Finally, take the Human Society’s advice and cordon off any vulnerable areas around your home’s foundation using L-footer style fencing. Make sure all seals and lids on your trash cans and recycle bins are secure, and periodically clean out these receptacles to remove odors and stray bits of waste. Look for patches of dead grass and eliminate any grub problems you may have. If you’re concerned about skunks making their winter home on your property, take measures to make your property a less attractive habitat. And while skunks may spend more time in their dens in the winter, they use them year-round. That food supply may in turn become a convenient excuse for a skunk to take up residence underneath or inside your home.

Pet food left on a porch, patio or in a garage or shed can also be very tempting to a skunk. It is not uncommon to find skunks taking up residence near your house or even under it. The most common of these is unsecured garbage. Grubs are most plentiful in the colder months of the year, as they lay dormant underground or chew on roots in preparation for their spring and summer metamorphoses. Almost all skunks are nocturnal and do their burrowing and feeding at night.īecause skunks forage more infrequently during the winter, certain foods can entice them onto your property. A skunk can tear up a garden or lawn looking for insect larvae. So, like possums, armadillos and moles, skunks are diggers. In areas populated by humans, skunks will make their dens under houses, under decks, in basements, under woodsheds or woodpiles and anywhere else that provides shelter from the elements. They’re looking for warmth and easy access to food and water, which most likely can be found on your property. Skunks will seek out the most convenient locations for their dens. However, the skunk mating season usually takes place in February and March, and most skunk young (or kits) are born in April and May. During the winter, skunks mostly huddle in their dens for warmth. While skunks do not hibernate, they do become significantly idler once temperatures begin to drop. The answers to these questions have as much to do with skunk behavior as they do with other environmental factors that are within your control. But what about the colder months? Can you encounter skunks in winter? Do skunks hibernate, or are they just as active? Are they likely to join you on your property to escape the cold? Any dog owner who has tried to wash the smell of skunk musk off a sprayed pet knows how persistent and pervasive that odor can be.ĭuring the spring and summer when families and their pets are more active outside, skunk encounters are more common. There are actually 13 subspecies of the striped skunk, the only differences being geographical location and size. The skunk is omnivorous, and its diet can include anything from nuts and berries to mice and chipmunks.Skunks can be among the most unpleasant of unwanted animal guests. All members of the weasel family have scent glands, but none arc as powerful as the skunk's. The great horned owl has a poor sense of smell, and its eyes are protected by a special eyelid, so the skunk's strong musk does little to prevent an attack from this predator. The striped skunk is the most common member of the weasel family. Because the spray can cause nausea and temporary blindness of the target, skunks are rarely attacked by other mammals. Skunks still face predators, however, including the coyote, bobcat and domestic dog, but perhaps the most danger to the skunk comes from the air. A common myth is that skunks cannot spray when they are held up by their tail, but this is not true. Their scent glands are located on each side of the anus, and powerful muscles surrounding the glands can spray the scent up to twelve feet. This not so sweet smelling animal is black all over except for two white stripes running from the rump and converging on the head to form a white cap.

Ranging all over Oklahoma, this animal is respected by many because of the strong musk smell it releases when provoked. The smell filling your nose is the musk spray of the striped skunk ( Mephitis mephitis). A bed of sweet smelling roses? The most expensive perfume on the market? Mountain air? Hardly.

Will skunks hibernate under your house