How to Get a Skunk Out of Your Garage?

Finding out a skunk living in your garage can be a pretty unsettling experience. Hence, it becomes pivotal to get the skunk out of your garage on an urgent basis.

The foul-smelling creatures are easily identifiable, unlike many other animals that camouflage with their surroundings. They have a distinguishing body with white and black stripes. These mammals also emit a disgusting smell through spraying when they get frightened. Their spray, apart from the unpleasant odor can also cause harm to your eyes and nose.

If you happen to come across these stinking badgers, do not worry. Go over this article to find out how to get a skunk out of your garage.

How Do Skunks End Up in Your Garage?

The striped badgers are easy-going creatures. They shall not harm you intentionally. All they are looking for is some food and a place to live. However, this does not mean that you want them to live in your carport.

These animals can end up in your vehicle storage unit in many ways. Some of these are as follows.

Open Car Shed Doors

The most common way for a skunk to enter your carport is through the main door entrance. They can also get in through any spaces or gaps in the door. All they require is a large enough area for their bodies to pass through.

Uncovered Waste and Garbage

These carnivores get attracted to waste and garbage that is not properly covered. If such litter stays open around your house, these animals would loiter around it. The garbage would act as their potential food source. Hence, they would inhabit the area and eventually enter your parking space.

Safe Shelter

The striped mammals constantly look out for a safe and secure shelter. Your garage shall act as an ideal place for them to stay and seek refuge. This is because they are usually dark and sheltered areas with a lot of places to hide. These animals can use the space as a safe nesting place. They can live there peacefully with their families and be protected from harsh weather, risks of predators, etc.

Accidental Entry

It is possible for the rodents to accidentally enter your car shed while roaming around. They may be in search of food, chasing insects or other small animals to prey on in the vicinity.

Source of Water

If there is water lying around your house, these carnivorous mammals may get attracted. They shall visit the area to quench their thirst and may end up in your garage.

Pet Food Lying Around

People with pets often have some pet food lying around their houses. The rodents can get tempted to lure around the area in a chance to get food.  

Attracted by Strong Smells

These mammals are known for their strong sense of smell. They get lured toward pungent odors that may come from your parking spaces. These smells can be of petrol, oils, insecticides, fertilizers, etc.

Improperly Sealed Openings

The spraying rodents are small in size. Hence, they can easily enter through any improperly sealed openings in your car sheds. They can enter through broken air vents, opened or cracked windows, drainage pipes, etc.

Harmful Effects of Having a Skunk in Your Garage

The pungent odor-producing rodents are not particularly aggressive to man. They generally avoid conflicts and fights. However, they can potentially cause nuisance and even harm if they are in your car sheds.

Here are some of their harmful effects.

Defensive Spraying

These carnivorous mammals are not just ordinary animals. They have a strong and well-known mechanism for their defense and safety. This is their ability to spray a foul-smelling, pungent liquid. It is sprayed from their anal glands, hence, you can imagine how bad the smell could be.

The spraying usually occurs when the animal feels endangered or scared. Such feelings may get aggravated if the rodent is all alone, cornered in the darkness of the parking. This shall act as their self-defense mechanism.

This heavy odor might stay in the room for days and even weeks. It is quite difficult to remove it, thereby causing suffocation, nausea, discomfort, and unpleasantness to the residents.

Damage to Property

These rodents have special paws designed to dig and burrow. They do this in search of small insects that live under the soil.

This habit of the creatures can pose a great risk to your car parking as well as the surrounding property. The striped mammals can create holes in your walls, floors, and other surrounding items. They can also nibble and chew on wires, and insulation pipes, and destroy the infrastructure. This would result in you having to deal with a lot of costly repairs and renovations.

Risk of Contamination

The striped rodents can carry parasites such as fleas, ticks, and even mites. These parasites can infest your car shed and can even spread to other areas of your home. Furthermore, the droppings left by these animals can serve as a source of bacteria and other pathogens. If humans or pets come into contact with these droppings, it can pose a serious health risk.

Endanger Your Pets

Rodents are not friendly with other animals. Hence, if you have pets in your car parking or other nearby areas, be prepared for confrontations. These striped mammals can fight with your pets and even cause severe harm to them. Additionally, they also carry multiple diseases like rabies that can be transmitted to your pets if they suffer a bite from the invading animal. This can be a serious health risk for your pets and can endanger their lives severely.

Other Unpleasant Body Odors

Apart from their spraying habits, these striped creatures also possess a unique body odor. This can infiltrate both your shed and its surrounding areas. The smell can linger persistently. It will also be quite difficult to eradicate. As a result, it can cause discomfort for you and your family members.

How Do You Get a Skunk Out of Your Garage?

Rodents are not the particular kind of carnivores you can coexist peacefully with. Especially if they reside in your carport.

A lot of risks that these animals pose have been discussed earlier. To mitigate them, it is crucial to opt for the best way to get a skunk out of your garage.

Here are some important tips and tricks you should follow. These would help you learn how to get a skunk to leave your garage without any confrontation or potential harm.

Maintain Composure and Analyze the Situation

If you notice this striped creature living in your carport, do not panic. Remain calm and evaluate the situation carefully.

These animals are generally docile. They hide from humans and do not attack or want any confrontations. The most they would do to protect themselves is to spray. Wear a mask or cover your face using a cloth to reduce the effects of the smell.

Keep a safe distance and check whether the animal is stuck somewhere or has some way to escape. This shall allow you to understand the current situation of the rodent.

Prepare an Exit Way

If you analyze that the animal is trapped within your car shed, you must prepare an exit way for it. In the absence of an available means of exit, the creature cannot independently vacate the room.

Start by opening all the doors and windows present in the room that lead to the outside premises. Make sure the openings are large enough for the animal to pass through properly. Simultaneously, dim or close all the extra lights or loud sounds there may be. This shall help reduce the rodent’s stress and give it the confidence to move out.

Offer an Alternate Exit

There may be a possibility that the striped mammal is not able to recognize the open exit. Or it might be too scared or reluctant to leave. In this circumstance, offering an alternate exit route to the mammal might be helpful. It will help guide it in the right way that shall lead to the outside area.

You can also guide the creature toward the exit by gently nudging it. Use a long broom or stick to do so. This will ensure that you have a safe distance maintained from it throughout.

Spread Ammonia Soaked Cloths

These rodents are highly-sensitive to strong smells. They hate the smell of ammonia. Therefore, you can spread ammonia-soaked cloth everywhere around your carport and its surrounding areas. This shall act as a deterrent and make the animal leave the premises.

Make sure that the cloth is placed especially near the area where the animal is hiding. Place a few of these near the exits. The potent aroma of ammonia shall act as a repellent, compelling the animal to seek alternative locations.

Use Natural Repellents

You can get rid of the striped rodents using different kinds of natural repellents. These animals are also highly sensitive to the scent of citrus, pepper, mint, etc. Make a mixture of water and citrus juice. Spray it near the animal’s point of entry and where you think it resides.

You can also spread pepper and mint leaves around the place. This shall also help in encouraging the mammal to leave the area.

Make the Shed Inhospitable

These striped rodents love to stay in quiet and dark places. Introducing bright lights and loud sounds to your carport can make the area quite inhospitable for these animals. You can use temporary LED lights or portable lamps to illuminate the area. Play loud music using a speaker to help move the animal out of the parking.

Place Live Traps

If all the tactics mentioned above have failed, resort to live traps to get rid of these rodents. These traps will help catch and then safely release the rodents.

You can either purchase or rent out the live traps from animal control centers or local wildlife organizations. Make sure to get a trap that is suitable to catch these striped mammals. Read the instructions that come with the trap carefully before use.

Ask for Professional Help

If you are unable to get rid of the animal on your own, it is time to seek professional assistance. Contact a local wildlife agency that has the expertise to remove these striped creatures safely. The agency has trained and skilled professionals who can humanely capture the animals. They will then appropriately relocate the animals.

How to Get a Skunk Smell Out of Your Garage?

The smell produced by the striped mammal can make your entire car shed difficult to even step into. Hence, getting rid of the pungent odor is crucial.

Here are some ways you can deodorize the car parking.

Adequate Ventilation

The first thing to do is to ensure adequate ventilation in your car shed. Open all the windows and doors present to let the air circulate through. This shall allow the fresh air to enter and the stale one to get eliminated. You can also use portable fans to ensure proper airflow.

Vinegar

Make a 1-part vinegar solution with 2 parts water. Put it into a bottle and spray it all along the surfaces of your carport.  You can also place small containers of pure vinegar around the room. The vinegar will help absorb all the bad odors and ensure a clean and fresh smell.

Regular white distilled vinegar or even apple cider can be used for this method.

Peroxide Solution

Using peroxide solution is a fool-proof method of having the rodent’s smell eliminated quickly. Take a quart of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide solution and mix it with a quarter cup of baking soda. Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid soap to this mixture as well.

Keep this solution ready to use in a spray bottle. Apply it to places that emit a pungent odor.

Cover Surfaces with Baking Soda

Baking soda is also a natural deodorizer. It can absorb the ball smells and make the area fresh again. Sprinkle baking soda all around the car shed. This will make sure that any left odors are removed completely.

Clean with Bleach

To clean the floor, use a solution of 1-part bleach with 9 parts water. Scrub using a mop. This will disinfect and remove the odors from the floor.

Activated Charcoal

Charcoal is also an efficient deodorizer. Place this natural ingredient all around your car parking to eliminate the smells.

FAQs

How Long Does Skunk Smell Last in Garage?

The smell of these striped mammals may last for at least 3 weeks in your car parking. These creatures spray a pungent liquid when they get frightened. Hence, it is used as their defense mechanism.

This smell can stink up the entire room. The longer it remains, the stronger it gets. Hence, making it quite difficult to be eliminated.

Why is there a Skunk in my Garage?

Uncovered trash cans and garbage cans attract the striped rodents to your garage. Leaving garbage in your carport until weekly pickup can appeal to these mammals. They shall come there in search of food. A dark and quiet place such as a car shed can serve as an ideal habitat for these mammals to reside in. Hence, they can start to live in the place.