I have a new customer complaining about skunks which he smells every evening around 11:00 PM. He has seen skunks outside and critters often mess with the garbage. Evidently it's a very strong odor and they are using vicks vapor rub under their noses. I'm skeptical though because I don't know why a skunk would spray every night... I've heard sometimes water can take on a sulfur smell, but he has city water.

Is there any reason why skunks living under a deck would produce a strong skunk odor every night? Is it a breeding thing? Am I wrong to be skeptical?

IMO you are never wrong to be skeptical.....to many things just don't make sense at times.

As to the skunks spraying.....it is breeding season and I have this happen before. Two or more males after the same female and things get messy at times. I have been told females will spray at times to entice a male....but I have my doubts about that.

You also say the owners are seeing other critters in their trash.....that could very well be why the skunks are spraying. (warning them to stay away)

the first thing that comes to mind is a DEN SITE? female dens up males come calling,they fight for rigts,then must fight Female!
Sounds like a money job?
this mirrors my area!
bob

I have never been able to have a one on one conversation with a skunk, but this is what I've been told. Large, dominant, male skunks fight for territory like other species. They will spray at each other because a skunks sense of smell is at least four times better than ours and THEY CAN'T STAND THE SMELL!

The females will spray to keep males from breeding with her if she has already been bred. The males bite the back of the females neck during breeding and this is quite unpleasant. All in all breeding season is the smelliest time of the year.

This also explains why you can't catch skunks under a smelly deck. They won't be back until the smell is gone.

We have very few skunks around here. However, of the few calls I get, most of them occur about this time of the year; the breeding season. The tenants of the home experience a skunk odor almost every night, but the odor decreases during the day. The odor isn't as intense as if a skunk has sprayed and doesn't last as long as spray odor. The problem usually turns out to be a female skunk and her suitors "tussling" in the crawlspace under the home. The pheromones shed by a female in estrous will often attract many males; often more than one at a time. I don't think the skunks are "spraying", rather, just minor leakage. Usually, in the crawlspace (and probably under a deck) the female skunk has dug a burrow for her nesting area.

My solution is to close off all potential accesses to the crawlspace (or deck) except one. I set at least two positive catch setups to catch any skunks exiting and two more to catch anything trying to enter. Even after catching the skunks exiting from under the home, I often leave a couple of traps to catch those males still attracted to the pheromones and trying to enter.

To prevent a recurrence, all potential entrances to the area must be sealed. You are in Connecticut and I am in Alabama. My solution may not be the solution for your part of the country.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Just got back from the job. It's definitely skunks. The odor is somehow getting sucked into the house. Home owner thought skunks were getting in the house, but I said no, just air currents. Skunk access couldn't be more obvious--hole under deck through broken lattice. Fresh earth. Set two baited traps. Would have been a good site for a positive set, but I think I can get two at once this way.

Funny, The customer asked if I could smell it. I said yes, I actually like the smell. But it's making he and his wife physically sick. I guess I'm wierd. My wife agrees.

Woofman

Bob Evans wrote an article recently that explains all this behavior.You may find it useful.

http://findthewildlifepro.com/articles/evans_skunks.html

Thanks, it is useful. I'm learning a lot here.

the skunk is most likely on the upwind side of the house causing the air flow to push thru the block,sill plate or other type cracks in the house at or near the ground and block level.Skunks spritz the air and are very jumpy during the breeding season that we are now approaching and is coming in to full swing for a few weeks.The essence is the mateing call for both male and female to contact each others where abouts. The scent drift most likely carries some indication of a receptive female and a male that is available.

Well, it doesn't around my shed! ha!

It's been my experience that if the house is on a subfloor and the odor is much stronger inside than out the skunk sprayed under the house. Here in Calif. as it is most everywhere else it's mating season now and skunk calls are lighting up our phones. I have my own opinon of why there is so much spraying going on at this time of year at the den sites (houses). No doubt if two males show up at the den and they are the same size (bigger is badder in the animal world) they will fight and some spraying can occur. But I don't think that is the main reason so much spraying is happening under homes. A lot of my clients and myself included, have heard skunks make vocal noises that I can only describe as a low volume pig squeal. It's the only vocal noise I have ever heard a grown skunk make and envarably not long after hearing this noise the spraying starts. Now maybe it could be two males fighting but I don't think so. I have LOTS of homes that that noise and spraying happen 3-5 times a night. The chances of that many males showing up is pretty slim. Also at every job and I mean EVERY job I average 3-12 females but only 1 male. If I catch the male early in the job I still only end up catching just the one male and also the spraying stops. What I think causes the spraying is young female skunks of the year have no idea what is happening, their hormones are raging which never happened to them before and this male that has never paid one bit of attention to them in their short life is all of a sudden VERY agressive towards them and it scares them to death and once he corners them under the house they spray in fright. The older females that have been through a breeding season before know whats going on and accept his attention as soon as they are ready to breed.
Bob

Wow, we may get from 3 to 12 males, but never that many females.

Kind of the way things are with humans isnt it.

Bob it's hard to remember that far back? Few virgens these days.
bob

Had a call this week for a dealership that had skunk den under the main concrete showroom floor. Every night the little guys would spray and the smell was coming up through the cracks in the pad. Don't know what the construction of your customers place is like, but it might be kind of similar.