Animals tend to make their homes close to food and water as well as shelter. If their location cannot provide their basic needs, they keep moving until they find a place that can. Skunks are adaptable and can thrive in many types of surroundings in both urban and rural areas.
Skunks like to build dens that they can create with their own claws. The dens will most likely be in your yard and underneath your home. Sometimes they will find an old fox hole to live in or they may find that a wood pile will suit their needs as well as a hollowed-out log that they can snuggle down in when the weather gets cold.
Because your home most likely has food for the skunk to eat and a place to get water, they will most likely search close by for their den. They like the convenience of living near humans because humans leave food out in trash bags which they can rip open with ease. They will also feed on cat or dog food left outside. They also like the convenience of finding food on their own as well. Skunks normally choose locations such as under a porch, in or under a shed, or any other dark enclosure that they can get in and out of.
They don’t like to be around a lot of noise so they will most likely opt for a place that is dark and quiet so they don’t become spooked by ever changing noises and noise levels. When a skunk is spooked, or becomes scared, they tend to spray and this can alert all other animals to where they are hiding.
Skunks like a habitat that is dark, warm, and protective. They don’t like to be exposed or have their young ones exposed to possible predators in fear of being caught or seen. When they exit their home through a narrow opening, they tend to exit with caution to ensure that they do not see any danger and that they do not draw any attention to themselves.
Not all dens are alike
Depending on the species, the simple hollowed log is not sufficient for every breed. While most skunks are not very particular when finding a place to live, they do have some differences.
A skunk wants to be close to water and will normally find a den within two miles of it. Spotted skunks and striped skunks are similar when it comes to den requirements, however, spotted skunks are most often spotted in forests or on the outskirts of a forest or heavily wooded area where there is no human contact, unlike the striped breeds.
The dens are needed throughout the year so they have to be something that they can depend on throughout the hot part of the year as well as the cold. While the most common dens are made of wood piles, old dens that are abandoned, or under a porch, there are also rock piles which can hold in the heat and underneath concrete slabs where they can be protected from different temperatures.
Do you have a den near your home?
If you find that a skunk family is living in close proximity to your home, you may want to watch them for a few days and determine their normal patterns of behavior so you can help a professional remove them when it is time. If the skunk has babies in the den, you may need to wait before you remove them so they can finish raising their young. If there are no babies, you can tape off the entrance of the den where they are entering and exiting. Wait until they go out and tape up the hole or cover it with something that they cannot dig out and they will soon leave the area and go for another area to make their den.
Go back to the Washington DC wildlife removal home page.