Just when I've started to get rather blase' about skunks and the problems they cause, I get a head scratcher.

I went to check out a cottage on the lake with three noticeable holes leading under and a fairly strong smell of skunk. The thing is, the cottage is on piers with about a foot of clearance under it and I'm suspecting a dead skunk. I set traps and a trail cam with no activity.

There are two access panels but there's no way I'm going to fit under there. I can't see a skunk but the odor is strong.

It's possible an animal sprayed under there and left but it's also possible a carcass is still under there.

Any suggestions on how to proceed if the carcass is still under there?

i had one at a cottage up here... i could only get so far under the cottage before i couldnt go anymore.. insulation hanging down and only a foot of clearance .. couldnt see all the way under it.. so i fogged the heck out of it.. Twice! and still was horrid.. told the owner.. we need to cut a hole in the kitchen floor to be able to get into that side of the crawl space... he agreed and we did it.. dang it! could only go about 3 foot in any direction and couldnt find it or see it.. told he we would have to cut a hole in the living room floor.. he did this one when we werent there... but did not pull out the floor... let that for us.. and ill be a well-diggers behind.. when i pulled the insulation out... that skunk was right there!!! couldnt believe how lucky we got.. fogged it once more and job was done.. those jobs are a pain... but it worked out in the end.. had another cottage we dug trenches under to look through the whole thing... never did find a skunk... pieces of fur is all.. the rotton wood on that place sucked all the stink up and we couldnt get rid of it.

Try to get some sort of camera under there so you can see what is going on. I had a similar situation years ago and it took the use of an underwater camera attached to a pole for me to take a look and figure out a solution.

Another method I've used is to video with the GoPro on a extension pole. If I'd of had my iPad with me I could have watched it real time, but since I didn't I recorded the area I couldn't access and then viewed it once I got back to the office to verify what was going on.

GoPro or any of the wifi capable action cams of that type mounted on an RC truck with light bar or an LED light mounted alongside and off you go! I'm working on perfecting a unit as we do lots of Crawlspace skunks on contract and I want to know if the area is empty when possible so it can be excluded without doing one way doors and camera and then coming back, or in cases of likely dead like you have.

We've played with a couple of units already and the range to your iPhone or iPad is perfect for your average home to keep attached and return to the access hole when done. Does depend on how rough the area is inside in terms of deep crevices and obstacles but drones are the way I'm heading.... Less spiders on my head when I crawl out... Lol!

I run a large military prison. We have used cameras on poles. If the poles are too long we have wheels on the end of the pole also. The RC car sounds more fun though. Lol.

One foot is plenty..........

Can't you check their tonsils from the top end?

Lol. When they've been in prison a while, and if they're Navy, it's sometimes easier from the other side.

pretty sure I could tunnel out,,,

lol

Thanks guys. A camera it will be. Don't know why I didn't think of it except lack of experience.

I can get the area pretty well lit. I have plenty of extension poles and a friend with a go-pro, another with an I phone that he says will take 15 mins. of video and both willing to help out.

If the traps don't produce in the next two days we'll start the cameras.

Thanks again.

Had to dig out under a big hvac unit next to a fitness club couple months back....removed dead ghog in pieces....first we thought was stuck in return air vent so had a plumber friend cut into it and we found how he was gettin in but the smell was comin from under

We ended up using the go-pro on the end of a pole and found the skunk. The cottage has plywood skirting so it was easy to remove a panel and pull the carcass out. I used #9 wire with a hook formed on the end to reach it.

I'll give it a couple of days to air out and then go back and fog the crawl space with Epoleon N-100 to try and kill the odor.