Sometime yesterday afternoon, we started smelling a skunk-like odor in our house. Since we noticed it first in our family room, we thought maybe a skunk had gotten under our deck, since that's near; But there's no smell outside around the deck. The stink seems to be spread throughout our house by the air vents, so it's worst near any of them. My daughter said her clothes stunk at school (she could smell her coat when she opened her locker). I don't know where to start on this. Any ideas of what to check? Whom to call?
Thanks all, for the advice. The smell has gone away on its own, over time.
we had one hit our house directly a few years back. The smell does eventually go away, but wash whatever you can. You can call your city to bring out a trap, but you are responsible for setting it up ad finding where it got in. They will come pick it up once trapped. At least that is how Elmhurst does it. Liverwurst is the favorite food of a skunk for a trap. Good luck!
Our dog took a direct hit to the face a few years ago. Our vet recommended Skunk Off. You can get it at PetSmart. It takes the smell out of clothes, carpeting, and dogs instantly. You can use it on upholstry, according to the label, but we didn't need to. Putting moth balls around outside keeps the skunks away, but they don't smell too good either. Good luck!
If you can't get the smell out, you may want to call your insurance agent. Some stuff may need to be replaced.
I'm not sure where to buy it, but my son borrowed a fan type device that put out ionic vibrations, for lack of a better word. It has a tiny "electronic" odor but that's the only thing that worked for him. You can e-mail my friend Flo to ask her where you can purchase this. Her e-mail is ____@____.com is a realtor with Re-Max. Just ask her where she bought her skunk smell remover. I think it was about $400 or so, but worth it. You can rent it out to people and re-coup your money! It takes a week or two to get rid of it, but he tried everything and nothing but that worked...Good Luck
We had a whole litter of them under our front steps a few years ago. They didn't really smell too much, probably because they were comfortable. Then we started smelling it a lot more, mostly in the basement. It took a while but we finally figured out one had fallen in the window well outside the house. We got him out with a 5-gallon bucket on a rope, with some bread and cheese inside.
I don't know too much about skunk behavior, but this litter of skunks seemed to be keeping a series of burrows around the neighborhood and they would forage at night and move on every few days. We waited until they seemed to be gone, and then I dug a trench around the front stoop where their hole was and buried a stiff wire screen that kept them out (Ask for 'hardware cloth' at the store). Good luck!
Oh yeah, and we straightened the cover on the window well so they wouldn't stumble into our booby-trap again.
Well, it takes a LONG time for the smell to go away. I've had a skunk go under my deck for just awhile and it stinks up the basement, which in turn stinks up the rest of the house. My front room is always shut off from the rest of the house, and even after everything else was aired out, I walked in there and it still smelled!! So I would suggest you open your windows and turn on the fans. And look around outside for other places the skunk could be. If you think he could get under your deck, put some ammonia soaked rags under there or by where he got in to keep him from returning. They hate the smell. Make sure you block all holes and check around your cement stoops if you have any. My neighbor had a skunk dig a hole under her cement stoop by the back of her house but didn't notice it for a long time and wondered where the smell was coming from. If you can't figure it out you might need to call a critter control person, but they charge an arm and a leg for skunk things. Good luck. Message me if you need more info. I've had my share of skunk problems.
