posted 1 year ago
I'm a fur trapper, and I've trapped plenty of skunks. What you want to do is make what's called a "positive set". You'll need to figure out where they're entering and exiting. If there's more than one spot, you need to block off all the entrances expect one. In front of this one entrance/exit, you'll put your cage trap, blocking it off so that they can only go through the trap. Put a blanket over the trap, leaving both ends uncovered, to form a tunnel of sorts. If you've done a good job blocking off everything, they have no choice except to go through the trap. No bait is needed or desired here, you want them trying to go through the trap, not to stop and have a snack.
Once you've caught Mr/Mrs skunk, just pull the blanket fully over the trap (carefully). Then you can move it to where ever, and (again carefully) open the trap working through the blanket, and let it go. It takes time for them to build up a load of stink-juice, and it's there only defense, so they don't just use it nilly-willy. As long as you're slow and don't let Mr/Mrs skunk get aimed at you, they won't spray. If you're looking to dispatch the skunk, the easiest way is a tube to pipe your car's exhaust under the blanket/trap, for about 1/2 hour just to be safe.
This part is important-once you've got them all, you've got to block off all the entrances, or more critters will just move back in. If it's a good spot for a skunk, it's a good spot for lots of critters.