Why would anyone want to know what a skunk poop looks like (in fact, it’s disgusting thinking, writing, or looking at it)? The fact that skunks are smelly and give off a pungent spray has earned them some notoriety, and now we have to deal with their poop?. How smelly can this get?
There is an excellent reason to know what skunk poop is like. It will help you detect its presence in your home so that you can either find ways of getting them out (if you don’t want them) or keep them in (if you love these little animals). Either way, you must know if you’ve got this stinky cutie in your home.
Why Find Out What Skunk Poop Looks Like?
You can recognize a skunk any day because of its distinctive black and white stripes, its terrible stench, and the repellent spray that it emits. It feels threatened, which is the most repulsive odour in nature ( we think).
It’s pretty easy to tell a skunk and other animals apart, but it is not so easy telling one animal’s poop from those of another. They look and smell alike.
Skunk poops, like all poop, carry pathogens that cause diseases; hence, discovering them will help you eliminate them so that they don’t infect you, your loved ones, and your pets with diseases.
The CDC, for one, has marked skunks as a rabies threat and a carrier of the following diseases, viruses, and parasites: listeriosis, hepatitis, leptospirosis, Q-fever, Trypanosoma, ringworms, tapeworms, equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, and feline panleukopenia virus.
In America, for instance, it is on record that many horses have been infected with EPM from skunk feces. This disease which has a severe negative impact on the nervous system of horses can kill horses in a matter of weeks.
These plethoras of Diseases mentioned above can lead to lifelong ailments for dogs, cats, and other pets you have around. Now humans are not exempted from contracting an infection from skunk poop.
From roundworm, tapeworm, and hepatitis to listeriosis, skunk poop can cause this infection and much more damage to the body. So even if you don’t have pets to protect you from germs in skunk poop, then think about your health.
Skunks, by nature, look cute, which is why some adopt them as pets. However, the thing is that they can still harm your house and garden no matter “how much love you show it,” so if you know what a skunk poop looks like, then you will know if they visit your home, how frequently and why they visit in the first place, this will help keep away things that attract them to your house to cause havoc.
What Does a Skunk Poop Look Like?
Skunks are not picky about what they consume. They are omnivores, meaning they eat a wide range of food from plant and animal sources.
Because of this, skunks’ poop has a different appearance. The weather also affects the appearance of their poop, and the period, since they deposited the feces will also affect its appearance.
Skunk poop looks a lot like cat poop, but the difference is that, unlike cat poop which you will hardly find lying about near where the nest is, skunk poop comes in mounds close to the skunks’ nesting areas.
These poop are shaped like a tube, are smooth, and have blunt ends. Secondly, skunk poop has the outstanding quality of containing many undigested insect parts, such as beetles.
Skunk poops are usually about 1 to 2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. When these feces are prodded with an object, they usually fall apart.
You might also find fur, berries, grasses, grains, and feathers not digested in the poop. The texture of the poop can be mushy, crumbly, or complex, and its colours range from brown to black.
If you squish the poop with a stick, you can find out if the dropping is soft and new or dry and old. If the colour is brighter, darker, and a little moist, then it is fresh. Other droppings are usually discoloured and will crumble.
Cleaning Up Skunk Poop
If you have identified the poop and found out it is skunk poop, then you have to clean it up, and this is the way to do it:
1. The first thing to do is wear protective gear like rubber gloves, a protective mask, or a respirator, and in no situation should you ever touch skunk poop with your bare hands.
2. Scoop up the poop and drop them in a tightly closed bag and throw them in the garbage away from places where your pets can reach or have access to
3. Now, remove the gloves and other equipment you used to pick up the Poop and discard them.
4. Since the place where the skunk poop was may have been contaminated, the next to do is to disinfect the area within a radius of 2 meters. You can use a good disinfectant like chlorine, alcohol (above 60%), bleaching agents, and strong detergents to clean up the area.
Do Skunks Poop Anywhere
The answer is a significant Yes. Skunks poop anywhere they find, so don’t be surprised to find their poop in your attic, basement, backyard, and garden.
They don’t poop in one spot like raccoons, and since they are nocturnal, they are most likely to poop at night, so finding their poop will be slightly tricky.
How to Keep Skunks Away From Your Backyard
If you discover skunks in your backyard, deck, or even in your attic basement, it’s time to send them packing. There are many ways to rid your home of these pesky Intruders. However, we will be considering only environmentally friendly and humane solutions. Here is some easy way to deter skunks from visiting your home:
1. Get dish-washing detergent and castor oil and dilute them in water, then spray it everywhere you suspect the skunks love to nest, and it will keep them at bay. For best results, you should spray this mixture at night when they are out there foraging.
2. Light is another element that repels skunks. Remember that they are nocturnal and cannot stand very bright light because they are light-sensitive. So if you can flood your home with shining light or a motion sensor flood light, it will cause a scamper.
3. The smell of citrus fruit is repulsive to skunks, just as it is with other animals. So placing orange or lemon peels around the yard will chase the skunks away.
4. You can mimic the presence of skunk predators like dogs and coyotes by spraying predator urine around your home to give the Skunks the impression that their predators are around your home. It will deter them from staying in your yard.
5. Ammonia-soaked rags placed around your home can repel skunks. This solution’s only disadvantage is that you must continually replace the bag.
6. Skunks emitting the most potent and repulsive spray ironically do not like any strong smell. So, putting bars of strong-smelling soap or a room deodorizer near your garden will keep Skunks away.
What to Do If You Get Sprayed By a Skunk
Having that awful smell of skunk spray can be irritating, and you can smell it from a distance, and the bad news is that sometimes after washing the clothing you hope to hang out, the odour still lingers on. In this situation, do the following:
1. Mix 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, a quarter cup of baking soda, and 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid dish soap.
2. Now use the solution, spray in the area sprayed by the skunk, wet the area, and work the solution into the skin or fur with your hands, ensuring that no one gets into your eyes.
3. Thoroughly rinse the area with water. It will cause the smell, but if it doesn’t, then you will have to repeat the process
4. Now, use a towel to dry the place. You can allow the spot to air-dry, but don’t use a hair dryer because heat can cause any remaining skunk scent to set into the fur or skin.
Conclusion
Skunks stink, and most of us don’t want them around us, not even in our backyard, if however, if you notice brown or black poop which is tubular and has remains of grasses, feathers, grains, and the likes in it, then you probably have skunks in your home, using simple home remedies will keep them away from you.
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These little creatures, if left alone, can cause a lot of damage in your home as they burrow through the ground, foul up the place with stink and generally be a menace.
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