Ways to Trap Skunks

If you have a skunk living under your porch, it's a nuisance. Trapping the skunk and removing it is the best cure for the problem. If you are a trapper and want to make use of skunks for the value of their pelts, the value of their musk or you have a market for skunk skulls, fat or claws, trapping them is the best way to harvest the animal. Several methods are used to trap skunks.

  1. Nuisance Skunks

    • The goal in trapping a skunk living in an unwanted place, such as under your porch, is two-fold. You want to capture it but also capture it without upsetting the animal to the point it discharges its noxious spray. A wire mesh live trap wrapped securely in black plastic is the answer. Once the trap closes, the animal is encapsulated in a dark area and won't feel unduly threatened while the trap is being removed and hauled away.

    Foothold Traps

    • Trappers wanting to capture skunks usually use foothold traps. Usually, some bait is positioned nearby the trap and the trap set so the skunk will step on the trap when it attempts to get to the bait. Most of the time the skunk will not spray when the trap closes on its foot. Experienced trappers use specially designed syringes on the end of long poles to administer a lethal injection to dispatch the skunk without causing it to release its smelly spray.

    Body Grip Traps

    • When you know where a skunk is denning, it's easy to position a body grip trap at or near the entrance to the den, which will snap closed on the skunk as it attempts to enter or exit the den. Body grip traps are lethal and will kill the skunk quickly; however, most of the time, the skunk will discharge its spray before succumbing. In a wild setting this is of little consequence. In an urban setting or near your home, use another method.

    Cleanup

    • If something goes wrong with the procedure and you need to deskunk yourself or equipment, use a solution made from a pint of hydrogen peroxide, 1/8 cup of dishwashing detergent and 1 tbsp. of baking soda.