Friday, July 1, 2022

Speaking of Wildlife


Well ain't this just jolly. After posting about road kill and wildlife around the place and resting from a bit more implement shuffling. I was chillin out in my favorite shaded spot of the garden contemplating what is next on my never ending list of to do's when a skunk comes strolling by. 

Oh sh#t!!!

I took refuge behind the garden shed as it casually walked between the fence wire, through the goats (that paid no attention to it) and then disappeared some how under my mothers house.

Sh#t sh#t sh#t....

It did not take long until three little baby skunks poked their heads out as well.

This is just great....Not.

It has probably been at least 8 or 9 years since I dealt with a skunk issue and that was some sick or crazy skunk that walked into my shop one day and then wandered off down the road never to be seen again. Twenty some odd years ago I had a family of skunks try and build a burrow settlement in the barn but a little water hose action evicted them quick. Now I got a mother and at least 3 babies living less than 30 feet from my favorite shaded garden spot.

Just great.

Now I have to worry about a skunk family along with everything else. I can't just block off the entrance or trap the mother and have abandoned babies running around. I called the nearest so called pest control place I could find. The estimated price they gave me would help a small Asian war effort and they of course had no idea when they could even take a look and estimate a time frame.

So looks like I am going to first see if I can get mother and babies to move on their own, That is after I poke around and see if there are any other spots around the place they might move into that are worse. Any other type of varmint would have been preferred and I could easily handle but now after all this time I get a family of skunks.

More to come on this adventure I am sure.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!

 


6 comments:

  1. 22 mag buy plenty of vinegar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael - I promised I would limit my killing to last resort some time ago (mostly for the wife) when I gave up hunting. Not that getting rid of a skunk does not count as last resort but right now she is being protected by her youngins. I just don't want to kill her and then have however many young she has come out of the den starving in the near and unscheduled future. Or worse yet die under there. That's why I was thinking about one of those guys who can capture em with those long camera pole things but that is far too cost prohibited in this case.

      Delete
  2. toss a couple moth balls in their nest...they'll leave. [two not any more or you'll leave too].

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read about the mothball thing and it is on my list when I get to that right now I am still on the intelligence collecting stage to be sure they are where I think they are for certain.

      Delete
  3. That's what pellet guns are for, PP. Kill mama, and the babies will either die or move on. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. This year it was ground squirrels here at Rancho Whybother. I had an undocumented ground squirrel INVASION this year. I shot 'em. I trapped 'em. I did what I had to do. This was after they decimated my veggie garden and dug burrows all over the corral. Bagging a lactating female is a bonus in my book. You're killing mama AND the kids.

    ...Dealing with your wife is easy-peasy; just don't tell her what you're up to!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pete - The not killing her part right now is I do not want to do that until I know where the kids are. I do not want them dying under the house and all the issues that will bring since the pups are obviously old enough to have spray sacks. If I can get her to move on when dealing with skunks near the houses and building I call that a win. I always made it clear my no killing promise did not include raccoons, possum, armadillo, skunks and coyotes nor anything else attacking directly. In the case of skunks however getting them far enough away before killing is a top priority. AT least for me I cannot stand that skunk smell.

    ReplyDelete

Leave a comment. We like comments. Sometimes we have even been known to feed Trolls.