Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Skunk!!

This isn't really about the garden, but it is about something that should have stayed out of doors:
skunk.  Heard it rustling around under the house couple nights. Called for removal, but didn't realize it was skunk. Thought it was the possum or raccoon I'd seen in the last two nights. So... trap is under the house and after the skunk is captured it becomes known without saying a word that it's a skunk.

The real problem was in the dispatching and extrication of the cage/trap. During that process the skunk let loose with everything it had. The stench rolled up from the crawlspace like a blossoming unseen but very well known horror. I've never smelled such terrible stench. The guy that was capturing the critter really got blasted and I could hear him coughing, hacking, thumping around during the process.

The whole house ended up smelling really really bad, horrible, like loss of property value would ensue if this wasn't handled immediately. The rest of my day was cancelled to turn attention to eliminating skunk stench. "Odor" is too kind a word to use for what resulted from the skunk's removal.


At the height of stench elimination process, I had all windows and doors open. Nine fans going in various doors and windows, facing outside to draw the bad air out. I went to town and purchased Febreeze spray and plug ins. Plus some containers with odor eliminating properties once opened. Finally, after researching the internet, as per this website and many others that point back to this site, I placed vinegar in small bowls around the first floor where the stench was the worst. 31 bowls - cereal, soup and tupperware; plus my ceramic loaf pans and mixing bowls.  Used 1.5 gallons of vinegar divided up.

Surprisingly, the stench was mostly gone by bedtime.  I closed up the house for nighttime, and surprisingly, the air quality was as good or better by morning. 2nd afternoon, after I came home from work, I opened up the house again. And pretty much the smell is gone inside. Is this simply natural, the fans, Febreeze or vinegar?  I'm voting for the fans and vinegar.