New trapper here just trying to get my feet on the ground in this hobby. I have read quite a bit about extracting and selling skunk essence but it’s hard to find a lot of the simple details that experienced trappers might consider a ‘no brainer’. So I’ve been told buyers like you to collect the pure essence from what you get from the skunk but is there any use or market for the ‘mustard’? Also, if you wouldn’t mind while you are here if you want to drop a few tricks of the trade that you have picked up along the way referring to skunk essence from storing, collecting, selling, etc I would super appreciate it!!

May I ask what part of Ks you from

Northeast!

There's some guys on here that are more experts about this topic than, hope they will chime in. One bit of advice I'll share is if you grind full pods (which I guess is frowned upon) keep your mouth closed at all times. Lol
I was hoping if you were closer you could come over and I'd show you how I do it. I just collect for myself but I don't mind the mustard in formulations.

Welcome to Tman

Don’t sweat the mustard it sells for the same price mustard in, not a good move to remove it to get less money for it. Store in glass only no plastic it will eat a hole in plastic in no time. It’s best to work with smaller amounts it’s easier on your lungs I use 4oz Boston round lure bottles my buyer likes them also and it’s measured for easy sale. If you drop a 4oz bottle your our $80 you drop a bigger bottle your out a lot more then.

Remove the pods to drain them you can milk the mustard that way and use the pelt, I drain the pods there is always leftover essence and mustard in the pods.

More skunk musk the better and it does not matter if mustard in my recipes. Just needs to be pure skunk.

Right now I just take a needle and syringe after I have skinned them and extract the essence that way. From there I have been putting it into glass baby food jars temporarily because I thought I would have to remove the stuff that settles to the bottom. So if I’m understanding right I would be able to just take all of the essence I can get out with the needle and syringe and just put it straight into my 4 oz boston round bottles and sell it as is?

One time I had a fella ship several medicine brown bottles full of pure skunk, it was a mess. I sent him some four oz glass bottles with metal lids.

Are these dipped in wax? If so is it any certain kind of wax or just whatever is lying around?

Law Dog you want to cash in on that stash?

Tool grip dip to seal the stuff in it has a way of escaping if your not careful.

Promised to my buyer he takes all I can get no problems he even picks it up, shipping the stuff is nerve racking.

Always keep the mustard in your essence collection bottle. Unless you establish a regular buyer that wants the mustard removed for their use. Mustard helps to establish authenticity of the essence. There are some that try to doctor the essence for their profit. Generally that essence is different in color shade, fluid consistency and has no mustard in many cases.

Very good point Bob about adding to authenticity of the essence.

That is great you do not have to ship, very nice looking product sir.

FYI civet essence will have a white grits looking fat in it and a lighter color yellow to quill.

Thanks I had to hold on to it longer last year because of Covid so he picked up 212 ounces between me and another guy that collects here also.

I sent a picture of the essence I have to a potential buyer and they noted that the color seemed off. It is 100% pure essence but its almost like a yellowy orange instead of the reddish brown I have seen others have. Any thoughts on what could cause this?

Keep collecting it should balance out as you go.

I have never seen any striped skunk essence of that color either in my days. Looks like mustard in the bottom and some fluid.

It’s so weird! I’ve collected from 6 skunks now and all of it is this color! I promise its pure but am worried buyers might not believe me

I’ve get some off colored stuff now and then see if it darkens with the exposer to light over time I know mine goes from a dark yellow to orange over time.

I collected some this summer from one that looked more like milky water. Still smelled strong but separated from the rest. Siphoned it off and put it in a separate bottle. Any ideas? Skunk seemed healthy.

I’ve come across solid pods my guess a fibrous pod issue that had off colored quill, I have found a small amount of moisture at times that won’t mix that was just there very rare but it happens.

Here are common sized pods here we still get some regular size pods like other areas have but these hold almost 2oz of quill the jumbos hold even more stink in them.

Next to a 4oz lure bottle.

Looking good.
You can sell all you collect
I've picked the road kills up just for the essence. Lots of times there not much in them, but some are full.

Are the skunks that spray upon dispatch still worth trying to draw from ?

Depends if it a spritz or a blast, a example a county guy called me on a road killed skunk not far from where I was at the time. I picked it up took it home thawed it out overnight then tried to draw essence from it. Maybe a half ounce out of it and yes it was off color my guess it lost more then a half ounce when it met the Goodyears.

I find the summer road killed skunks often have off colored essence in them my guess it body fluid related.

Thank you Sir.

Is there a time frame to draw it out from time of dispatch? As long as it's cool?

They can sit for days if it’s cool but if warm it seems the essence will take on water from the body like with road killed ones. Stay away from heat and moisture and the skunks hold up well.

Thanks. How to find a buyer? Does your buyer head south after he picks up yours, by chance?

If you have a quality product you can’t keep up with demand my guy takes all I can get for him or you sell in smaller batches on the Shed here depending what works the best for you. The longer you hold on to it the more that will evaporate on you I held onto mine for 18 months and had to top off several bottles to have full bottles when I sold.

Collecting is not for everyone lots of things to consider, here we have a lot of larger skunks that allows me to do better at it because of the size and quality of those skunks.

A couple years I collected some, put in 1 ounce bottles, then stuck in a peanut butter jar packed with dirt to seal off any escaping odor. I didn't realize then that it evaporated in time. Nor did I respect its caustic nature. I lost it all, some rusted through the metal lids, some evaporated away and left a residue in the jar. But...I didn't have a buyer lined up so it sat in the garage all year. For a couple years. Through the hot summers. And it was only from maybe 3 or 4 skunks over a longer period of time.

This last week I got 10 skunks, so far. Not sure if or how many more there are. I collected 9 yesterday and have a little over 4 ounces. Some were in body grippers and sprayed. The ones I poled had a fair amount but I don't have a lot for point of reference. I assume 4-8 ounces is a pretty small batch and I should offer it on the trapping shed? To be honest I'm a little terrified of shipping the stuff.

Offer a 4oz Boston round bottle in a clean bottle with a tight lid on it $80 is the going rate and over pack it in newspaper wrappings, plastic bags and I like a good peanut butter jar or qt paint can with good seals and duct tape on the seems. A lot of guys only want 4oz amounts often anyways as few people want a half gallon at a time. The 4oz bottle measures the essence for you easier then a random jar.

Seal it up and ship it right away never get your shipping materials near any strong skunk odors the cardboard will hold onto that smell even if the inside does not stink when it’s packed. I put my boxes on the dryer over night to see if I can detect any odor in the morning if I do it gets repacked until it’s good to go.

Don’t try to cut corners on the packing to save on shipping if the Post Office tosses the box your out that amount the insurance is worthless then they ain’t paying it. LOL Some guys add electric tape around the seal of the cap but good tape is hard to find, the stuff from China won’t hold after time it’s useless.

Thanks! Very helpful advice! I'll see if I can find someone close first, if not I'll post it there and carefully ship it.

I package mine in 4 oz Boston bottles like Lawdog suggested, make sure the lid is tight and dip the top into wax or plastic handle dip. When I ship it I put it in a plastic coffee can and fill it with cat litter. I like the stuff with baking soda. Secure the lid with tape and then ship quickest means to your buyer. Haven't had any problems yet.

You can also vacuum seal the bottle if you have a vacuum sealer. I've not shipped any, but I've done that to some I have in the shop, after a couple months you can get a slight smell if you hold the vacuum sealed package up to your face, but you can't smell it by just standing in the room with it, and it seems to contain all the smell for much longer than the time it would take to ship it.

Skunk essence is an amazing material. It is extremely volatile and near impossible to contain it completely it seems. I have been holding various quantities of essence for 40 years in many different containers with different caps and sealing methods. It all begins to bleed in time.

Once it starts to bleed slightly, that bleed continues and progresses with time which translates into volume loss. This vapor escape does the same disappearing act in a lure and bait over time. Just the nature of the material. It seems it isn't made to be contained. It seeks to be set free.

Here is some fresh pods about to be tapped, let the stink begin.

Law Dog I’ve only seen one guy extract essence and that was the veteran from Indiana. He used the needle while the pods were still attached to Pepe . I know your going to use the pods later but are their any advantages to extracting the pods before the essence ?

You will get a much more thorough essence draw once removed as shown. You can also massage each side you are drawing from to ensure maximum extraction.

What Bob said and less of a chance of getting the stink on the hide if it’s marketable. It’s definitely worth the time to pod them out the pods have a value and the extra essence/quill adds up by milking the pods my buyer welcomes the mustard so it’s a win, win to do it.

I have 3 sets of pods frozen like that I need to extract. I remove them when i am skinning so i can strip the tail bone without worrying. I agree that nothing contains the stuff forever. I honestly don't mind the smell, it insures i get alone time too!

So any new ideas on getting maximum life out of your syringes?

You have to keep the rubber compression end of the plunger insulated from the essence as much as possible. If not, It will melt and stick to the syringe barrel in no time.

I keep a water / glycol mix handy in a 8 oz. bottle. I use this as a rinse agent and then draw a few CC's of the mix and hold it in the syringe until the next use. I keep extra needles I get from the farm store handy and change them out when they get like a basketball air needle.

The syringes that are yellow or orange (at least at the farm stores around here) with the oring on the plunger seem to have a much longer life for me. Mister Mick taught me that one.

I use vegetable oil after each use after flushing with plan water. And keep a few cc's in the syringe when not in use. Eventually you will have to replace they syringe.

After extraction, do you clean these pods up any, or leave them as is?

I read in the archives about essence needing an acid to "neutralize" wondering if vinegar would aide in the longevity? Any thoughts appreciated, I'm trying to broaden my horizons with these critters, despite my wife's noncompliance! Lol

An oil coating of a somewhat neutral material is the best solution I have found to help protect the syringe barrel and rubber push stop from the residual essence.

I have used a glycol / water mix for years to load into the syringe after each use and keep that flushing material loaded in the syringe until the next use. I do flush the syringe with a water/rinse draw several times before I load the syringe with the solution for storage.

Keep your needle protector cap on the needle at all times for safety..

Essence is extremely corrosive to plastic, rubber and ferrous metals. It is flammable as well.

They’re cheap.

I don’t clean them or anything but have found if it’s going to be a few days before I use it again, if I pull the plunger back so there’s some air in the syringe the rubber lasts a little longer.

I'll flush with peroxide then again with water. Skunk quill will cause the rubber to swell if left in contact for too long. I found a larger syringe used for injecting cattle that uses a synthetic O-ring can be used indefinitely when properly cleaned with peroxide.

I've done 1 set of pods with a 16 ga needle. After penetrating the sacs while putting in my jar, there was foreign material (which I assume to be sac membrane) in the bottom of the jar, could this be the mustard? Btw, jelly jars seem to be terrible for housing essence! I have Boston rounds on the way, but my juice may be gone before then. Gonna do the tool grip dip too, if I get a full bottle...despite my better half's refusal to conform, I actually am enjoying trying to figure these guys out!

Skunk Essence is a truly fascinating material if you spend any time working with it. The components of it and how it is developed within the pods is quite interesting. Just think if you could harvest and feed the working scent pods you could extract what you need at will.

The DNA and function of a scent pod holds the key as to how it converts the physical bodies nutrients into the necessary components to develop the essence and mustard.

I blended my pods with skunk fat and it is great now and I keep it in a glass mason jar.