

Several years ago I collected fish waste from a few of the resorts in the area. I think I could have picked up 1,000 lbs a week for much of the summer. That got me thinking that a person could collect fish waste all summer and then starting in early fall prebait several hundred spots for skunk and ****. Then when the season opened your traps would be full for a few weeks. I'll bet a person could catch over a thousand skunk that way.


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## Ed Norman

Stick a hypodermic needle with a good bore size in the glands on the sides of the anus and suck it out. Inject it into an empty sterile bottle like saline or diluent and it is almost smell free.

Or stick the needle through the gasket around an enemy's car door and inject it inside. The choice is yours.


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## backwoodsman

We use a syringe, my bigger insuline syringes work fine. Take safety precautions like I described above in another post. Theres two glands one on each side of the anus. Some skin the skunk completely first in case theres an "accident" the hide isnt smelled up. Some only skin to the hips before collecting the essence, some dont skin until they collect the essence. If I have a nice pile to do I'll stretch a balloon over the jar mouth and squirt the essence in thru the balloon so it saves a few minutes and if there happens to be a spill it'll will save the work/time already invested and holds the smell down a little. Heres a few tips when skinning. Dont pull or put any pressure on the rear end whether you or the skunk has emptied the cannons or not. Dont cut anywhere near the anus, I leave a big patch of fur there. Be careful pulling the tail. Treat the anus area like it contains anthrax. Once you have the hide down to the ribs turn the anus away from you and pull the hide to the front legs with one hand while controling the backend with the other hand pointing the anus/cannons in a safe direction. Drop the rear end and pull/cut the front legs out and finish the skunk up past the head. You can remove the anus and empty cannons and use them at sets also(use dedicated skunk scissors and cut the anus/cannons up into 4-8 pieces) or mix them up into your canine etc mix's. Rumor is skunk essence may hit $25/oz.? Fishhead prebaiting is popular with alot of trappers. Check your trapping regs. Some of our lines we'll put our PVC out a little before season and bait them. Some pocket sets or pocket type sets work better prebaited also. I wouldnt use a lure for prebaiting or anything with an unpleasent taste to your target critters. You want them to return expecting a free delicious meal. Old donuts are popular along with fruit scrap's and we use some scrap's from jelly/jam canning. Severing the spine should work but getting unnoticed into a position to take that shot without Mr. Stinky nailing you would be my concern. I know one old boy that used 8' chains and led the skunk to a nearby creek, he drowned all of his but he trapped fairly close to the creek in his backyard basicaly(another scary plan for me). If you can dispatch the skunk before he knows your there you have a better chance of saving the essence. I prefer live traps and footholds for that reason. Another bait we used as kids to trap skunks on the railroad tracks was eggs(we had a good supply as all the family had chickens most years). Fresh one or two or maybe a fresh one and spoiled/old one. Rotten ones certainly put enough odor out. We set mainly bucket cubbys as there always seemed to be alot of old metal/plastic buckets laying around the tracks. Our tracks had crop fields, water filled ditch's and timber around them so they held alot of skunks.


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## fishhead

If you move slow, stop whenever the skunk raises it's tail and talk softly you can get as close as you want.

I tried to release a skunk once by stepping on it's tail. It took a while but I was able to walk up to within a couple of feet. Every time it would raise it's tail I would stop and then it would drop it's tail. When I got close enough to step on it's tail I picked my foot up. It was then that I remembered that skunks can bite too. Oooops! About that time the wind started to blow and I started to sway. That caused the skunk to raise it's tail. Finally it put it's tail down again and I made a half hearted attempt to step on it's tail. I missed. The skunk didn't. I was wearing hip boots so it wore off in a few days. I wore them in the store that night and the clerk asked if I got sprayed.


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## KFhunter

I use a trap very much like this one, except that its made of galvanized sheet metal. 










I caught 26 skunks in it in the peak year and prpbably nearing 100 total now captured, and continuing to catch a lot of skunks loaning it out to people with skunk problems and the occasional skunk that finds its way to my house. 

I have never been sprayed, nor have I had to deal with a skunk spraying due to being captured. Nor have I ever caught anything in it other than a skunk, no cats raccoons or other. The skunk trap pictured is $124.00 but I purchased this trap made locally for much much less. Its worth its weight in GOLD!

for bait the trick is to use *marshmallows*, those big fat ones. I stick them on the bait hook and it never fails to catch a skunk, cats won't mess with it unlike a chicken wing or some meat bait. 

To kill the skunk the trap has a hole on the bottom perfect for inserting the end of a garden hose. I stand the trap on end with the door up, stick the hose in and turn the water on and let it run for a good while, the skunk will claw and scratch for ahwile but no spray. 

The trap should also work well for catch and release I would think, but I've never let one go once captured. If I were to try and release one I'd probably attatch a small rope to the end of the trap and toss the rope over a tree branch or something, open the trap door and pull the string to lift the trap up in the air to make the skunk fall out. Thats what I would do if I had to release a skunk, I much prefer to drown them though. 


good luck and hope this helps.


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## backwoodsman

Neat idea with the sealed cage trap and hose. That would be easier then hauling washtub's etc of water around. Im surprised you dont have alot of ***** to release. Those big marshmallows are a favorite bait of DP **** trap users. Now Im thinkin maybe plastic or metal 5 gallon buckets would make good cages? Maybe need a stick etc to hold stinky down a little once they were filled? Be careful with any old wives tales about stinkers. Watched an ole boy try and prove a point to me one day that stinkers cant spray with their back feet off the ground, common old wives tale. Well they can he found out the hard way:bouncy:. I still smile 30 years later, lol.


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## gunseller

Every skunk that I have shot in the spine or brain has sprayed. I shoot them in the chest and come back later if needed. None have sprayed with this method. If I was to trap skunks the trap I would use would be a 1 jump or a 1 coil. I also use these traps for ****. I would not use a body gripping trap. When nerves are damaged there can be an involintary muscle reaction, spraying. When you approach a skunk in a trap walk slowly and talk softly to them. Any fruit smell will work for bait as will meat. You may catch other aninals with a meat bait. Fruit will get you skunks, ***** and opossums. Before truth in labling laws skunks were called American Sable. Many coats were sold this way as the fur was died a black color. Have fun with Peppi.
Steve


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## backwoodsman

Yep the truth in advertising law killed the booming skunk trade. Gramps got over $10 for some skunks in the 20's. They wanted the blacker ones and a no.1 was one without stripes and brought a premium. Just the opposite now. No.1 traps are big enough for sure. No.11 is my favorite foothold for everything smaller then coyote. Most guys go out with too big a foothold to start with. I do like those double jaws for skunk though.


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## Bret4207

Havahart works for me in the barn. I use eggs for bait, whole eggs in the shell. When I catch one I slowly walk up and cover the trap with anold blanket and take the skunk out in the back field. Then we have a race to see if he can make it to the woods before I can pop him. I haven't lost yet. 

Truthfully, they're inoffensive animals I'd leave alone, but they love my barn and I hate tripping over a skunk in the dark.


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## backwoodsman

I dont prefer to have any around our outbuildings or over on our farm as they are egg thieves and will take fowl and chickens and can be a nuisance. As long as we can make a few dollars from their hides and essence we'll trap a few. Our population around here is way over the capacity/numbers we should have.


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## fishhead

A local paper had a story about trapping a couple of years ago. The author claimed he got $18 for his best skunk.


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## backwoodsman

Wow, if it was '07 or a little before they were selling good. If you go back to the early 20 century up until the mid/late 30's they were one of the premiere common furbearers. No.1 and 1 /1/2 size double jaw footholds were primarily designed for skunks. Last 2 years just green skinned and froze about $3, heard a few got $5. I figure in the essence also in their value. Our friends make alot more tanning them and selling them to the specialty markets. We had a taxidermist about 15 years ago that wanted 10 that hadnt sprayed and were marked pretty for mounting/competitions. We saved the essence and sold him the best colored 10 for $20 each. In the 70's and 80's we sold some for over $12 each stretched and dried but they couldnt have much odor.


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## gunseller

Don't forget where the essences goes. Perfume, it is used as a carrier agent so you can smell her a long way off.
Steve


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## backwoodsman

Mink oil and skunk essence etc were popular for use in the cosmetic industry. Some is probably still used for that but I imagine most are used in the fur trade. Alot of the cosmetic industy is "animal products/cruelty free/no animal testing" etc etc now. If many are using it I'd bet theyre keeping it a real big secret. On another note are we ready for a new critter or are we still keeping interest with the skunk topic? Any ideas on the next critter? Thought we might do the homesteaders nuisance critters first then touch on any others? Beaver, Muskrats, Possums, ***** etc? The land furbearers/critters are our biggest nuisance on our farm/"retreat".


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