Dave said:

Interesting - we do smell skunks around here regularly, but I haven't
actually seen any. Wonder how to deal with them, if the culprit turns out
to be skunks. Maybe if I catch them in the act I could run toward them,
yelling and waving my arms? I don't see how that could go wrong...

They generally come out at night, though I've occasionally run across baby
ones at dusk and the sometimes one that's found rich picking that will still
be out chowing down near dawn. (Be extremely wary of any skunk you see
in broad daylight. There is an very good chance they are rabid.)

Even the tiniest skunk will be unimpressed by yelling and waving. It will
calmly lift its tail and look back over its shoulder at you. Even stamp its
back feet a few times. Baby skunks are actually *extremely* cute when they
do this. Still capable of giving you a dousing you won't soon forget, but
damn cute.

The best prevention is to have a thick, uniform stand of turf. They really
prefer easier digging and know thin turf is the best place to look for bugs.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

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