Will the city or county animal services help with a skunk issue?

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Skunks are nuisance animals with several damaging habits. They are commonly known for their ability to spray a foul-smelling oily liquid at humans and pets. They wreak a lot of havoc on houses, gardens, under sheds and under porches as a result of their annoying burrowing habit. And they leave small, cone-shaped holes everywhere, damaging the landscaping.



So, is county animal services the right place to get help with your destructive nuisance guest? Will they help you?

This is not usually the case, I’m afraid. Save on few occasions, the city or county animal services do not really help with skunk issues. They do not specialize in skunk removal or control, or control of any other wildlife for that matter.

While animal control departments exist in most cities and counties, the personnel there are only equipped to deal with domestic animals and pests. Dog bites, dangerous pets and pet abuse complaints are more common down their lane than opossum disturbances.

They also respond to issues on animal cruelty. Wild dogs and cats are apprehended to eliminate issues of public health concern. The dangerous ones are subject to special restrictions to prevent possible attacks on the public.

Some departments did offer select wildlife services at a time, but what they provided can hardly be described as professional. It was more like lending a hand to such homeowners. They wouldn’t inspect your attic for instance, neither will they deliberately check for helpless babies hidden away.

City and county animal services may offer you help that entails a borrowed trap to set for the animal and their assistance in removing a trapped skunk from your premises. Wildlife control is more complex than what those agencies would do for you, and it sure is a good thing that it has now been delegated to the private sector.

A trained wildlife expert, on the other hand, will go all out to inspect your structures, set traps at highly probable points, and seal entry points to prevent reoccurrence. A wildlife expert would identify vulnerable areas in your structures and assist in cleaning up animal waste.

A private or independent animal expert would handle the entire process for you and even recommend repairs and precautions to ensure that the nuisance animals do not return. A county official is likely to stop after the sighted skunk has been removed.

Go back to the Skunk Removal page, or learn tips by reading How to get rid of skunks.