Odd ball varmints?

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Skunks! I have Trapped and Dispatched 17 of them total in my Backyard. We were OVER RAN with them darn things, i’m getting them under control around here now :lewis: My neighbors are all SUPER Thankful, Except For one Gal (A Cat person) I suspect she’s missing a Cat? :D
 
I had a possum hang around our compost bin one winter. The sucker learned how to pop the top off it and crawl in and enjoy dinner. I went out one evening when it was pretty windy and found the top a few feet away thinking the wind grabbed it. When I dumped my bucket the critter came launching out of there and darned near landed on me. later that evening I went back out and sure enough the top was off again so I got the pellet gun and tossed an apple at the bin. The critter came shooting out again but stopped a couple feet away from the bottom of the bin.....long enough for a shot. It went about three feet and just stopped working. Being an animal known for its ability to fake being dead I went in and came back an hour later. It was history. I walked it down into the park land between our home and the stream and propped it up on a chunk of rip rap about ten feet from the bike path. That turned out to be a source for some laughs for the next week. Its amazing how few city people know what a possum looks like.
 
Skunks! I have Trapped and Dispatched 17 of them total in my Backyard. We were OVER RAN with them darn things, i’m getting them under control around here now :lewis: My neighbors are all SUPER Thankful, Except For one Gal (A Cat person) I suspect she’s missing a Cat? :D

Are you using those pvc cylinder traps on the skunks?
 
All of the above varmints plus ---- Snakes. I have Bull snakes, rattle snakes, gopher snakes, water snakes . and Moles. If the snakes were so great I wouldn't have moles. The snakes get into my quail nests and my grouse nests so they all must die
 
Are you using those pvc cylinder traps on the skunks?

No, But I know what you are talking about, my Dad has one of them. I did a Ton of research on trapping, and dispatching these things. Those 6” PVC Style Traps work well for some in certain areas, and not for others. They are on the Small side, an 8 or even a 10” Tube trap Would be the way to go.

What i ended up doing was making a Solid Wood Box with Flip up Ends from scrap plyboard, I have regular Coon size Square Box Trap and it slides inside of the Wood Box. They don’t have to Struggle to get in my Trap, they can simply walk in it. The Problem with this Setup is Weight, it’s HEAVY

Skunks are EASY to Trap, BUT if your Trap is Small, and they Spring it, That skunk will NEVER attempt it again, This happened to me this Summer. i decided to get the Smaller 8” Lighter Box Trap that was more Skunk size, And Build a Light weight Outer Box of like a Veneer, I ended up finding a Lightweight Plastic type Panel Stuff at Home Depot that Was ideal, I built what i felt was the PERFECT Size Skunk Trap Setup, Nice n light :lewis: The 1st or 2nd night i had it out One Sprung it, I seen the Skunk, it was a BOONE & CROCKETT Skunk!! When he tried to enter, his back lifted up on the Door which released the Holding mechanism that is under Spring Tension, he would have felt the Door pushing down on his Back, he simply Backed up, and the Door SLAMMED Shut. This Educated Him, it became a Game after this, The ENTIRE Summer. I ended up Switching back to my Large Trap. This Particular Skunk would Come in, He would Dig all around the Trap, But NO WAY was he going in it, I played with Baits, by placing one just inside the Door, he would get it, the next night i would get a Little Farther Back in the Trap and he Would get it to, But he would NOT Step completely inside a Trap again. To my Knowledge? I never did get this Skunk

If i had of used my Large Coon Size trap, i would have Had him the 1st night and been done with it. My advice is to use a large enough Trap that they Can Comfortably walk inside. Build an Exterior Box with open Ends, When you catch one, you approach it from the Side, Gently lower the Front & Back Door, This Turns it Dark inside, and they Won’t Spray. If you use a Small Trap, and they Spring it, They WON’T go back in a Trap
 
All of the above varmints plus ---- Snakes. I have Bull snakes, rattle snakes, gopher snakes, water snakes . and Moles. If the snakes were so great I wouldn't have moles. The snakes get into my quail nests and my grouse nests so they all must die

I can remember Rattlesnakes in Eastern Wa, As close as we live from eachother (30 miles the way the Crow Flies) It’s CRAZY that we don’t have Poisonous Snakes, such as Rattlers here??? I have talked to a LOT of Oldtime Locals here, Not 1 of them have seen a Rattlesnake here? I wonder why? This BIG Pend Oreille River shouldn’t Stop them? A snake can Swim easily. Our Weather is Basically the Same as yours
 
How do you dispatch said trapped skunks. I know one person with the pvc traps I mentioned and he hooks up a vacuum cleaner hose to his atv exhaust and the end of the trap and lets them enjoy the fumes for 20 minutes.
 
How do you dispatch said trapped skunks. I know one person with the pvc traps I mentioned and he hooks up a vacuum cleaner hose to his atv exhaust and the end of the trap and lets them enjoy the fumes for 20 minutes.

I studied the method you mentioned Tom, and I ALMOST went that Route.

I have a 110 Gallon Stock Water Tank that i keep filled for Watering Potted Plants, I Drop the Entire Box in the Water Tank and leave it for 15-20 Minutes.

Believe me when i say there is no “easy way” to Dispatch a Skunk without it Spraying, I would MUCH prefer to Shoot them, and make it INSTANT, But they will Spray 99.9% of the Time that way, even Fully Decapitated. The Game Dept advises Drowning them if you have them in a Box Trap and are near Water. MANY Professional Trappers use a Long Pole with a Syringe, they inject them with Acetone. They sell that ”Kill Pole” in Trapping Magazines, online Etc. I personally didn’t like that idea. I don’t like the Drowning idea either, in fact i HATE it, But it was either that, or Asphyxiation. Again i say, There is NO EASY way to Dispatch a Skunk without it Spraying. And if a Skunk Sprays FULL ON in your Yard, you will Smell it ALL SUMMER Long, They are a VILE little Creature!!
 
I can remember Rattlesnakes in Eastern Wa, As close as we live from eachother (30 miles the way the Crow Flies) It’s CRAZY that we don’t have Poisonous Snakes, such as Rattlers here??? I have talked to a LOT of Oldtime Locals here, Not 1 of them have seen a Rattlesnake here? I wonder why? This BIG Pend Oreille River shouldn’t Stop them? A snake can Swim easily. Our Weather is Basically the Same as yours
Yup, Idaho is truly Gods country. Low on liberals and no rattlesnakes up north. It's funny cause I was up above Northport last year a stones throw away from Canada and killed a 42" rattler. I think you would have to go below Lewiston to find them over there.
 
A little off topic but my father had a solution for cats. He kept a box trap set and any cat he caught he sprayed their tails with "blue cote" and turned them loose. Kind of funny and made for some interesting conversations in the neighborhood.
 
I have a simple rule, if your Cat is in my Back Yard (i have a fully fenced in yard) It either gets REALLY Lucky and makes an Exit before i can get to my Break Action Pellet Rifle, Or it leaves here in a Garbage Bag on Monday.

The way i see it, I don’t have a Cat in your Yard (No kind of Nuisance in Your Yard) and NEVER EVER will, and I’m not gonna put up with it in mine. I enjoy Gardening, and do a Fair amount of it, A freshly Tilled piece of Ground Becomes a Cat 💩 Box, I have unearthed PLENTY of it. Fact is, I REALLY Like your Cat, in YOUR Yard :lewis: I have Pretty much ridded This neighborhood of Stray/Feral Cats, and will continue to work diligently at it.
I have two homemade live traps that are made out of 2-5 gallon buckets welded together end-to-end With a sheet metal job door In one end and gravel screening on the other. A 22 short is very effective through the gravel screen and I'm lucky to live in a small town where I can sneakily do it. Had a neighbor who started accumulating cats 25 years ago who let them breed and run indiscriminately. He was an old Widower man that got to where he couldn't go out and see what they were doing. When they started climbing our trees and Prowled our our backyard consistently I built these traps. About in a year and a half I got over 100 cats and I stopped counting. Right now I would estimate it's around 150 total or just a few over. Now I have a few cotton tails, Robins and even sparrows. Still have neighbors with cats And for the most part they keep them home. If they start prowling my yard I will start up my trap line again. I think some of the neighbors might be suspicious, but I also think they are afraid to ask. I don't care how many cats or dogs you have, just keep the darn things home. If I wanted one, I would have one.
Squint
 
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