General Facts Members of the weasel family, there are four species of skunks in North America: striped, hooded, spotted and hog-nosed.
The most common are striped skunks, measuring 20 to 30 inches long (including the tail) and weigh approximately 6 to 10 pounds with two wide stripes on the back that meet on the head. Nocturnal by nature, skunks have a litter of 1-7 young in late April through early June. They are slow-moving animals but have strong forefeet and long nails which make them excellent diggers. Skunks will ususally only attack when cornered or defending their young. Spraying is not the first method of defense. They will growl, spit, fluff their fur, shake their tail, and stamp the ground. If the intruder does not leave, they will lift their tail and spray their famous skunk odor. The spray is a sulfur compound that has a range of up to 15 feet. The glands that hold the spray hold enough for 5-6 sprays.
Habitat Skunks are found throughout the US, Canada and Mexico. Skunks like warm dry, dark defensible locations. They have adapted to building dens in decks, trash dumps and woodpiles. When foraging for food they will often travel 5-10 miles.
Diet
Skunks are omnivorous. Their diet typically consists or beetles, larvae and earthworms. They are also know to eat field mice, small rodents, lizards, garbage, eggs, and fallen fruit. Problems arise when they determine that your yard is the best place for their den.
Havahart® offers a variety of skunk repellent and skunk trap solutions to help you with your skunk control needs.
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