How to Get Rid of Skunks Under a Deck or Shed

To get rid of a skunk living under your deck or shed, confirm when it leaves at night, let it out with a one-way door or wait until it’s gone, then seal the space with 1/4-inch hardware cloth buried at least 6 inches deep so it can’t dig back in. Then remove what attracted it: open garbage, pet food, fallen fruit, birdseed and lawn grubs. Timing matters, because in spring and early summer a mother may have kits under there, and sealing them in creates a much bigger problem. This guide walks through the safe, legal DIY eviction and exclusion process, based on University of California Integrated Pest Management guidance, and explains when to call a professional instead.

In this guide

1. Confirm It’s a Skunk
2. Safety and Legal Basics
3. Step 1: Check the Timing
4. Step 2: Find Every Opening
5. Step 3: Confirm the Skunk Has Left
6. Step 4: Install a One-Way Door
7. Step 5: Seal It With Buried Hardware Cloth
8. Step 6: Remove What Attracted Them
9. Step 7: Control Lawn Grubs
10. Skunk-Proofing a New Deck or Shed
11. Do Repellents Work?
12. If You or Your Dog Gets Sprayed
13. When to Call a Professional
14. Frequently Asked Questions

Confirm It’s a Skunk

Skunks are mostly active at dusk, dawn and night. Signs include a musky odor near the den, small cone-shaped holes in the lawn about 3 to 4 inches across where they’ve dug for grubs, tracks with five toes on front and back feet, and a burrow entrance under a deck, porch, shed or slab. The striped skunk, the species most often found around homes, is about the size of a house cat, mostly black with white stripes on the head and back, according to UC IPM’s Pest Notes on skunks (UC IPM Pest Notes: Skunks). If you’re seeing large holes, torn-up sod in big patches, or damage to siding, you may be dealing with raccoons or groundhogs instead, which need different tactics.

Safety and Legal Basics

• Spray range: Skunks can spray accurately up to about 6 to 10 feet. Before spraying, they typically stamp their front feet, hiss and raise the tail. Back away slowly if you see that.
• Rabies: Skunks are a common rabies carrier. UC IPM warns that a skunk that is unusually tame, listless or active during the day may be rabid. Never handle one, keep pets vaccinated, and seek medical attention for any bite and notify your local health department.
• Trapping laws: Rules vary by state. Some states restrict relocation; in California, for example, relocation requires written permission from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Check your state wildlife agency before trapping.
• No poisons: UC IPM notes no toxicants are registered for skunks, and rodent poison should never be used.

Step 1: Check the Timing

Striped skunks breed in late winter, typically February and March, with a gestation of about 9 weeks and litters of roughly 4 to 6 kits, which begin following their mother at night after 2 to 3 months, per UC IPM. That means a den under your deck in spring and early summer may hold young that can’t leave on their own. If you seal the entrance then, the kits can die under the structure and the mother will dig frantically to get back in.

The safest window for DIY exclusion is late summer through fall, after young have dispersed, and early winter before the next breeding season. If you must act in spring, watch at dusk to see whether a family emerges together, wait until the young are traveling with the mother, or hire a wildlife professional who can remove the young safely.

Step 2: Find Every Opening

Walk the full perimeter of the deck, shed, porch or slab. Look for burrow entrances, gaps under skirting, holes where soil has been dug out, and spots where lattice is pushed aside. Skunks also use culverts, woodpiles and brush piles. Note every opening, because closing one may just push the animal to another.

Step 3: Confirm the Skunk Has Left

UC IPM recommends a simple tracking test: sprinkle a patch of flour about 1/8 inch thick in front of the entrance. After dark, check for tracks leading out. Skunks usually leave to feed a few hours after sunset. If tracks lead out and none return, it’s likely safe to seal, though checking for a couple of nights is wise. Loosely plugging the entrance with crumpled newspaper or leaves works too: if the plug stays undisturbed for two or three nights, the den is probably empty.

Step 4: Install a One-Way Door

If you’re not sure every skunk has left, use a one-way door. UC IPM describes an outward-swinging gate made of 1/2-inch mesh hardware cloth, larger than the opening and hinged at the top, so animals can push out but not back in. Commercial one-way exclusion doors are also sold. Seal all other openings first so the door is the only exit, leave it in place for several nights, and confirm activity has stopped before removing it and sealing that last gap.

A bright light aimed into the den entrance at night can encourage a skunk to move out, as UC IPM also notes. Don’t put ammonia-soaked rags or strong repellents under occupied buildings; UC IPM warns that fumes can enter the home through heating and cooling systems.

Step 5: Seal It With Buried Hardware Cloth

This is the step that makes the result permanent. UC IPM recommends 1/4-inch mesh hardware cloth over openings under structures, with the wire buried at least 6 inches deep where there’s soil, to stop digging. The same mesh also keeps out rats and mice.

• Dig a trench about 6 to 12 inches deep along the base of the deck skirting or shed.
• Attach galvanized 1/4-inch hardware cloth to the framing with heavy staples or screws and washers, running it down into the trench.
• Many installers bend the bottom of the mesh outward into an L shape, extending 6 to 12 inches away from the structure, so a skunk digging at the wall hits mesh.
• Backfill and tamp the soil.
• Cover the mesh with lattice or skirting for appearance if you like.
• Fit it tightly: skunks work hard to get into a good den, so leave no gaps at corners or steps.

Step 6: Remove What Attracted Them

Skunks move in where there’s shelter near food. UC IPM recommends these steps:

• Use garbage cans with tight lids and store them in a garage or secure enclosure.
• Bring pet food indoors by nightfall.
• Pick up fallen fruit and clean up spilled birdseed under feeders.
• Don’t put food scraps in open compost; use hot composting or enclosed bins.
• Never feed skunks; it makes them lose their fear of people and increases bite risk.
• Clear brush and woodpiles that offer shelter, or move woodpiles off the ground.

Step 7: Control Lawn Grubs

The cone-shaped holes skunks dig in lawns are usually searches for grubs and other insects. UC IPM notes that managing lawn grubs reduces the food that draws skunks to dig. Confirm you have grubs by cutting and peeling back a square foot of sod in a damaged area; several C-shaped white larvae per square foot can justify treatment.

• Preventive products applied in late spring to early summer target newly hatched grubs before damage.
• Curative products applied in late summer to fall kill grubs already feeding.
• Biological options such as beneficial nematodes can help in moist soils.
• Follow every product label exactly; the EPA notes that pesticide labels are legally enforceable (EPA). Water in as directed and keep children and pets off until the label allows.

Our guides on getting rid of grubs in the lawn and curative vs preventive grub control cover timing and product choice.

Skunk-Proofing a New Deck or Shed

If you’re building a deck, shed or porch, add the barrier during construction; it’s far easier than retrofitting. Run 1/4-inch hardware cloth around the perimeter before installing skirting, bury it at least 6 inches with an outward L-shaped footer, and set sheds on a gravel pad or concrete slab with the mesh fixed to the base framing. Leave a removable access panel, also backed with mesh, so you can inspect underneath. Check the barrier each spring and fall for gaps where soil has washed out or animals have tested the edges.

Do Repellents Work?

UC IPM describes commercial skunk repellents as not very effective. Motion-activated sprinklers and lights may discourage skunks from visiting a yard for a while, but none of these replaces sealing the den. Spend your effort on exclusion and food removal first.

If You or Your Dog Gets Sprayed

UC IPM gives a home remedy for skunk odor on pets: mix 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap, use it immediately, keep it out of eyes, and rinse thoroughly afterward. The mixture is unstable, so never store it in a closed container. Tomato juice mostly masks odor rather than removing it.

When to Call a Professional

UC IPM advises that inexperienced people hire a professional wildlife control operator for trapping. Call one if you suspect kits under the structure in spring, if the skunk is under the living space of the house, if it appears sick or aggressive, if anyone has been bitten, or if you can’t safely dig and fit the barrier. A pro can handle one-way doors, removal of young, legal disposition of the animal, and exclusion with a warranty. Our skunk removal cost guide covers typical pricing, our guide to choosing a wildlife removal company explains what to ask, and you can compare licensed operators through our pest and wildlife control quotes. For broader prevention, see the pest control guide.