Skunk and Ground Hog Update

Early this spring, when we discovered that groundhogs were living under one or two of our backyard sheds, I was very upset...

I was ready to pay whatever it might take to have a wildlife specialist remove them from our yard. But Terry was determined to try to get rid of them himself. I (quite frankly) couldn't imagine that a non-professional would have much success...

But, thanks to suggestions we found online, Terry did manage to get them to move. We sprinkled talcum powder and Epsom salts around the sheds, left human hair lying about. Terry also put containers of ammonia in each crawl space he could reach.

We were overjoyed at our success when they left. But we should have filled the openings immediately, because a day or two later, a skunk moved in under one of the sheds.

I thought he would deter prowlers - animals as well as people - but Terry was determined to get him out. Again we looked online and followed a suggestion to soak rags in apple cider vinegar and put them in plastic bags with a few air holes - and put them into the skunks nest...

Terry added rags soaked in ammonia - and waited. After about a week, the skunk moved as well...

At this point, he quickly closed up the hole with wire, gravel, rocks, bricks and a patio stone.

So - for now - our sheds have no animals living under them! I'm surprised we were able to get rid of them on our own! There is a lot of helpful information online. We wouldn't have known what to do without it!