Gardening With Mrs. Skunk

I have to tell you something that happened to me last year. I was back from my usual walk with my dogs, and as always, once I got to my yard, I let them off the leash so they could run around. One of them took off at full speed, barking happily… and stopped just inches away from a skunk!

I had a moment of pure terror as I imagined the worst-case scenarios—no need to spell it out, right?

But here’s the thing: they politely kept their distance, the skunk’s tail was perfectly relaxed, and my dog calmly returned to me. As if nothing had happened! Either this skunk was a particularly relaxed yoga enthusiast, or my terrifying 10-pound dog, who is afraid of his own shadow, was no threat to her.

We often have skunks visiting our home. We live in their natural habitat, so they regularly wander around the property. But contrary to what you might think, it’s a very peaceful coexistence: they don’t rummage through my trash, they don’t dig up my lawn, and I even have the luxury of being able to observe and admire them!

Family portrait: who really is our striped skunk?

Let’s start with a proper introduction! Our local star is the striped skunk Mephitis mephitis. Even scientists sometimes have a sense of humor: Mephitis comes from Latin and means “offensive by smell” or “pestilential emanation”… Subtle, isn’t it? And they put it twice in its Latin name, those scientists, just to make sure we get it right!

Physically, it’s about the size of a house cat, with its famous bushy tail half its total length. Her elegant black coat with two white stripes on her back gives her a very chic look, and all that fur is long and dense, giving the impression of having a big animal in front of us, even though Madame only weighs about ten pounds!

BUT!!!

There’s a noticeable difference between our country skunks and city skunks! In the wild, they’re active and slender – about the size of a football, with legs and lots of hair. In an urban environment, with easy access to leftover pizza and other garbage delicacies, they can become… let’s say… the size of a small microwave! These urban skunks are more sedentary and can put on quite a bit of weight when food is readily available… and not too balanced!

Why Is She Destroying and Perfuming Our Courtyard?

Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room… or rather, the skunk in the yard! If Mrs. Skunk is visiting your property, it’s because she’s found what she’s looking for: food.

Like raccoons, skunks dig up lawns to hunt for grubs. If your lawn looks like a battlefield in the morning, it’s often a sign that you have a grub problem AND that a hungry skunk has been enjoying a nighttime feast.

In addition to holes in the lawn, there is also the infamous skunk defense system… Let’s talk about it! It is a sticky, yellow musk, a sulfuric alcohol called thioalcohol, secreted by two anal glands, which can be sprayed up to 6 meters (20 ft), and 4 to 6 times in a row.

It is NOT urine, and skunks DO NOT FART! This defense mechanism is just that: a defense mechanism.

Besides, even if they have a good supply, it’s not infinite. If a skunk sprays all of its musk, it is left defenseless until its body produces more. Before spraying, it usually gives a warning, takes an aggressive stance, may make noises, show its teeth, slap its paws, raise its tail… All of this means: back off, I’m scared. If these signals are ignored, it may then resort to “serious measures.” It’s a good thing my dogs listen to and respect these signals! No incidents to report on my end!

The Great Myths of Mrs. Skunk

Before we get to the solutions, we need to talk about IT. The myth of myths. The one that has ruined more towels than all the wet dogs combined: the infamous tomato juice bath!

Listen to me carefully, dear friends: tomato juice does NOT work! It’s a hoax based on what’s known as “olfactory fatigue.” The thiols present in skunk odor have an overwhelming smell, and our olfactory receptors eventually wear out. The smell of fresh tomato juice temporarily takes over. But the thiols are still there! And tomato juice companies are laughing their heads off when they hear you say it takes a second bath…

The acidity of tomatoes can also irritate your pet’s skin while leaving behind a foul odor. And it stains! So not only does your dog still smell like a skunk, but he’s also starting to scratch and, as a bonus, he’s orange. Way to go!

The real solution? A mixture of hydrogen peroxide (1 liter), 1/4 cup of baking soda, and 2 tablespoons of dish soap. This formula helps the oxygen molecules (from the peroxide) bind with the thiols (from the skunk musk), neutralizing their odor. It’s science, not magic, and certainly not a sales gimmick.

Another myth to debunk: skunks don’t attack “for fun.” Skunks want you to leave. They have a few sprays and can then take up to 10 days to replenish their arsenal. Before wasting a week’s worth of ammunition on your dog… He must have really scared it!

Living Together Without Squabbling

What has always fascinated me is how smart these little creatures are. I’ve had the chance to work with skunks that have been operated on (so they can’t spray anymore, in an educational context), and they’re incredibly curious and intelligent. They’re still very skittish animals, very reactive to sudden noises, even the slightest ones. Warning: archive photo!

So how can you live with Mrs. Skunk? First, put your trash bags in a sealable garbage can. Clean the can often to eliminate odors that might attract skunks. If your visitor is particularly persistent, try to outsmart her with a cedar trash can or mothballs to confuse her sense of smell.

For your lawn, you need to eliminate the real problem: not the skunk, but the white grubs. You can treat your lawn for white grubs in late August or early September. No white grubs = no restaurant for skunks = less chance of them coming to plow your yard.

Keep in mind that a healthy, diverse lawn is more resistant to these pesky worms, so take good care of your grass: don’t mow it too short or too often. And above all, let diversity flourish! These larvae prefer to eat grass roots, so if you have clover, ivy, and other plants, they’ll have less to eat.

Good To Know

These grubs are the larvae of beetles, whose eggs are laid almost all summer long. To avoid attracting these large nocturnal insects to your home, remember to turn off your outdoor lights at night.

Another natural solution (and practically impossible to implement, but still really cool!) is to let the skunk’s predator do its job. Because YES! It has a predator! Owls, especially great horned owls, don’t have a very good sense of smell. The great horned owl can feed on skunks without being bothered by their smell. Okay, I know you can’t just rent an owl to get rid of your pesky skunk, but it’s still an interesting idea! Try putting an owl statue in your house—you never know!

NEVER touch a skunk. They may be carriers of rabies, a deadly virus that can be transmitted to humans. So move away immediately if you see one behaving recklessly. Venturing out of its roost in broad daylight, or behaving more aggressively than defensively, is a major red flag. Contact your local wildlife officers

The Other Side of the Coin: Why Is It an Ally?

Okay, now that I’ve debunked the tomato juice myth, cried a little over your ravaged lawn, and mentioned rabies… Let me explain why the skunk isn’t ONLY your enemy.

In the summer, they mainly feed on grasshoppers, crickets, and insect larvae, but they also sometimes hunt small mammals and snakes. Basically, they’re opportunistic omnivores: they adapt their diet according to the season and what’s available. Kind of like when I’m hungry while hiking and eat whatever I find growing along the trail! The look on the faces of other hikers (who don’t know which plants are edible) is absolutely fantastic!

The great thing about skunks is that they are natural exterminators. They eat everything that can bother your garden: white worms, field mice, voles, slugs, etc. Plus, since they’re naturally shy, they won’t come rummaging through your trash if they have access to a buffet elsewhere. Encourage biodiversity: they may abandon your trash cans and lawns to eliminate pests in your beautiful, diverse garden.

Conclusion: The Art of Cohabitation

Looking back, that evening when my dog almost got perfumed taught me something important. This Zen skunk wasn’t aggressive because it wasn’t stressed. She was in her natural environment, probably even on her usual territory, and must have already known my dogs’ scent. Their silent exchange can be summed up as follows:

• What do you want?
• Oh, it’s you who stinks! Cool to put a face to your smell.
• Likewise, bro
• Okay, well, that’s it then, see you later!

Perhaps the secret to cohabitation is precisely this: stop seeing skunks as enemies and start seeing them as neighbors. Neighbors with a slightly intense self-defense system, sure, but neighbors nonetheless!

So next time you come across one, think twice before running away or chasing it away with a broom (6 meters/20 feet is its spray range, remember!). Instead, observe it: you might discover, as I did, that it’s not as dangerous as people say.

Tell me in the comments: have you ever had an encounter with a skunk? How did it go? I can’t wait to read your stories, I have a feeling they’re going to be delicious!!